Paul Eggert's IDT patch makes sense

[Chris Carrier]

Some thoughts on Paul Eggert's proposed Israel DST rules for =>1999.
 
The proposed rules of the third Friday in March to the third Sunday in
September are very reasonable.
 
It seems that the dates of the change are always set to avoid Jewish holy
days/periods and the Jewish Sabbath, sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, and
Paul's proposed rules do that.
 
Passover, Nisan 15 in the Jewish calendar, is the first full moon after March
27 in the Gregorian calendar in this century.  A third-Friday in March
beginning prevents the beginning of DST from running into Passover.
 
(Back when the Jewish calendar was determined on the basis of observation,
Passover was supposed to be the first full moon after the vernal equinox
(which survives in Christian Easter rules).  I was informed that a group of
rabbis met in Jerusalem to discuss reform of the Jewish calendar, but were
unable to come to a conclusion (although the person who told me this suggested
the rabbis' real reason for doing nothing was to avoid a schism such as the
one that happened in Christendom in 1582 when the Gregorian calendar was
implemented and the Catholics adopted it and the Protestants and Greek/Russian
Orthodox did not.))
 
Although the Jewish New Year currently can fall during the date range 15-21
September, it can never be on a Sunday.  Neither can Yom Kippur (which can
occur prior to September 21) be a Sunday, so a third Sunday in September rule
avoids that as well.  (Tishri 1 can never fall on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday
because Yom Kippur must avoid Friday or Sunday and Succoth (Tishri 21) must
avoid Saturday).  However, New Years is celebrated for two days -- Tishri 1
and 2 -- and if Tishri 1 falls on Saturday, the clock change might be moved
from Sunday to the preceding Friday.
 
Also, the third Friday in March to third Sunday in September satisfies the
current Israeli legal requirement of =>150 days of DST per year.  Side note:
there are always 154 days between the third Friday in March and the third
Sunday in September and they are always the same dates in their respective
months (the 15th in 1996, the 21st in 1997).
 
I know that this is a bit of a digression, but I do think that Paul's patch
does have some sound reasoning behind it.
 
Chris Carrier