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.
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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.
