The Israel Treasury officially put into effect today a regulation giving virtually all foreigners a rate of exchange of 2.16 pounds per dollar compared with the 1.8 standard rate of exchange. The new regulations, which had been announced in a speech to the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, by Finance Minister Levi Eshkol, were implemented today.
The regulations provide that tourists who are temporary residents, as well as new immigrants, will be permitted to retain all foreign currency in their possession for a period of ten years. They can keep the money in foreign banks or transfer it into unrestricted foreign currency accounts in Israel banks. If they sell their foreign currency in Israel, they will get a 20 percent premium but such sales will be permitted only to banks or authorized foreign currency dealers.
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