Prime Minister of Israel – Menachem Begin (Likud)
President of Israel – Ephraim Katzir until 29 May, Yitzhak Navon
Chief of General Staff - Mordechai Gur until 16 April Rafael Eitan
Government of Israel - 18th Government of Israel
16 April – Rafael Eitan is appointed as the 11th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
19 April – The Israeli Knesset elects Yitzhak Navon as President of Israel by a vote of 86 in favour, with 23 members casting blank votes. There was no other candidate.
22 April – Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi".
29 May – Yitzhak Navon assumes office as the 5th president of the State of Israel.
17 September – The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt. The Accords lead directly to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
27 October – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin win the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
10 December – Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1978 include:
Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets
The most prominent Palestinian Arab terror attacks committed against Israelis during 1978 include:
11 March – Coastal Road Massacre: 11 Fatah members led by the 18-year-old female Dalal Mughrabi traveled from Lebanon to Israel, killed several tourists and hijack a bus on the coastal road near Haifa. After a lengthy chase and shootout, 37 Israelis were killed and 76 wounded.
Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets
The most prominent Israeli military counter-terrorism operations (military campaigns and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 1978 include:
14 March – Operation Litani: a large-scale invasion of IDF forces to South Lebanon aimed at expelling the PLO forces from the territory. The operation was successful for the Israeli Defense Forces, as PLO forces were eventually pushed north of the Litani river.
The founding of the moshav Aniam.
The founding of the West Bank city Ariel.
The founding of the moshav Avnei Eitan.
The founding of the kibbutz Ortal.
The founding of the communal settlement Sapir.
20 September – Sarit Hadad, Israeli singer.
1 February – Yizhar Harari (born 1908), a Zionist activist and Israeli politician.
28 February – Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin (born 1888) Russian (Belarus)-born Orthodox rabbi, founded the Encyclopedia Talmudit.
23 March – Haim Ernst Wertheimer (born 1893), German-born Israeli biochemist.
8 October – Eliyahu Sasson (born 1902), Syrian-born Israeli politician and minister.
8 December – Golda Meir (born 1898), Russian (Ukraine)-born and American-raised Israeli politician. Fourth Prime Minister of Israel.
