Israel Looking Into Making Sunday Day of Rest
Israeli Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom
Eddie Gerald/Bloomberg
Silvan Shalom, Israel's minister for regional development, says financial markets would benefit from being coordinated with the major Western economies rather than Israel’s Muslim neighbors, who mostly have a Friday and Saturday weekend.
Silvan Shalom, Israel's minister for regional development, says financial markets would benefit from being coordinated with the major Western economies rather than Israel’s Muslim neighbors, who mostly have a Friday and Saturday weekend. Photographer: Eddie Gerald/Bloomberg
Israel’s government is examining a proposal to shift the weekend to the western Saturday and Sunday, a step that may benefit financial markets and retail and leisure companies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week appointed Eugene Kandel, head of the National Economic Council, to look into the implications of changing the weekend from Friday and Saturday. The proposal would make Friday a half-day of work. Many in Israel use Friday to prepare for the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at sundown. Working and traveling is forbidden on the Sabbath according to Jewish law and most stores and many restaurants are closed for the Sabbath.
“The main creator of jobs in Israel today is not the manufacturing sector but trade and services,” said Uriel Lynn, president of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce. “If Sunday is a full holiday when people can go out with their families to shop and enjoy themselves, it will create more jobs in trade and services.”
The proposal’s main advocate is Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom, who says financial markets would benefit from being coordinated with the major Western economies rather than Israel’s Muslim neighbors, who mostly have a Friday and Saturday weekend. Opposing the measure is Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who says it is important for Jews and Muslims to have Friday off and civil service expenses would increase on Sunday if it were a day off.
Shalom said work hours could be increased during weekdays to make up for some of the lost work hours. Lynn said that holiday time off could be reduced.
‘Coordinated Trading’
The proposed new weekend would “enable coordinated trading in currency, foreign equities, commodities, mutual funds and other financial instruments connected with international markets,” according to a report prepared by Shalom’s office.
The tourist industry would also benefit from Sunday off, according to Ami Federman, president of the Hoteliers Association and vice chairman of Dan Hotels Corp., the country’s largest lodgings chain.
Israel’s economy grew an annualized 4.7 percent last year, compared with a 2.9 percent expansion in the United States and 1.7 percent in the European Union.
Some say the economic benefits of the proposal are exaggerated.
“While there might be some benefit in people having more time for shopping, especially for the Jewish religious sector, at the end of the day the average family’s budget will still be the same,” said Tal Shirizly, an analyst at Tel Aviv’s Psagot Investment House Ltd. who covers Golf & Co., one of Israel’s biggest clothing chains.
Textile Companies
Golf & Co. has declined 28 percent in the past 12 months while clothing chain Fox Wizel Ltd. (FOX), has increased 136 percent. Israeli textile companies trade on average at 26 times 2010 earnings compared with 43 times on average in Western Europe. Fox trades at 7.9 times 2010 earnings, while Golf trades at 11 times.
While Sunday’s trading volume on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is lower than other days due to fewer foreign traders, a half-day on Friday would mean shorter overall trading hours.
Israelis also enjoy an advantage in being able to react to other markets and trade on a day when few of them are open, says Elah Alkalay, vice president for business development at IBI- Israel Brokerage & Investment Ltd.
“I can’t see how this would be fabulously great for the economy in general,” she said.
The proposal would also affect the almost 17 percent of Israel’s population that is Muslim.
“Many Muslim countries in the world have moved to a Sunday weekend,” Shalom told Channel Two television when asked if a Sunday shift would be fair to Muslims who would have to work on Friday, the Islamic prayer day. “Globalization is important and they want to be connected to the world.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Alisa Odenheimer in Jerusalem at aodenheimer@bloomberg.net; Calev Ben-David at cbendavid@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net.
Rate this Page