Israel Matzav

Changing faces on Israel's currency

Israel will be changing the faces on all of its currency starting in 2012 (the current bills are pictured at left). Among those who will star on the new currency will be former Prime Ministers Yitzchak Rabin and Menachem Begin.

Israel's paper currency currently features historical figures who are not among Israel's most famous. Zalman Shazar, Israel's third president, is featured on the red, 200-shekel bill; he will be replaced by Yitzchak Rabin, the prime minister who was killed in 1995. The beige 100-shekel note currently features Yitzchak Ben-Tzvi, Israel's second president; he will give way to Menachem Begin, who served as Israel's sixth prime minister from 1977 until 1983.

The purple 50-shekel note is currently adorned with Nobel Literature Prize winner Shai Agnon; Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, will take his place. And the green, 20-shekel bill, which bears the image of Moshe Sharett, Israel's second prime minister, will soon be associated with Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl, considered the visionary of the State of Israel.

Herzl was on a bill once before - the famous 100-lira note, which has long been out of circulation. An item that cost 500 lirot, for instance, was popularly said to be worth "five Herzls."

Read the comments to that article. There are people who are not thrilled that Rabin, who brought the Oslo disaster on us, is getting prime billing. People are also asking sarcastically when Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon will appear on bills. I don't expect that to happen at all. Moshe Katzav won't appear on any bills either. But Shimon Peres might eventually.

In fact, I used to have some bills on which Peres appears already. They're from the 1996 election campaign. If I can find them, I will try to scan them in for you. Heh.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:27 PM