Many thousands of old Israeli currency notes have been seized by the police in the last few days, it was reported today. Frontier guards have caught infiltrators trying to smuggle the old currency into the country in order to exchange it for the new bank notes. Everyone leaving the country this week-even members of the Israeli Parliament-was thoroughly searched at Lydda airport for hidden currency.
Following the announcement that the government plans to register all gold in the possession of private individuals as well as banks, the black market in gold here took a drop. Gold coins, in plentiful supply, are not much in demand and the price of the British gold sovereign fell from 37 Israeli pounds to 30 this past week.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.