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Public holidays in Israel

10 days in 2026 · 9 in 2027

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Next public holiday

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

שמחת תורה/שמיני עצרת

After it: Election Day, Tuesday 27 October

Saturday, 3 October 2026

Israel has nine national holidays a year, and eight of them are Jewish festivals dated by the Hebrew calendar: two days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first day of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, the first and seventh days of Passover, and Shavuot. The ninth, Independence Day, is the only civil holiday, and it too is dated by the Hebrew calendar. Every one of them moves against the Gregorian year and begins at sundown the evening before. In 2026 Rosh Hashanah falls on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September; in 2027 on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October.

The week shapes the count. Israel rests on Friday and Saturday, the Sabbath running from Friday evening to Saturday night, so a festival that falls on a Saturday gives no extra day off: in 2026 that happens to Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, and Shavuot falls on a Friday. Christians, Muslims and Druze have the right to take the holidays of their own religions as leave.

Two kinds of day sit between work and rest. The intermediate days of Sukkot and Passover are school holidays and are taken as collective paid leave by many businesses and government offices, and national elections are a day off: the vote for the 26th Knesset on Tuesday 27 October 2026 is a national holiday.

Days off in 2026
10Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
6Sunday to Thursday
On a weekend
4Friday or Saturday
Long weekends
2and 3 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Israel in 2026

  1. 2 April: PassoverפסחThe first day of Passover, on 15 Nisan. The days that follow it are school holidays, and many workplaces close for them.ThursdayDate moves
  2. 8 April: Seventh day of Passoverשביעי של פסחThe seventh and last day of Passover, on 21 Nisan, a second full day off. The days between it and the first are school holidays.WednesdayDate moves
  3. 22 April: Independence Dayיום העצמאותIndependence Day, for the proclamation of the state on 14 May 1948, kept on 5 Iyar. When that date would bring it or the Memorial Day before it against the Sabbath, the observance is moved.WednesdayDate moves
  4. 22 May: ShavuotשבועותShavuot, the Feast of Weeks, on 6 Sivan. In 2026 it falls on a Friday and in 2027 on a Friday again, so in neither year does it add a day off.FridayDate moves
  5. 12 September: Rosh Hashanahראש השנהRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on the first two days of the month of Tishrei. Both days are off, and both begin at sundown.SaturdayDate moves
  6. 13 September: Rosh Hashanah (day 2)ראש השנהRosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on the first two days of the month of Tishrei. Both days are off, and both begin at sundown.SundayDate moves
  7. 21 September: Yom Kippurיום כיפורYom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on 10 Tishrei. Businesses close around noon the day before, and almost the whole country stops for about a day: no traffic except emergency vehicles, and airports, border crossings and broadcasters suspend work, with exceptions in Arab areas.MondayDate moves
  8. 26 September: SukkotסוכותThe first day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, on 15 Tishrei. The intermediate days that follow are school holidays and many workplaces take them as collective leave.SaturdayDate moves
  9. 3 October: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torahשמחת תורה/שמיני עצרתShemini Atzeret, kept in Israel on the same day as Simchat Torah, on 22 Tishrei at the close of Sukkot.SaturdayDate moves
  10. 27 October: Election DayThe day of the election to the 26th Knesset, listed by timeanddate as a national holiday and by the Central Zionist Archives as a day it is closed.TuesdayDate moves

Long weekends

Long weekends in Israel in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 3daysThu 2 Apr to Sat 4 AprPassover
  • 4daysWed 8 Apr to Sat 11 AprWith Thu 9 Apr taken as leave · Seventh day of Passover
  • 4daysWed 22 Apr to Sat 25 AprWith Thu 23 Apr taken as leave · Independence Day
  • 3daysFri 11 Sept to Sun 13 SeptRosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah (day 2)
  • 4daysFri 18 Sept to Mon 21 SeptWith Sun 20 Sept taken as leave · Yom Kippur

2027

Public holidays in Israel in 2027

  1. 22 April: PassoverפסחThursdayDate moves
  2. 28 April: Seventh day of Passoverשביעי של פסחWednesdayDate moves
  3. 12 May: Independence Dayיום העצמאותWednesdayDate moves
  4. 11 June: ShavuotשבועותFridayDate moves
  5. 2 October: Rosh Hashanahראש השנהSaturdayDate moves
  6. 3 October: Rosh Hashanah (day 2)ראש השנהSundayDate moves
  7. 11 October: Yom Kippurיום כיפורMondayDate moves
  8. 16 October: SukkotסוכותSaturdayDate moves
  9. 23 October: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torahשמחת תורה/שמיני עצרתSaturdayDate moves

