Can giving Israel Sundays off heal the religious divide?

Israelis have grown so accustomed to working on Sundays that it takes leaving the country or visiting family abroad for them to realize what they’re missing.

The groundswell grows

In 2000, Natan Sharansky, who served as the interior minister and had previously been a prisoner of Zion, introduced a groundbreaking idea in Israel: a shorter workweek, with Sunday designated as an official day of rest. Sharansky was a vocal advocate for this change and managed to establish a ministerial committee, led by then-prime minister Ehud Barak, to address this matter.

His rationale was twofold. Firstly, he argued that embracing a shorter workweek would align Israel with the era of globalization. Secondly, Sharansky, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders of our generation, believed this change could significantly reduce tensions between secular and religious communities while fostering harmony among Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the country.

He expressed this sentiment in 2000 to Yediot Aharonot, saying, “With two days of rest, both religious and secular individuals could schedule shopping and entertainment on Sunday, thus avoiding conflicts around Shabbat.” Barak responded positively to the concept, acknowledging that “the idea is certainly intriguing and deserves serious consideration.”

The proposal also garnered support from then-labor and welfare minister Eli Yishai, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party at the time, who argued that it would contribute to religious observance and the status quo. However, despite these favorable responses, the proposal was eventually set aside and forgotten.

Fast forward three years, during coalition negotiations to form a government led by Ariel Sharon. Representatives from the Likud and the National Religious Party advocated for changes in the status quo between religious and secular communities as they discussed various issues. Among the agreements reached was the establishment of another official day of rest. This initiative followed a bill presented by MKs Zevulun Orlev and Nahum Langenthal during the Knesset session preceding the elections. Although the proposal passed the first reading, it stalled due to concerns that implementing the law would incur significant costs. Opponents argued that Friday could never be equivalent to Sunday in terms of working hours and productivity. Similarly, a joint initiative aimed at finding common ground between religious and secular communities during the negotiations was also abandoned.

In 2004, Leah Ness, then Likud MK, took up the cause. Her goal was to establish Sunday as an additional day of rest. Ness expressed concerns about the strain on family life and the widespread desecration of Shabbat due to the fact that “the only free day available for employees to spend with their families and shop is Shabbat.” She believed that her proposal could “significantly improve the quality of life and reduce Shabbat desecration.” As with previous initiatives, Ness’s proposal ultimately faded into obscurity.

Seven years later, then-deputy prime minister Silvan Shalom revived the proposal and formed another committee. It, too, failed to pass the threshold for implementation.

Today

In 2022, a survey conducted by the Shabbat Project, led by South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, revealed significant public backing for the adoption of a shorter workweek in Israel. The survey findings showed that a substantial 76% of respondents favored including Sunday as part of the weekend.

Addressing a Knesset committee that year, Goldstein underscored the survey’s importance, emphasizing: “Most significantly, this survey demonstrates that introducing Sunday as an additional weekend day would mitigate the tensions and divisions within Israeli society concerning Shabbat.”

Moreover, the survey results highlighted the prevailing concerns among the Israeli populace, with over 90% of respondents expressing anxiety that the ongoing conflicts related to state and religion were undermining the unity of Israeli society. Impressively, 83% of those surveyed believed that incorporating a Sunday weekend could help alleviate these tensions.

The survey also shed light on the potential impact of such a change on self-identified secular individuals. In the event that Sunday was officially recognized as part of the weekend, more than 50% of respondents in this category indicated their intention to spend more time at home, resting, and strengthening family bonds on Shabbat.

This data not only underscores the broad support for a shorter workweek in Israel but also highlights the potential social benefits it could render, such as reduced tensions and increased family time, particularly among secular citizens.

In 2016, the Institute for Zionist Strategies, a conservative Israeli think-tank, released a report challenging the notion that a long weekend alone could effectively address the complex issue of Shabbat-related tensions in Israel. The report also noted that “Advocates of this initiative argue that it would also benefit sectors such as culture, sports, and tourism while offering solutions to challenges related to the religious status of the Sabbath.”

However, the authors of the position paper argued that attributing excessive transformative potential to this proposal regarding the status of Shabbat in Israel might be overstated. While conceding that such a move could potentially ease some tensions surrounding the issue, they maintained that it should primarily be seen as a tool rather than an essential solution. The focus, they contended, should remain on reaching a comprehensive arrangement that satisfies the diverse parties within the framework of Shabbat itself.

Essentially, the proposal for an additional rest day might address certain aspects of the controversy but should not be considered the primary avenue for resolution. Instead, the emphasis should be placed on achieving a comprehensive settlement capable of accommodating various stakeholders and their interests within the confines of the Sabbath, as outlined by the Institute for Zionist Strategies.

One of the most significant consequences of this proposal is the potential transformation of Friday into a fully functional workday, which would add 62 additional working days to the calendar year. Traditionally, Friday serves as a preparation day for Shabbat, and designating it as a regular working day could present challenges for the Shabbat-observing community in terms of Sabbath readiness. It may even lead to an increase in Shabbat desecration among the general public.

However, the Institute for Zionist Strategies analysts pointed out that religious Jewish communities worldwide face similar, if not more acute, challenges, as in most countries Friday is not a shortened workday. Furthermore, within Israel itself, a portion of the religious population already contend with the reality of Friday as a regular workday. Nonetheless, due to the symbolic significance of this change, the religious community may perceive it as a loss of Shabbat’s unique status as the sole day of rest for the State of Israel, potentially diluting its distinctiveness and moving toward a more uniform, secular approach.

The Institute for Zionist Strategies proposed an alternative plan: making Friday an official day of rest and commencing the weekend on Thursday evening. Given the current tensions in Israel concerning matters of religion and state, this solution could serve as a starting point for addressing these emotionally charged debates.

However, it should not be viewed as the sole solution. Other initiatives must also be advanced to create a space for non-Orthodox individuals to practice their own Judaism while allowing them to do so, which can be challenging in contemporary Israel. 