Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time starts on Friday morning
Make sure to set your clocks—on the night between Thursday and Friday, clocks will jump from 2am to 3am; change will allow Israelis to enjoy another hour of daylight until winter time returns in October; Interior Minister Deri: 'Change to improve economy, save energy.'
Daylight Saving Time (DST) will go into effect early Friday morning, March 23, when Israelis will move their clocks forward from 2am to 3am and the country's winter time
will end after 145 days. DST will last through October.
Israelis will thus be losing an hour's sleep on the transition, but gaining an hour of daylight in the coming months. Winter time will return Saturday night, October 28, 2018.
Daylight Saving Time is instituted by law in Israel starting the Friday before the last Sunday in March and lasting until the last Sunday in October on 2am.
Don't forget to turn your clocks Friday! (Photo: Shutterstock)
In 2013, after years of disagreements between religious and secular Israelis and a prolonged public outcry as backdrop, a law extending DST was enacted. According to Energy Ministry data, the law has saved more than NIS 200 million in energy consumption costs since.
Winter time, on the other hand, allows observant Jews to pray the morning prayer in daytime, with sunrise fixing on a time no later than 6:30am, in an effort to facilitate prayer for early birds.
Interior Minister Deri said DST will improve the economy and save energy (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
There is, moreover, a claim that DST increases Shabbat desecration, since Shabbat in midsummer ends after 8pm, while public transportation and other services resume operation before that time.
Regardless, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said, "Spring is here and Daylight Saving Time will commence this week. We'll all enjoy another hour of daylight that will assist the economy, bring about significant energy savings and generally improve the public's life."
