- Israel Standard Time
Israel Standard Time (IST, he|שעון ישראל "sha'on isra'el") is the standard
time zone inIsrael . It is two hours ahead ofUTC (UTC+2).The difference from UTC is the same as
Eastern European Time , during most of the year, but since the Israeli daylight saving time period ends earlier in autumn, the Israeli time is identical toCentral European Time for between 2 and 7 weeks during these months.Also, because Israel switch to summer time on Friday, rather than Sunday as most other countries do, the change of time in spring occurs either 2 days before or 5 days after the switch to summer time in Europe.Israel observes
daylight saving time , locally called "Israel Summer Time" (he|שעון קיץ "sh'on kayits", sometimes abbreviated in English as "IDT"). TheIsraeli Daylight Saving Law specifies when it starts and ends.According to the 2005 rule, at the last Friday before
April 2 , at 02:00, time is shifted one hour towards 03:00. At the last Sunday before 10th ofTishrei (the Jewish holiday ofYom Kippur ), at 02:00, time switches back to 01:00. The earliest date for switching to DST is26 March while the latest is1 April . The earliest date for switching back to standard time is8 September while the latest is13 October . The total number of days varies between 163 and 198, 180 days in average.Before this rule was enacted, the minister of the interior had the authority to decide on the start and end dates of Israel Summer Time. The length of summer time depended largely on the political affiliation of the minister in charge. Religious ministers often opted for an earlier switch back to standard time in autumn, claiming that summer time causes hardship for religious observers at this time of year.
DST dates in the next few years
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.