Israel Daylight Saving Time Change Starts Religion-State Debate

By Michele Chabin
Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS) The Israeli government's decision to end daylight saving time more than a month early in order to ease the upcoming Yom Kippur fast has set off an angry debate on religion-state issues.

Changing back to standard time on the Sunday before Yom Kippur has been enshrined in Israeli law for several years, but the earlier-than-normal September start to the High Holy days--when Israelis are still enjoying summer-like weather--highlighted the switch.

The Israeli changed kicked in Sunday (Sept. 12) night; the U.S. won't switch until eight weeks later on Sunday, Nov. 7.

Although Israel always ends daylight savings time earlier than most European countries, this year's gap of nearly seven weeks set off an on-line protest petition that attracted 230,000 signatures.

A member of the left-wing Meretz Party introduced a bill to annually end daylight saving time at the end of October, but acknowledged that it cannot be passed before Yom Kippur, which begins Friday night (Sept. 17) at sundown.

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

Nechemia Strasler, a columnist for Ha'aretz, a newspaper known for its left-wing political and religious views, two weeks ago summed up what many Israelis regards as religious coercion.

"Never mind that you think it's still hot. In two weeks, winter will arrive," Strasler wrote. "In that, Israel is unique. Only here can a minority community of observant Jews bend the will of the majority and turn the height of summer into winter, at least officially. The sun refuses to obey."

Bemoaning the waste of energy necessitated by the switch-over, and the expected increase in traffic accidents due to the darkness, Strasler asked why Jews in the Diaspora can make do with fasting during daylight time and Israelis cannot.

"Only in Israel do the religious party hacks comfortably ride the secular donkey and do with it as they will," Strasler wrote.

Though not thrilled by the early arrival of sunset on warm sunny days, ultra-Orthodox Jews have stood behind their rabbis and elected officials.

"It's not ideal," said a fervently religious woman pushing a double stroller down a busy Jerusalem street, four other children in tow, "but there is more than one way to bring light to the Jewish people."

Comments

[yavuz]

08:54 PM on 09/15/2010

come on now, is this even news? among all the jewish sharia regulations in Israeli society and the intermingling of state and synagogue, is this what you found?

i would be more interested in an article comparing israel and, say, iran regarding the role of fundamentalism in politics and state.

[CessnaDriver]

12:30 PM on 09/15/2010

In Israel, it's OK to carry American money into a restroom, but if you take it out of your pocket it's a crime under religious law.

Not kidding.

Its because of the "In God We Trust" printed/impressed in American money.

[rationaljimmy]

10:12 AM on 09/15/2010

The whole idea of establishing a country specifically for a religion is one of the saddest, most destructive events in modern life. It can only lead to irrational decisions, turmoil, and strife. The hands on the clock are turning backward, daylight savings or not.

[duvster]

03:14 PM on 09/15/2010

teapartiers take note

[tomteboda]

02:11 PM on 09/17/2010

Don't know if you missed the whole point of the tea party movement, but its about economics and liberty, not religion.

[Donns]

08:40 AM on 09/15/2010

Play with the clock all you want but there is still only 24 hours in a day, the earth rotates at a given speed and the day's length (daylight hours) are governed by that. What is the point of all this?

[Talossa]

12:16 AM on 09/15/2010

My dad went to college in Indiana. I remember him telling me the farmers there opposed Daylight Savings Time because it meant the crops would get an hour less sunshine per day.

[CessnaDriver]

12:32 PM on 09/15/2010

I wish you were kidding, but I know you're not.

In Arizona DST as well as fluoridation of water is still considered to be a communist plot.

[Anbreen]

01:17 PM on 09/16/2010

Indiana also let each county decide on EST vs DST, for awhile. Whatta mess!

[curiousdwk]

09:41 PM on 09/14/2010

Another prime example of the need for Secularism - not getting rid of religion, but rather seeing to it that religion doesn't play any part of any legislature. "What a wonderful world this would be." Again, who needs religion? and what good is religion?

