Working Hard so the ILPTO Doesn't Have To

Coming up next week we have Memorial Day on Sunday night and Monday, followed immediately by Independence Day on Monday night and Tuesday.  

Unlike Memorial Day in the USA, which has become just another excuse for a sale at the local auto dealer or appliance store, Memorial day in Israel is a significant event for most Israelis.  The percentage of families having someone who's fallen in the line of duty is much higher than in the USA, and everyone either knows a fallen soldier, a victim of terrorists, or a close relative (parent/ sibling/ child/ spouse) of such a person.  There are memorial sirens at night and during the day when the country literally comes to a standstill, and ceremonies throughout the country commemorating the deceased.  And with the threat from Israel's neighbors being both existential and quite tangible, the average Israeli understands better than the average American that vigilance is part of the price of freedom.   

Although Memorial Day is not an official state work holiday (unlike Independence Day), with so many people having been affected by the Arab world's perverse obsession with killing Jews, many offices run on a reduced staff basis on Memorial Day, as many employees are out attending memorial ceremonies.

Which is presumbably what lead to this week's announcement from the ILPTO that it will be closed to the public on Memorial day, but that "it will be possible to file documents at the Patent Office until 17:00".  Translation: if you have a deadline on Monday at the ILPTO, you'll have to file by Monday, even though the PTO will effectively be closed.  Got a Memorial Day ceremony to attend yourself?  Too bad you're not a public sector employee like us guys at the ILPTO.  

Suggestion to the Commissioner: next year, either officially declare your offices closed on Memorial Day and extend all deadlines until the day after Independence Day (i.e. until Wednesday), or leave your offices open to the public even though you'll be short-staffed.  It will make a much better impression than the half-baked solution offered this time around.