Fear that the next government will have no choice but to devalue the shekel has touched off a rush on American dollars.
If the shekel is reduced in value, it will take more of them to buy a dollar.
As a result of the devaluation panic, the Bank of Israel, the country’s central bank, is being emptied of dollars at a rate of $20 million a day. The money is being invested in consumer goods.
Since July, Israel’s foreign currency reserves have been depleted by about $2 billion because of devaluation fever. But they remain at a healthy $4 billion, so financial policy makers are not concerned.
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.
