Daylight-saving time, which ends Saturday, reduced the country’s electric bill by $7 million this summer, the minister of energy and infrastructure, Moshe Shahal, said Thursday.
Millions of dollars more were saved by industry during the 127 days of extended daylight, according to Shahal. He is campaigning to have the Knesset pass legislation lengthening daylight-saving time to 210 days.
If that is done, daylight-saving time will be in effect in Israel from the end of March to the end of September, which coincides roughly with daylight-saving time in America and Europe.
The only opponents to the measure are Orthodox Jews, who complain they would have to awaken at an ungodly hour to recite their Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers.
Israelis will revert to standard time at midnight Saturday.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
