| Ministerial committee approves 6 Sundays off per year |
Proposed bill by Kulanu MK Eli Cohen would give Israelis six long weekends per year • School vacations would be shortened to coordinate between parents' and children's days off • Cohen: Move aims to balance work and family, boost commerce and tourism.
Yair Altman and Hezi Sternlicht
Kulanu MK Eli Cohen
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Photo credit: Dudi Vaaknin |
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a bill giving Israelis six long weekends per year to improve the balance between family life and work.
The bill, proposed by Kulanu MK Eli Cohen, would give workers and schoolchildren six Sundays off per year, creating long weekends. Sunday is the first day of the Israeli work and school week, and while many employees and some schools work Sundays to Thursdays, many others work six days per week. To avoid reducing the number of school days and to coordinate between students and parents, the school summer vacation will be shortened by two days and the Passover and Hanukkah vacations will be shortened by four days.
Once it passes all readings, the bill is scheduled to take effect in January 2017.
Israel's per hour work productivity is considered one of the lowest in the world, with the Israeli employee working an average of 43 hours a week, three hours more than the OECD average of 40 hours.
The bill is based on the premise that more leisure time with the family will boost other important sectors in Israeli economy and will prompt growth in fields such as tourism, commerce, culture and leisure. Furthermore, studies have shown that reducing work hours actually increases productivity.
The bill has garnered broad support from coalition lawmakers and a ministerial team will be assembled to examine how to implement the law.
"The move is meant to minimize workers' burnout, increase the balance between work and family, improve the workers' quality of life and improve other sectors, such as commerce and tourism," Cohen said.
Shahar Turgeman, CEO of Daka 90 travel website and head of the "Parents for Coordinated Vacations with their Children" protest, welcomed the move, saying, "This is the first step that signals the beginning of reducing the gap between parents' [vacation days] and children's vacation days from school.
"Our goal is to alleviate the heavy load of 62 [school] vacation days parents have been carrying on their shoulders, compared to an average of 38 in the OECD countries. The quality of life of the Israeli family is just as important as other issues."
So if you were wondering when the Bank Holidays were in Zion in 2017 *( excluding your 14) days leave + 2 days medical leave without a certificate... here they are . All the Jewish Holidays in Israel in 2017 .
Holidays in Israel in 2017
The last 7 days of 2016 are the 1st 7 of Hannuakah ... the festival of lights ....
| Date | Weekday | Holiday name | Holiday type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Sunday | Hanukkah VIII (8th day of Hannukkah) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Jan 8 | Sunday | Asarah B'Tevet | Observance, Hebrew |
| Feb 11 | Saturday | Tu Bishvat | Observance, Hebrew |
| Mar 9 | Thursday | Ta'anit Esther (Fast of Esther) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Mar 12 | Sunday | Purim (Tel Aviv) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Mar 13 | Monday | Shushan Purim (Jerusalem) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Mar 20 | Monday | March equinox | Season |
| Apr 11 | Tuesday | Pesach I (First day of Passover) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Apr 12 | Wednesday | Pesach II (Passover) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Apr 13 | Thursday | Pesach III (Passover) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Apr 14 | Friday | Pesach IV (Passover) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Apr 15 | Saturday | Pesach V (Passover) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Apr 16 | Sunday | Pesach VI (Passover) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Apr 17 | Monday | Pesach VII (Last day of Passover) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Apr 24 | Monday | Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Memorial Day | Observance, Hebrew |
| May 1 | Monday | Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) | Observance, Hebrew |
| May 2 | Tuesday | Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| May 14 | Sunday | Lag B'Omer | Observance, Hebrew |
| May 24 | Wednesday | Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| May 31 | Wednesday | Shavuot (Pentecost) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Jun 21 | Wednesday | June Solstice | Season |
| Jul 11 | Tuesday | Fast of Shiva Asar B'Tammuz | Observance, Hebrew |
| Aug 1 | Tuesday | Tisha B'Av | Observance, Hebrew |
| Sep 21 | Thursday | Rosh Hashana (New Year) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Sep 22 | Friday | September equinox | Season |
| Sep 22 | Friday | Rosh Hashana II (New Year day 2) | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Sep 24 | Sunday | Tzom Gedaliah | Observance, Hebrew |
| Sep 30 | Saturday | Yom Kippur | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Oct 5 | Thursday | Sukkot I | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Oct 6 | Friday | Sukkot II | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 7 | Saturday | Sukkot III | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 8 | Sunday | Sukkot IV | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 9 | Monday | Sukkot V | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 10 | Tuesday | Sukkot VI | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 11 | Wednesday | Sukkot VII/Hoshanah Rabah | Observance, Hebrew |
| Oct 12 | Thursday | Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah | National holiday, Hebrew |
| Oct 27 | Friday | Yom HaAliyah | National holiday |
| Dec 13 | Wednesday | Hanukkah I (Holiday of lights) | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 14 | Thursday | Hanukkah II | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 15 | Friday | Hanukkah III | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 16 | Saturday | Hanukkah IV | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 17 | Sunday | Hanukkah V | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 18 | Monday | Hanukkah VI/Rosh Chodesh Tevet | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 19 | Tuesday | Hanukkah VII | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 20 | Wednesday | Hanukkah VIII | Observance, Hebrew |
| Dec 21 | Thursday | December Solstice | Season |
| Dec 28 | Thursday | Asarah B'Tevet | Observance, Hebrew |
