Israel's Haredi-Secular Culture Clash Played Out – On The Hands Of A Clock

Israel moves its clocks back by an hour tonight, putting the country on its winter clock more than a month ahead of Europe and the U.S. and adding to the rising anger that many Israelis feel toward the haredi minority that is forcing the change.

In Israel, time change unleashes culture clash

JERUSALEM (AP) — The forecast for Israel on Sunday: balmy late-summer temperatures, uncomfortable humidity along the Mediterranean coast and ... darkness at 6 p.m.?

Israel moves its clocks back by an hour overnight, putting the country on its winter clock more than a month ahead of Europe and the U.S. and adding to the rising anger that many mainstream Israelis feel toward an ultra-Orthodox minority.

Many Israelis believe the time change, meant to make it easier to fast on the upcoming Yom Kippur holy day, unnecessarily disrupts life and costs the economy millions of dollars. They say the early onset of darkness raises electricity costs, causes more car accidents and gives children less time to play after school.

While the custom has long bred resentment, the premature arrival of winter hours comes at an especially sensitive time, given the rising backlash against what is widely seen as religious coercion by ultra-Orthodox leaders.

"It's ridiculous. It's just a power play by the ultra-Orthodox to show who's in charge. There is no reason for it being this early," said Raanan Lidji, a 34-year-old high-tech worker from Tel Aviv.

The move to winter time ahead of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and holiest date on the Jewish calendar, has been standard practice for decades and enshrined in law since 2005.

Yom Kippur, which begins on Tuesday evening, is marked by a sundown-to-sundown fast. Orthodox religious parties, which have always held key swing votes in Israel's political system, are behind the time change, wanting to decrease the number of waking hours for those fasting.

Although the length of the fast doesn't change, the sun sets an hour earlier with the winter clock, shortening the more difficult end of the fast. In a similar custom, neighboring Muslim countries sometimes adjust their clocks, even in the middle of summer, during Ramadan to make the monthlong fasting period easier to manage. But the clocks are returned to summer time after Ramadan ends.

In Israel, the seemingly premature clock change elicits complaints every year from secular and modern Orthodox Israelis, who make up some 90 percent of Israel's Jewish population. But this year, the anger has been heightened by a variety of factors.

Yom Kippur, which falls on a different date each year based on the Jewish calendar, arrives relatively early this year, making the change all the more noticeable.

It also comes against the backdrop of rising tensions between the secular masses and the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox minority. Much of the anger is being directed at Interior Minister Eli Yishai, whose ultra-Orthodox Shas Party has played a key role in shaping the law.

Yishai has resisted repeated calls to push back the change. In 2010, when it came even earlier in September, nearly 400,000 people signed a petition urging him to change the system.

Following the outcry, Yishai appointed a committee to study the matter. But its recommendation that the summer clock remain in effect until early October was never implemented.

"He simply wants to build up the special form of regime to be found in Israel — a religious 'minocracy,' Not a democracy that represents the majority and takes the minority into account, but rather a minority that controls the majority and does not care a damn about it," wrote Nehemia Shtrasler, an economics affairs columnist at the Haaretz daily.

A spokesman from the Shas party did not immediately return messages seeking comment. A spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also had no immediate comment.

Ultra-Orthodox parties such as Shas, while representing less than 10 percent of the general population, have long served as kingmakers in Israel's fragmented political system.

With this power, rabbinical authorities control the rules for marriages, divorces and burials, and ultra-Orthodox males have long received exemptions from compulsory military service in order to pursue religious studies.

Ultra-Orthodox men often continue their studies well into adulthood, living off welfare subsidies as their secular counterparts work and pay taxes.

The draft exemptions and study subsidies have become a central issue in Israeli politics. Early this year, the Supreme Court ruled the exemptions illegal and ordered the government to change the law.

But attempts in parliament to reform the nation's draft law deadlocked, causing one of Netanyahu's coalition partners to quit, and the government missed a deadline to draw up new legislation. With religious leaders saying they will resist any change to the old arrangement, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is currently struggling to figure out a new draft system.

Adding to the tensions, extremist sects within the ultra-Orthodox community have come under fire in recent months for attempts to ban the mixing of sexes on buses, sidewalks and other public spaces. In Jerusalem, advertisements depicting women have been removed from billboards and buses because of fears that extremists will vandalize them.

These attempts at coercion have fueled a brewing cultural clash between two Israels. On one hand, the country continues to be a high-tech powerhouse with liberal values that have turned Tel Aviv into a gay mecca. On the other hand, the ultra-Orthodox, with their high birthrates, have grown increasingly outspoken and assertive.

With Netanyahu expected to call early parliamentary elections in the coming months, the country's opposition is likely to use the controversies over the draft and religious coercion against him.

"Israel is proving once again that it is living in the dark," said Ronit Tirosh, a lawmaker from the opposition Kadima Party.

Comments

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

No news here. Let's see what's on VIN.

[Steven]

START SHACHRIT ONE HOUR LATER AND THEN IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME AS DAYLIGHT SAVING.

Baba, get lost.

[Steven]

I meant to say START SHACHRIT ONE HOUR LATER AND THEN IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME AS NON-DAYLIGHT SAVING.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Why not set the clocks ahead an hour on Yom Kippur, thus shortening the fast by one hour? Or make it 2 hours, or 23.