Observances

Days marked in Israel that are not days off

  1. 3 March: PurimפוריםPurim, on 14 Adar, a school holiday and optional leave rather than a day off. Cities walled in ancient times, Jerusalem among them, keep Shushan Purim a day later instead.TuesdayDate moves
  2. 14 April: Holocaust Remembrance Dayיום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורהHolocaust Remembrance Day, on 27 Nisan. Work goes on, but places of public entertainment close.TuesdayDate moves
  3. 21 April: Memorial Day for the Fallen and Victims of Terrorismיום הזיכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ונפגעי פעולות האיבהMemorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, on the day before Independence Day. Places of public entertainment close, and flags on public buildings fly at half-mast from its eve.TuesdayDate moves
  4. 23 July: Tisha B'Avתשעה באבTisha B'Av, the fast of 9 Av. Wikipedia's list counts it among the official holidays; timeanddate lists it as an elective day, and this calendar follows timeanddate.ThursdayDate moves
  5. 5 December: Hanukkah (first day)חנוכהThe first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day festival that begins on 25 Kislev. Schools close for the whole festival; businesses stay open.SaturdayDate moves

Independence Day is the one holiday whose date the state adjusts. The rule, as Flags of the World records it, is that when 4 and 5 Iyar would fall on Thursday and Friday or on Friday and Saturday, Memorial Day and Independence Day are brought forward to Wednesday and Thursday; when they would fall on Sunday and Monday, they may be put back to Monday and Tuesday. In both 2026 and 2027 Independence Day falls on a Wednesday.

Israel's working week runs from Sunday to Thursday, and almost all businesses close on Saturday. Most public transport, government offices and many shops shut for roughly 25 hours from Friday evening, while some shops outside Jewish areas and most non-kosher restaurants stay open.

The provider of this catalogue's calendars has no data for Israel, so every day here is written from timeanddate's lists for 2026 and 2027, checked against the Central Zionist Archives' closure list for the same years. Where the two differ by a day, as for Passover in April 2027, it is because the archives close from the eve.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Israel

How many public holidays does Israel have?

Nine national holidays a year: two days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first day of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, the first and seventh days of Passover, Independence Day and Shavuot. In 2026 a tenth day off is added for the Knesset election on Tuesday 27 October. Four of those ten fall on a Friday or a Saturday, the Israeli weekend, and in 2027 four of the nine do.

Why do Israeli holidays fall on different dates every year?

They follow the Hebrew calendar, which comes back into step with the Gregorian one only every 19 years, so each festival keeps its Hebrew date and moves against the Gregorian year. Passover fell on Thursday 2 April in 2026 and falls on Thursday 22 April in 2027, while Rosh Hashanah moves from Saturday 12 September 2026 to Saturday 2 October 2027.

Does everything close on Yom Kippur?

Almost everything in Jewish areas. Businesses close around midday on the eve, and for about a day there is virtually no traffic apart from emergency vehicles; even services that normally work through holidays, such as airports, border crossings and broadcasters, suspend operations for some 28 to 30 hours. Arab areas are an exception. In 2026 Yom Kippur falls on Monday 21 September, in 2027 on Monday 11 October.

Is the Sabbath a public holiday in Israel?

It is the weekly day of rest rather than a holiday on the calendar. From Friday evening before sundown to Saturday evening after it, schools, banks, government offices, most public transport and most shops in Jewish areas close for roughly 25 hours. Together with Friday it forms the Israeli weekend, which is why the working week runs from Sunday to Thursday.

Do Muslim and Christian holidays count as days off in Israel?

Not for the whole country. Christians, Muslims and Druze have the right to take the holidays of their own religions as leave, and Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Christmas and Easter are recognised for their communities. The national days off are the Jewish festivals and Independence Day.

When is Independence Day in 2027?

On Wednesday 12 May 2027, after Memorial Day on Tuesday 11 May; in 2026 it fell on Wednesday 22 April. The day is fixed to 5 Iyar in the Hebrew calendar but is moved when it or Memorial Day would run into the Sabbath, as the rule recorded by Flags of the World sets out.

Are elections a holiday in Israel?

Yes. Knesset election day is a day off, and the election to the 26th Knesset, set for Tuesday 27 October 2026, appears as a national holiday in timeanddate's calendar and as a closure day in the Central Zionist Archives' list. It is the one day off in 2026 that is not dated by the Hebrew calendar.

Dates from Written from the sources, read 2026-10-02. The page counts from Saturday, 3 October 2026, the day it was built.