Israel – Interior Minister Announces New 193-Day Daylight Saving Time Calendar

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    Minister of Internal Affairs Eli Yishai attends a press conference in Jerusalem. June 06, 2011. Interior Minister Eli Yishai is announced today that daylight-saving time be extended into October every year. Currently, daylight time ends on the Sunday before Yom Kippur, which falls on a date between mid-September and mid-October. Photo by Kobi Gideon / Flash90.Israel – Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced Monday that the special committee for a new “summer clock” has recommended to set Daylight Saving Time 193 days between the last weekend of March and October 1. The current system had summer time lasting 182 days between the end of Pessah and the weekend between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

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    If October 1 falls in the middle of Rosh Hashana, or on Shabbat, then the winter clock will begin a day prior.

    The debate over changing Israel Summer Time heated up in 2010 when the winter clock began very early on September 12 due to the drastic difference between the Hebrew and secular calendars.

    This meant that the Israel returned to the winter clock two months prior to the US and Europe.

    As for whether or not the new calendar will in fact save energy or prevent traffic accidents, Yishai said “there is no research that points neither here nor there.” Looking ahead, he added “this too will be checked.”

    Orthodox parties initiated the pre-Yom Kippur time change several years ago to encourage more Jews to observe the fast. Although the fast lasts 25 hours no matter what time it starts, an earlier sundown makes the fast feel less arduous.


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    6 Comments
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    Secular
    Secular
    12 years ago

    Eli Yishai has NO credibility as an interior minister. All he is concerned with is securing funds for his sector. He does what he thinks is beneficial for the Olam HaCharedi in general, and specifically to the sefardi (Shas voting) sector, the rest of the Medina be damned. This man has no formal education. Neither do most of the MK’s from Shas, yet the Israeli parlimentary system is so broken, that every one gets a shot at different ministerial positions in exchange for votes in a coalition, regardless of background skill or merit. What ever qualified Shlomo Benizri, to be health minister or Aryeh De’eri or Yair peretz to be anything but a ‘Hacker’ , ‘Askan’, ‘Macher’ type.

    It is even questionable if these men qualify as talmidei Chachamim. But as long as they walk the walk and talk the talk, they ‘represent’ Torah Jewry.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    12 years ago

    These heilege rabbonim/clock setters miss the point. The underlying concept of fasting on yom kippur is to create some stress and focus our attention exclusively on teshuva. Changin the clock so that the fasting would seem “less arduous” is an oxymoron. If thats the reason, why not simply asking the chazonim to eliminate some of the extended and over the top chazanus. That would shorten the time of davening and make the service “less arduous”.

    Godol-Hador
    Godol-Hador
    12 years ago

    Well said #1 !!!
    You hit it on the spot!!

    charliehall
    charliehall
    12 years ago

    The YK fast is 25 hours long no matter what the secular calendar says.

    Daylight savings time definitely saves energy in temperate climates. I am not so sure that is the case for hot dry climates — note that most of Arizona does not observe daylight savings time.