1980 in Israel

Incumbents

• Prime Minister of Israel – Menachem Begin
• President of Israel – Yitzhak Navon
• Chief of General Staff - Rafael Eitan
• Government of Israel - 18th Government of Israel

  Events

• 26 January – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
• 24 February – The Shekel replaces the Israeli lira.
• 30 July – Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.

  Israeli–Palestinian conflict

• 7 April – Misgav Am hostage crisis - Five Palestinian Arab terrorists from the Iraqi-backed Arab Liberation Front penetrate kibbutz Misgav Am in the night and enter the kibbutz nursery. They kill the kibbutz secretary and an infant boy. They then hold the rest of the children as hostages, demanding the release of about 50 terrorists held in Israeli prisons. The first raid of an IDF infantry unit is unsuccessful, but a second attempt, a few hours later, succeeds, and all the terrorists are killed. Two kibbutz members and one soldier are killed, four children and 11 soldiers are wounded.

Unknown dates

• The founding of the moshav Idan.

  Notable births

• 29 January – Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli model and actress.
• 17 February – Linor Abargil, Israeli model and actress who won the Miss World 1998 title.
• 19 February – Tal Burstein, Israeli basketball player.
• 20 March – Netta Garti, Israeli actress.
• 21 April - Yoni Tabac, actor
• 5 May – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer.
• 13 October – Hilla Nachshon, Israeli TV host, actress and model.

  Notable deaths

• 7 January – Dov Yosef, Canadian-born Israeli politician and statesman.
• 22 January – Yitzhak Baer, German-born Israeli historian and an expert in medieval Spanish Jewish history.
• 3 February – Hanna Rovina, Russian -born Israeli actress, recognised as the original "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre".
• 19 February – Nathan Yellin-Mor, Russian -born Revisionist Zionist activist, Lehi leader and Israeli politician.
• 29 February – Yigal Allon, Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF.
• 8 May – Yitzhak Kanav, Russian -born Zionist activist and Israeli politician.
• 16 June – Jacob Talmon, Russian -born Israeli author and professor of modern history.
• 28 November – Nachum Gutman, Russian -born Israeli painter, sculptor and author.

  Major public holidays