[IseeTheLight]

Many Israelis believe the time change, meant to make it easier to fast on the upcoming Yom Kippur holy day, unnecessarily disrupts life and costs the economy millions of dollars. They say the early onset of darkness raises electricity costs, causes more car accidents and gives children less time to play after school.

Good point, they should abolish this nonsense of moving the clock in the winter. It is foolish to shorted the winter day increasing energy costs when energy is so expensive. We are daytime creatures, not night dwellers so we should always maximize the number of hours of daylight.

[Expatriate Owl]

Why not go back to sundials?

[Rocky]

Back in 1973, I recall that the US stayed on daylight savings time all through the 1973-74 fall and winter seasons. Many youngsters were going to school in the dark. It was supposed to save fuel during the Arab oil embargo but a lot of people didn't like it.

Playing with daylight savings time is the least of Israel's worries. I recently read that 25% of this year's Jewish grade 1 class in Israel is Haredi. In 25 years or so, many of them will be on welfare, if there is still an Israel. The Jewish grade 1 class that year will be ? Don't ask.

[D]

Everybody can head to the bars an hour earlier, the extra business/income should take away from the ailing economic pressures and balance things out.

[flailed]

i don't get it. they don't work. the kids won't be in school. let em setheir clocks to whatever they want. why does thentire country hafta go along with it? whoops there's my alarm. fasts over. pizza time.

[Garnel Ironheart]

Actually this is an improvement. They used to insist that the clocks change on the first day of Selichos because many UO's fast from the Sunday before RH to erev RH and during the 10 days as well as YK. If they're only changing now that's progress!
In the mid 80's secular Israelis figured out a way to deal with this problem - they simply ignored the change en masse. The main TV network, the banks and many major companies refused to change their clocks and eventually the government followed. Why not try this again?

[dh]

Doesn't it defeat the purpose?

[amrilusaguy]

Most of the world does not have summer time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_time
even those that do if they dont use their air conditioners may save 4 dollars during summer time.
It is time to understand that the argument is useless and unimportant - summer time itself needs to be abolished.

[Eli, what me messiah?]

kosher glasses, kosher diapers, kosher graves...
And now kosher clocks!

It was just a question of time.

[David]

Why do the frumma need to follow the time standard of the Israelis anyway?

They can make up their own time and to Hell with them!

[David]

It is utterly insane that Israel is on a different time to European countries in the same time zone.

Frumma take note: Israel needs to conduct business (made easier with matching time zones) so people can earn money to pay taxes to pay for your disgusting, parasitic, anti-Torah lifestyle.

[David]

Re my post above - I should have said "the same or similar" time zones.

[Rochel]

It will really be noticeable next year when Yom Kippur is Sept. 13/14.

[Barry]

NYC abandons DST when sunrise would be later than 7.30. If Israel followed that practice than only December to February would be standard time. As the latest time for sunrise would be 7.45 than it would make more sense just to start schools and offices 15 minutes later in these months.

London and Berlin are still on DST in late October when their sunrises are later than that of the shortest day in Israel in mid- winter! At Israel's latitude it should be on DST throughout the year especially as its solar mid day of DST is 12.30 and not 1 pm as in New York or London.

It is absolute madness to give up evening peak travel time sunlight when morning peak travel time sunlight is not effected. It will only result in more traffic accidents and death.

However as Rabbi Willy Handler of Neturei Karta reminds us, only a Judenrat seek to deprive Chevra Kaddisha of business

[I can't think of a name yet]

90% of Israeli Jews observe Yom Kippur. This is a very loud minority protesting.

[put a square into a hole]

to barry

I heard that the netura karta changet their clocks back in honor of ramaden. They fast for 40 days in stead of saying selichos for 40 days.

TBTW it might be true that 90% of israelies are nor frum however almost all DO infact fast on Yom Kippur

[Jeff]

90% of Israeli Jews observe Yom Kippur. This is a very loud minority protesting.

Oh, Jesus Christ! NO ONE is saying they shouldn't observe Yom Kippur; however, the vast majority of Israelis apparently don't think the clocks should be set back so you can dive into your cholent an hour earlier.

Is there a yeshiva grad anywhere who is able to comprehend a few simple English sentences?

[seymour]

what the rebbies are trying to make religious live easier that is a first

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

Actually DST makes it easy to be home on Friday before Shabbos. Many observant Jews work for companies where it is not so easy to leave on Friday afternoon, DST makes it easy by leaving work at 3:00pm for instance rather than leaving at 2:00pm

[Barry]

The rebbies are not making religious life easier. Most people who fast would prefer a longer break in the middle of the day even if that means the fast ending later then have a short break or even no break at all in a ten hour plus service.

Its the ten hours in synagogue that is the hard part, not the fast. As fasts both Tisha b'av and 17th Tammuz are harder.

[Pagan]

Forgive my ignorance, but I simply do not understand this story. When I used to fast during Ramadan (long story, don't ask) the fast began at physical sunrise and ended at physical sunset.

It made no difference what artificial timekeepers were around: mechanical clocks, clepsydra, candles, talking parrots: the fast was timed by the clock God had put in the sky for that purpose [Genesis i:14-15]

So why is it not the same for Yom Kippur?

[maven]

It used to bring in a lot of tourism from Europe, where YK can often end very late.