Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jul. 01, 2017
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 761,030	$ 643,164	$ 1,477,825	$ 1,247,965
Costs of products sold	533,792	469,327	1,045,287	912,379
Gross profit	227,238	173,837	432,538	335,586
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	103,945	88,351	205,183	181,053
Restructuring and severance costs	0	481	0	1,950
Operating income	123,293	85,005	227,355	152,583
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(8,372)	(7,076)	(16,049)	(13,866)
Other components of net periodic pension cost	(3,450)	(2,969)	(6,969)	(5,859)
Other	3,397	749	2,550	353
Gain on early extinguishment of debt	(17,309)	0	(17,309)	0
Loss on disposal of equity affiliate			0	(7,060)
Nonoperating Income (Expense), Total	(25,734)	(9,296)	(37,777)	(26,432)
Income before taxes	97,559	75,709	189,578	126,151
Income tax expense	(5,703)	19,300	23,771	32,793
Net earnings	103,262	56,409	165,807	93,358
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	165	219	344	449
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 103,097	$ 56,190	$ 165,463	$ 92,909
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.71	$ 0.38	$ 1.15	$ 0.63
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 0.65	$ 0.36	$ 1.04	$ 0.60
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic	144,382	146,381	144,355	146,328
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted	157,657	155,300	158,580	155,088
Cash dividends per share	$ 0.0850	$ 0.0625	$ 0.1525	$ 0.1250