Holidays in Israel 2026
Israel observes 9 public holidays in 2026. 5 fall on a weekday and 4 land on a weekend, leaving 256 working days across the year on the national-only count.
2026 public holidays calendar
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2 | Thursday | Passover (day 1) |
| Apr 8 | Wednesday | Passover (day 7) |
| Apr 22 | Wednesday | Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) |
| May 22 | Friday | Shavuot |
| Sep 12 | Saturday (weekend) | Rosh Hashanah (day 1) |
| Sep 13 | Sunday (weekend) | Rosh Hashanah (day 2) |
| Sep 21 | Monday | Yom Kippur |
| Sep 26 | Saturday (weekend) | Sukkot (day 1) |
| Oct 3 | Saturday (weekend) | Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah |
2026 year summary
Total days
365
Weekend days
104
Public holidays on weekdays
5
Working days
256
The 4 weekend-falling public holidays in 2026 are absorbed into the regular Saturday and Sunday count, so the working-day reduction comes only from the 5 weekday-falling entries. Israel observes the Jewish high holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot) as national days under the Hours of Work and Rest Law plus Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) under the Yom Ha'atzmaut Law. The workweek is Sunday-Thursday with Friday-Saturday (Shabbat) as the weekend.
Holidays not included
Tisha B'Av (fast day commemorating the destruction of the Temples) is a half-day bank closure but not a gazetted public holiday and is excluded. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) are observed by a moment of silence and partial business closure but are not full bank holidays. Hanukkah (8 days) and Purim are not full public holidays; banks operate normal hours. Religious workplaces and Hasidic neighbourhoods observe additional days that are excluded from this national-secular set.