No — today is not a public holiday in Israel

How to tell if today is a public holiday in Israel

Israel's public holidays follow the Hebrew calendar and are set by the Days of Rest Ordinance of 1948 together with the Jewish Holidays Law. The list comprises Rosh Hashanah (two days, Jewish New Year in Tishrei), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the first and seventh days of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah, the first and seventh days of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), plus Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut) on 5 Iyar commemorating the 1948 declaration of independence. Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron) immediately precedes Independence Day. The Arab Israeli, Druze and Christian communities observe their own religious holidays which are paid leave for their members under article 18A of the Hours of Work and Rest Law.

That structure is why a simple "is it a holiday today" answer for Israel is more nuanced than a single yes or no. A date can be a public holiday at the national level, a regional one observed only in certain states or provinces, or a banking holiday that closes financial settlement without closing every employer. The status shown above reflects the nationally recognised public holiday list for Israel; if you are in a specific region, check the full calendar for the local additions that do not appear on the national list.

Working days and the holiday calendar in Israel

The Hours of Work and Rest Law of 1951 sets the standard week at 42 hours since the 2018 reform, distributed Sunday to Thursday in the standard five-day workweek or Sunday to half-Friday in six-day arrangements. Shabbat from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall is the statutory weekly rest day under article 7. The Interpretation Law rolls statutory deadlines falling on Shabbat or a public holiday to the next working day. Settlement of shekel transactions runs on the Bank of Israel's ZAHAV RTGS system, which closes on Friday afternoons, Shabbat and the Jewish festival days plus secular holidays.

Use the full calendar to see how the remaining holidays cluster across the year. Some months in Israel carry several closures while others have none, and that uneven spacing is what catches out anyone planning around a uniform working month.

For cross-border planning, overlay the Israel calendar with the calendars of the other countries your team works with. A week that looks completely open from your side can be a national holiday on theirs, and the clash only shows up when you compare the two side by side. The full holiday page links into a country-by-country comparison so you can spot the weeks where almost nobody is at their desk before you commit to a date.

Holiday dates are compiled from Nager.Date and the national sources listed above. Regional and substitute-day rules vary; for legal deadlines, confirm the observed date with the relevant official calendar for Israel.