The Time Zone of Israel: Understanding GMT and Israeli Summer Time

When it comes to understanding the time zone of Israel, there are several important factors to consider. One crucial aspect is the country's history with time zones, which dates back to the period of the British Mandate.

In 1940, the Palestine Government issued the Time Determination Ordinance, which stated that during a specific period each year, the time for legal and general purposes in Palestine would be three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This ordinance was inherited by Israel as part of the default adoption of Mandatory Law.

The two-hour time shift was reduced to one hour from September 1, 1948, and removed altogether on November 1, 1948. The change was retrospectively legalized by the Time Determination (Amendment) Ordinance of June 3, 1948, which added an additional period of time that could be prescribed.

In May 1940, double Summer Time was introduced in Jerusalem to save fuel, and this was later extended to the entire country. The first time change occurred from June 1 to September 30, 1940, and then again from November 17, 1940, until October 31, 1942.

Israeli Summer Time (IST), also known as Israel Daylight Time (IDT), is a practice in which clocks are advanced by one hour. This begins on the Friday before the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October. When IDT ends, clocks revert back to their standard time at 2:00 am, while when it starts, clocks advance from 2:00 am to 3:00 am.

Israel is currently in the +03:00 time zone, which means it is three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone is observed throughout the country, except for certain areas that do not follow either IST or IDT.

In summary, understanding the time zone of Israel requires a grasp of its history with time zones, including the introduction of double Summer Time and the legalization of the one-hour shift. Israeli Summer Time is an important aspect of the country's time-keeping practices, which helps to save fuel and promote energy efficiency.

Israel time zone gmt