It is now official, Israel’s extended daylight savings time. The Knesset on Monday, Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av 5773 passed the bill to extend DST until the end of October in its second and third readings, making it law.
As such, daylight savings time will begin annually on Friday morning at 02:00 on the last Friday before the last Sunday in March. It will end on the last Sunday night in October at 02:00.
Chareidi MKs expressed displeasure, citing the hardships for frum workers who must daven before arriving at work. In addition, MK Moshe Gafne accused Finance Minister Yair Lapid of a lack of understanding – explaining as a result of the prolonged DST, the state will lose income, workers will be fired and the additional weeks of daylight savings time will prove to be a mistake.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
I used to think it was so beautiful – the way E”Y would go back to ST before Yom Kippur, so people wouldn’t have to fast so long. And they would start DST again after Pesach, so the Seder would end earlier. But Idiot Lapid just has to be like all the other countries; his own people be damned!
Although it is nice to finish Yom Kippur in the 6 o’clock time frame and starting the seder earlier, it does create scheduling issues with the rest of the world when we would still be in standard time for approximately 2 – 3 months a year extra. The davening issue is a non starter as a quick check of the zmanim shows that there is only a 15 minute difference in earliest talis / tefillin at the end of October in daylight savings time versus the first week in January in standard time.
#1, I completely agree with you. But beware, there will be commentators who will argue that it is the same 24 HR day. I’m just confused by those who believe that the 25 hours of Shabbos with young children in December feels the same as a Shabbos in June.
The Minister of the Interior appointed a committee of 10 to study the issue, no frum people, no Arabs, who certainly together make up more than 10% of the population. I remember when summer time first started in Eretz Yisroel in 84 people were saying that it gave a large olam the zechus of Kriyas Shema b’zman. Maybe similar issues are why Hashem is letting it happen now, it couldn’t happen without His consent.
I’m confused. I thought Chareidim don’t work. Why do they have to get up early? Why are the Chareidi MK’s upset if their people don’t work anyway?