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JewishHistoryעברית

Dolphinarium discotheque bombing

Date
1 June 2001Hebrew date: 10th of Sivan, 5761
Location
Dolphinarium discotheque, Tel AvivIsrael
Then part of
State of Israel
Perpetrators
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Terror organization)
  • Hamas (Terror organization)
Killed (estimate)
21[1]People killed, not counting the bomber. BBC's Al-Aqsa Intifada timeline gives 21 dead and more than 60 injured, and states that Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attack. Human Rights Watch, compiling press reports and Israeli MFA information, gives 21 killed and at least 120 injured, and notes that Islamic Jihad claimed first and Hamas later said it was responsible.
Country

0.00042% of the Jewish population of State of Israel (c. 2000)[23]

Worldwide

0.00015% of the worldwide Jewish population (c. 2000)[3]

Category
Terror attack
Confidence
High

Summary

On 1 June 2001 a suicide bomber attacked the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv, killing 21 people. BBC recorded more than 60 injured and attributed a claim of responsibility to Islamic Jihad. Human Rights Watch recorded at least 120 injured and stated that although Islamic Jihad claimed first, Hamas later said it was responsible.

Sources

  1. Al-Aqsa Intifada timeline. BBC News (2004)
  2. APPENDIX ONE: CHRONOLOGY OF ATTACKS. Human Rights Watch (2002)

Jewish population (estimates)

  • Worldwide: 13,575,000[3]c. 2000
  • State of Israel: 4,969,000[23]c. 2000DellaPergola's AJYB 2003 reconstruction (Table 2, after Bachi and related series) gives 4,969,000 Jews in Israel/Palestine west of the Jordan in 2000 (figures in thousands).

Sources for population estimates

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  10. Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein, Religious Norms, Human Capital, and Money Lending in Jewish European History. Handbook chapter PDF via zvi-eckstein.com
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  20. Sergio DellaPergola, World Jewish Population, 2024. American Jewish Year Book 2024, via Berman Jewish DataBank / Israel CBS host (2025)
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  54. Jacqueline Shields, Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries. Jewish Virtual Library
  55. Lebanon Virtual Jewish History Tour. Jewish Virtual Library
  56. Jewish Populations in the Arab World. Jewish Virtual Library (citing Sergio DellaPergola, World Jewish Population, 2021 / AJYB 2023)
  57. Algeria (Vital Statistics). Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)
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  64. All-Union 1959 census — ethnic composition of the USSR. Demoscope Weekly (РГАЭ РФ fond 1562)
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