Once again, national debate has erupted over the pluses and minuses of the semi-annual ritual of changing the clock

Israel is back on “winter time,” and America will follow suit Saturday night, rolling back its clocks one hour to standard time. Once again, national debate has erupted over the pluses and minuses of the semi-annual ritual of changing the clocks.

Some medical studies say tinkering with time increases the risk of heart attacks and recommend keeping the clock uniform year-round. The mainstream media generally extols extol the virtues of the summer clock as an energy saver and economy booster. However, numerous studies conducted by the US Department of Energy, at the behest of Congress, showed the savings to be fractional.

Another “truism” is that daylight saving time adds an hour of daylight to the day.

It doesn’t. We can play with time, but no one can add a 25th hour to the day. It merely shifts one hour of daylight from the early morning to the late evening.

It’s more of a lifestyle issue. Are you a morning person or a night person?

It’s also a political issue. The far-left Meretz party introduced a bill this month to keep Israel on “summer time” year-round. Their measure represents a break in the consensus formed in 2013, when all parties, right and left, Orthodox and secular, agreed to the current system of turning the clocks forward at the end of March and back at the end of October, no matter when the holidays occur and no matter what any other country does.

In response to the Meretz initiative, Ayelet Shaked, who has the final say as interior minister, cooled the controversy, announcing winter time would take effect as scheduled, while wishing citizens a healthy winter.

In the US, some 29 states have introduced measures in the last five years to mandate year-round daylight saving time. Although states may exempt themselves, in whole or in part, from daylight saving time, they cannot independently change time zones or alter the length of daylight time, without consent from Congress and the Department of Transportation, who regulates time zones.

Perhaps the best solution would be to hold a public referendum. I’m pretty certain the majority would vote for year-round summer time. As a morning person, I wouldn’t be happy about that, but I’d rather see the outcome determined by a fair, democratic vote, rather than by politicians or bureaucrats influenced by special interests.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 884)