Israel Matzav

Israel introduces new bill

Heh.

Labels: humor, Israeli currency, Yair Lapid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:57 PM 0 comments

A disgrace to Israel

Israel has introduced a new 50 Shekel note this week, and a call has been issued to boycott it. Here's why.

A new 50 shekel banknote bearing the likeness of Russian-born Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky (1875-1943) entered circulation on Tuesday, but Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi of Bar Ilan University refuses to use the new note and calls on others to follow suit.

Ben-Artzi, who is the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and lectures on the Torah and Jewish Thought, told Arutz Sheva that the new banknote is a disgrace to the state of Israel.

The noted lecturer reminded that Tchernichovsky was married to a Christian woman his entire life, and refused the insistent pleading of former Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Shlomo Goren to have her convert to Judaism as befitting the wife of a key Hebrew poet in modern Israel.

"Shaul Tchernichovsky became a symbol of assimilation - the ideology of assimilation. It cannot be that a man like this, even with all his importance as a poet, should become a symbol of the state of Israel," said Ben-Artzi.

The new note sends exactly the wrong message at a time when "in Europe there's an 80% rate of assimilation and in the United States 60% assimilation," argued Ben-Artzi. "The Jewish people are becoming annihilated due to assimilation; how can the state of Israel be capable of turning precisely Tchernichovsky into a symbol?"

With all due respect to Rav Goren, zt"l, the conversion would have likely been meaningless, but other than that Ben Artzi is spot-on. I just don't know if it is possible to boycott a bank note, but I intend - bli neder (without taking a vow) to try.

To those of you in Israel, Shabbat Shalom. Shabbat starts at 6:05 pm in Jerusalem. I am in Boston so posts will continue today to the extent I am able to continue them.

Labels: assimilation, Israeli currency, secular revolution

New bills to feature Rabin and Begin

Israel's new currency, which will come into use in 2012, will feature Yitzchak Rabin and Menachem Begin because they 'made peace' according to Bank of Israel director Stanley Fischer.

Fischer, whose political views have been notably center-left, explained that the decision was because they signed peace agreements with Yasser Arafat and Egypt. The decision needs Cabinet approval.

The new notes, with advanced anti-forgery techniques, will appear in 2012, replacing current images of Moshe Sharett, Israel’s second prime minister, Yitzchak Ben-Tzvi and Zalman Shazar, who were the second and third presidents of the country.

Fischer said Sunday morning that he approved using the pictures of Rabin and Begin because “they were policy makers who signed peace agreements with our neighbors, and it is important to note the historical landmarks for future generations.

...

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz strongly objected to Fischer’s decision, which was made after receiving recommendations from a committee headed by retired High Court Justice Yaakov Turkel.

Besides Begin and Rabin, the new bills will continue to feature writer Shai Agnon, and will add the songwriter ‘Rachel.”

It will be interesting to see whether this cabinet will approve Rabin. I have my doubts.

Labels: Israeli currency, Menachem Begin, Stanley Fischer, Yitzchak Rabin