{
  "id": 18273302,
  "title": "What time is it in Israel?- opinion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/what-time-is-it-in-israel-opinion",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T08:12:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-913891"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Israel's timekeeping is a complex issue, as the country's defense measures against hostile systems create challenges for its GPS signals. While this interference is a necessary defense, it also leads to discrepancies in time across the country. Israel's Time Determination Law of 1992 defines Israeli time as UTC(INPL), generated by the National Physical Laboratory using cesium atomic clocks. However, the distribution and use of this national time standard is inconsistent, with telecommunications companies calibrating against the national standard only once a year. This bureaucratic gap allows for the continued use of GPS receivers in critical systems, such as the power grid and banking systems, which are vulnerable to spoofing attacks. These attacks can cause receivers to malfunction and report incorrect times, without any visible signs of failure. To address this issue, Israel should distribute the UTC(INPL) standard over optical fiber, with measured and corrected transit delays. The country should also require critical systems to run two independent time sources and check them against each other, ensuring that any subtle deviations are detected. This approach would cost less than a single night of interceptor fire and would provide a more reliable timekeeping system for Israel's infrastructure.",
  "summary": "Every time Israel jams GPS, it may also be jamming the clock that keeps the country running.",
  "key_points": [
    "Israel's timekeeping is complicated by defense measures against hostile systems.",
    "GPS signals are interfered with, causing time discrepancies across the country.",
    "Israel should distribute UTC(INPL) over optical fiber and require dual time sources."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Relying on vulnerable GPS signals for critical infrastructure leaves essential national systems exposed to undetected spoofing attacks that could compromise the country's power grid and banking stability.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}