[Cali Saracen]

09:18 PM on 09/14/2010

oye....... theocracies

[TheLonelyGod]

07:00 PM on 09/14/2010

I don't see how Israel can change their time before the rest of the world. Isn't that going to mess them up?

Regardless, I think there is better things for them to be arguing about over there.

[Talossa]

12:18 AM on 09/15/2010

I'm sure it's all a diabolical plot so that the Israelis can wake up an hour before all their neighbors, in order to carry out their nefarious, aggressive schemes before anybody else wakes up. Oh, those clever Zionists. ;-)

[Donns]

08:41 AM on 09/15/2010

Don't worry if it causes them any problems they will just send a bill to the USA - and we will pay it.

[Downtown]

04:47 PM on 09/14/2010

Aw, this'll all be moot soon anyway, once they finish that big clock in Mecca and everyone's on Mecca Standard Time, right? ;)

[CessnaDriver]

12:34 PM on 09/15/2010

The world is already on one time zone standard, Zulu Time (formerly GMT).

[mc]

03:20 PM on 09/14/2010

I thought it was "sundown" that counted--not the hour.

[billstewart]

01:07 PM on 09/14/2010

Daylight Savings Time is a bad idea anyway - if you want to get up earlier in the morning to enjoy daylight, then get up earlier, don't go changing the clocks to pretend you still got to sleep late. If you want to go to work earlier, go to work earlier. It doesn't actually save energy (we saw this in Indiana when the reshuffled time zones recently.)

[Talossa]

12:19 AM on 09/15/2010

I'm not sure why a country as far south as Israel needs Daylight Savings Time in the first place.

[CessnaDriver]

12:44 PM on 09/15/2010

It's not as far south as most people perceive-Tel Aviv is at 32 north, about the latitude of the California/Baja California border.

[tomteboda]

02:12 PM on 09/17/2010

I've never gotten the point, myself. It seems a great hoax perpetuated upon us.

[Tree201]

12:42 PM on 09/14/2010

Maybe the Orthodox need to be more concerned that they can't handle a day-long fast.

[gsharon]

11:32 AM on 09/16/2010

25 hours is 25 hours. They are changing it to change the perception of when the fast is over. If the sun sets at 5:00 rather than 6:00, it just seems like you're not fasting as long. Especially since most non-orthodox Jews don't start fasting until after dinner (whenever that ends) anyways.

[Tree201]

12:14 PM on 09/16/2010

Good point! But I still take issue with a minority changing time to suit their needs. Then again, as far as I'm concerned, we should all get rid of the daylight savings "thing."

[MARYHOBE]

12:17 PM on 09/14/2010

Things have really changed since Zionism was started by a secular Jewish movement over 100 years ago. And as students of history know, the orthodox Religious factions were much opposed to this nationalist enterprise.

[Anbreen]

01:20 PM on 09/16/2010

And NOW, the Orthodox are taking it OVER.

[nanjemoy]

11:20 AM on 09/14/2010

Religion: more than five thousand years, and still making no sense.

[CessnaDriver]

12:45 PM on 09/15/2010

What kills me is people with strong religious beliefs who are birfers or deny the moon landings occurred.

[YellowDay]

10:36 AM on 09/14/2010

This is happening in the U.S. too.
Jew!sh population in the U.S. is only 2%.
Yet sports games are being changed to accommodate this 2%.
Why should the rest of us be forced to accommodate only 2% of the population?
Same way all U.S. citizens are forced to provide foreign welfare aid to a "Jew!sh State" when we can even own property there unless we are Jew!sh.

Religion and State shouldn't be mixed!!

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/04/new_york_jets_contact_nfl_over.html

[pdferguson]

01:17 PM on 09/15/2010

Or go look at a new stove, chances are it will have a "Sabbath Mode" feature to accommodate a tiny number of religious knuckle draggers. And yet, we all have to bear the associated development and manufacturing costs.

[gsharon]

11:33 AM on 09/16/2010

how exactly does a sabbath mode feature negatively affect your life?

[gsharon]

11:33 AM on 09/16/2010

ummm, there are quite a few non jewish people in israel that own land.