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When Israel moved its clocks back Sept. 12, it gave Israelis something new to disagree about: the time of day.

The end of daylight savings time in Israel came more than a month and a half before most European countries, bringing a winter-like onset of darkness in early evening even though the Mediterranean summer is still in full swing.

Many Israelis say the move, aimed at making life easier for Jews fasting on Yom Kippur, unnecessarily disrupts life and costs the economy millions of dollars. Activists launched an Internet protest petition calling on Israelis to unilaterally stick to summer time, and more than 230,000 people signed.

“You disconnect from the Western world, where the clock moves on Oct. 31, and nothing matches — flights, imports and exports, appointments,” said Nehemia Shtrasler, an economic-affairs columnist for the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. “It’s a mess.”

Orthodox parties are behind the time change, wanting to decrease the number of waking hours for those fasting. Although the length of the fast doesn’t change, the sun sets an hour earlier with the winter clock, shortening the difficult end of the fast. The arrangement was enshrined in law in 2005 as part of a compromise with secular parties. The change has become particularly contentious this year because the High Holy Days fall earlier than usual. — ap