In Israel, Navy Day (יום חיל הים) is celebrated on

June 30 Events Pre-1600 * 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy. * 763 – The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus. * 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Mil ...

. At this time in 1948 the Port of

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

was captured by Israel during the 1947–1949 War of Independence/Palestine War. Traditionally, Navy Day is preceded by Memorial Evening. In 1993 Admiral

Ami Ayalon Amichai "Ami" Ayalon (, born 27 June 1945) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of the Navy. He came in second to ...

decided to hold the

Israel Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national milit ...

day in the last week of October, commemorating victories in several wars: * The sinking of the Egyptian Navy flagship '' El Amir Farouq'' on 22 October 1948. * Capture of the Egyptian frigate '' Ibrahim el Awal'' on 31 October 1956. * The overwhelming successful actions of the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, 6–24 October 1973. Memorial Evening was rescheduled as well, marking the loss of destroyer INS ''Eilat'' on 21/10/1967. As of 2009 the celebrations have been elongated for a week, which for practical reasons, are held each year in August.

References

{{Israel-stub National holidays Public holidays in Israel June observances Summer in Israel

See also

References