Olim (immigrants) to Israel from Western countries often experience a culture-shock when faced with a foreshortened weekend lasting only from Friday lunchtime until Sunday morning. Sunday is a normal working day here, however this may change sometime soon. Although an increasing number of Israelis do have the whole of Friday off, it remains officially a working half-day with schools, banks and places of business open in the mornings. Then there is the frenetic rush to shop and prepare for the Sabbath, especially in the winter months when it can come in as early as 4pm.
For the observant, Shabbat (Sabbath) is taken up with synagogue services and long family meals leaving little time for (those permitted) leisure activities. For example, gardening, DIY and trips out are a no-no. For the non-car owning secular population, there is no public transport (Haifa excepted) so they are reliant on taxis or sherutim (an amalgam of bus and taxi services). Additionally many places of entertainment are closed.
Silvan Shalom of the Likud party has proposed that Israel follow the Western World and have Sunday as a non-working day. He cites, among other reasons, the fact that Tel Aviv Stock Exchange only trades with other world markets Monday to Thursday as it is shut on Friday while the others are closed on Sunday. He proposes an extra half-hour on the working day to partly compensate. Two Likud MKs have now introduced such a bill into the Knesset which they feel would benefit the economy and discourage Shabbat desecration by providing a secular day for leisure activities. The Histadrut, Chambers of Commerce, the Manufacturers’ Association and the Hoteliers’ Association are all in favour but there is also opposition.
However as the old saw has it, when in doubt form a committee so a panel, chaired by the head of the National Economic Council, has been formed to look into the matter and developments are awaited. Similar bills have failed in times past but today Israel is a strong and prosperous country. Its healthy economy created by energetic and innovative entrepreneurs and the hard-working population who have driven this nation from the Third to the First World in the span of a human lifetime. I think they deserve their two-day weekend.
