Two years ago, I wrote about Memorial Day in Israel. I wrote about how it’s vastly different than in the USA because here everyone has lost a loved one or at least knows someone who lost a loved one for having the nerve to be a Jew living in his or her ancestral homeland, or the nerve to protect such people. And I wrote about how the ILPTO recognizes that many of it employees won't be at work on Memorial Day, but, absurdly, it forces applicants (and their attorneys) to work that day.
You’d think the Commissioner would learn from his mistakes, and grant a blanket extension for any filings due tomorrow (which will then push off the deadline to Sunday, since the office will be closed on Thursday for Independence Day and Friday and Saturday as it’s always closed those days), but noooo. Yet again, he’s closing the office to the public – i.e. no meetings with examiners, no discussing things with clerical staff – and yet again, he’s telling applicants that the office is open for the filing of papers. Until 8 PM. So not only is he not giving extensions, but he’s foreshortening the deadline to file.
Download Memorial Day closure announcement 2015
He also did a similar thing two years ago when it snowed in Jerusalem, as discussed here.
And if that weren't enough, the announcement isn't even up on the ILPTO website, it was only made via email. See the screenshot above, showing the April 21 date, and the screenshot below, which shows that the last website update was on April 1, when the office announced its "Direct PCT" program (which will be ridiculed in a future post entitled "Why Do They Bother?").
The Grinch is back, and he’s running the Israel PTO.