Interior Minister (Likud) Gideon Saar announced on Wednesday, 20 Sivan 5773 that he has accepted recommendations to extend daylight savings time until the end of October. Until the decision, the summer clock ended at the beginning of October. The minister stated he will present it to the cabinet and Knesset for final approval.
Speaking with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) he stated that if approved, DST will be 211 days as is the case throughout the European Union. He feels that in addition to saving money on energy, the move significantly improves life by providing additional daylight hours. Saar added that the longer days result in fewer road accidents, so in his view, it is an all-around bonus for Israel, which now has one of the shortest DST periods.
Saar added that he feels the move benefits everyone, including chareidim, traditional and other Jews and non-Jews alike.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
Daylight savings time benefits everyone who is rushed on Friday afternoon (people with jobs who work Friday, people travelling to visit someone out of town). It can make life harder for the early minyanim in the morning (and delights those who prefer late minyanim in the morning). If you are really frum, it doesn’t affect fasting since we perceive halachic times, but the non-frum who fast on Yom Kippur complain since they are clock watchers.
These constant changes are costly as computer systems have to be updated. Can’t they just decide on a system and stick with it?
Just another way the tzioynim are out to get the frum. Making people wait an extra hour each evening to daven maariv…it never ends.
If you are REALLY frum, #1? Like you? First, a person who is REALLY frum doesn’t sit on the internet all day. Second, I get extremely sick on a fast day. Of course, Yom Kippur will be 25 hours long no matter what time it starts or ends. But it would definitely be easier for me if it ended an hour earlier. Yes, I am a clock watcher. That makes me not really frum, as per your assessment. Ah! But you knew that already from all my other Zionist posts.
The financial benefits are many, go for it!
To No. 3
Are you joking or are you truly paranoid? Every other industrialized society in the world has been operating on this schedule for years and the benefits to the economy of EY have been documented. Do you really think anyone cares if you daven maariv an hour later?? Its still a 24 hour day and you get an extra hour’s sleep in the morning unless you daven vasikim.
akuperma…. boy o boy…. I should sit next to you on Yom Kippur. I must not be really frum then, because I (and almost everyone in my yeshiva) looks at the clock to calculate the pace of davening and the conclusion of the yomtov. I use the secular clock on the wall and not halachic times used during the Beis Hamikdash. Let me put it this way, in my opinion. It is difficult to start late shabbosim and end Shabbos late during the summer. Mariv is so late, that we can’t prepare a minyan for the senior citizen home I work with. Tishabav is a truly important day on the calendar but I won’t deny it that it is a difficult and long day whether we use the “secular” clock or “frum” zmanim clock.
Study shows Daylight Saving Time bad for health
A number of studies indicate that springing ahead to Daylight Saving Time (DST) may be hazardous to your health. Although the one-hour time change may seem minor, when it comes to your body’s internal clock, it actually is a big deal.
The latest study suggests turning your clock ahead for DST may set the stage for a small increased risk of heart attack the following day.1
The findings were published in the March 2013 edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.
http://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(12)02443-5/abstract
For more on the subject see:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/07/dst-change-increases-heart-attack.aspx?e_cid=20130307_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130307#_edn2
Yom kippur always seems harder when it ends later. True- it’s the Same 25 hours- but psychologically it seems to really begin only when you wake up.