Jews and Israelis celebrated the new year Rosh Hashanah holiday last week, when families gathered and at sweet treats to shepherd in 5771. But, ten days later, Jews around the world fast for 25 hours to atone for their sins during the previous year and spend the day reflecting.
As it so happens, Yom Kippur also falls days after Israel returns to standard time from day light savings time, effectively moving the clock one hour earlier, so nightfall begins one hour earlier as well.
Israel’s clock change is well prior to time change in Europe and the United States, when it occurs in about one month and two months, respectively.
An editorial in Ha’aretz exemplifies the rational for time changes, to ensure more daylight on the roads when people get home from work and help families spend more time together during daylight hours.
But, Israel does it earlier for the psychological effects of fasting, where fasters can sleep laster into daylight. Ha’aretz writes:
Daylight saving time has many advantages, especially in a hot, sunny country like Israel. The economic advantage is seen in increased production and energy conservation because of better utilization of the daylight hours. Daylight saving time helps improve road safety, because it’s better to get home from work in the light than in the dark. Daylight time also benefits families, because parents have a better chance to spend quality time with their children.
All these benefits, however, made no impression on the ultra-Orthodox and religious Knesset members who waged a stubborn campaign to cut back on daylight saving time. Their reasoning was that they wanted to make fasting easier on Yom Kippur, but any relief would be psychological because the fast lasts 25 hours in any event.
Israel is a Jewish state, but this change in time has nothing to do with religious laws, and instead is aimed at helping the small ultra-orthodox population for one day while harming the lives of the entire population. Even though many secular Israelis also fast, the only public officials pressing for daylight savings time to begin this week are the ultra-orthodox. This is not an isolated incident. The ultra-orthodox have a firm grip on institutions, such as marriage, and control the Israeli education and welfare systems that they target to improve their own interests.
This daylight savings incident is one more example of how the religious hijack public policy in the name of God at the expense of Israel.
