Thousands sign petition to disregard Standard Time shift

Over 20,000 people endorse online petition calling citizens, institutions to disregard Standard Time, which will come into effect prior to Yom Kippur. Cutting short Daylight Saving Time increase chances of road accidents, costs economy huge amounts of money, petition's initiators say

Ronen Medzini|Published: 09.02.10 , 16:02

Over 20,000 people signed a petition to boycott Standard Time within three days. Daylight Saving Time (DST) will draw to a close in two weeks, ahead of Yom Kippur, and the clock will be moved back one hour.

An online petition is currently being circulated on the internet calling on the public to disregard the moving of the clock and continue operating on Daylight Saving Time until the end of October.

"Schools, businesses, public institutes, families and other bodies – please continue operating as if the clock has not been moved back," the petition read. According to the petition's initiators, Winter Time cuts short quality time spent by parents and their children, increases the chances for road accidents due to longer time spent driving in the dark and costs the Israeli economy hundreds of millions of shekels.

The protest is directed at a bill approved in 2005 which aims to provide relief for those fasting on Yom Kippur. "Even this pathetic excuse is completely warped since the fast lasts 25 hours in any case, and moving the clock only results in warmer hours for those fasting and praying," the petition noted.

"Disregard the moving of the clock and maybe finally our elected officials will realize they work for us and not the other way around."

Shifra Gordon, a Haifa resident who signed the petition, said that the effectiveness of the protest depends on the signatories' cooperation. "I'm not sure whether the people who signed it thought the actual consequences through." She admitted that she had not considered the practical aspect of the petition which she signed as an act of protest.

Each year, the Manufacturers' Association releases data on the damage caused to the economy by limiting Daylight Saving Time. The MAI nevertheless refused to state whether it supports or opposes the petition. "The association does not deal with matters pertaining to religion and state," a statement read.