3.1096

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Yom Shleeshee

Tuesday

27 Cheshvan 5782

November 2 2021

The News on the Israeli Street

Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .

Palestinian terrorists throwing Molotovs and “rocks” attacked Israeli buses at Singil, on Road 55 after Azzun in the direction of Eliyahu, at Al-Aruv on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road, between the Dickstein Junction and Umm Darj, and between the T-Junction and Efrat near Umm Salmona. 

Palestinian terrorists hurling Molotovs and “rocks” attacked Israeli motorists  on Road 443 in the vicinity of the Dor An gas station, on the road between Tarqumiya and Hevron near the Halhul Bridge, at Shavei Shomron, south of Shechem between Einbus and the Yitzhar Junction, and at Al-Khader. 

Palestinian terrorists attacked a military ambulance near Lupine’aia, northeast of Ramallah.

All of the above incidents were reported by residents on the ground to hakolhayehudi, rotter, and Rescue Judea and Samaria.

More Corona confusion and more confusion for tourists . . .

As we reported here at OneIsrael, tourists began coming into the country yesterday.

To begin with, there was a huge mess at Ben Gurion Airport because of a form that the Health Ministry said needed to be filled out before entering the country—but which had not been made available by the Health Ministry to anyone. Hours passed before that “belagon” was resolved.

Then, on top of the confusing guidelines which we published yesterday, it turns out that many of the tourists who arrived yesterday were turned away when they tried to check into a hotel because the Health Ministry had decreed that incoming tourists must be isolated until they receive the results of the Corona test at Ben Gurion Airport.

And the only hotel that was apparently cleared by the Health Ministry was the Dan Hotel in Jerusalem.

However, by this morning, the Health Ministry has issued new guidelines that tourists can self-isolate at any hotel.

And you wonder why Israelis are confused?

The farce in the Knesset . . .

As you may not know, the current Coalition government here (aka “Concession” government) has two days (midnight November 4) to approve a budget or the government will automatically be dissolved. 

This situation has produced a farce over the last few days. For example, we had the absurd scene yesterday in which the Islamist Ra’am Party offered to give 100 million shekels of its proposed budget allocation to the ultra-orthodox Jewish parties Shas and United Torah Judaism. The obvious effort is to ensure the budget passes by garnering Shas and/or UTJ votes in case someone currently in the Coalition defects and votes with the opposition against the budget.

This morning we had the amazing spectacle of Mansour Abbas of Ra’am serving as the day’s Speaker of the Knesset–and at the same time, Itamar Ben Gvir of the Otzma Party speaking at the podium. The ensuing shouting match ended with Abbas refusing to condemn the murders of IDF soldiers or Jewish community members in Judea and Samaria (remember again that it is Abbas and Ra’am that are holding the current government together.

In the next 48 hours, we are bound to see one spectacle after another.

TODAY’S BLOG

3.1096

The number in the title of today’s blog was the current dollar/shekel exchange rate early this morning. In other words, $1 U.S. dollar = 3.1096 Israel shekels. By the time you read this blog, it will undoubtedly have changed.

This is the strongest the shekel has been for at least the last 20 years. While the strong shekel is a positive development for Israelis, it is a very negative development for Israeli citizens and foreign nationals who live in Israel and are paid in dollars.

Below is a graph of how the values have fluctuated between November 1 2020, and October 29 2021:

The shekel vs the dollar. Note that today’s rate has a stronger shekel than that on January 13th of this year (graph courtesy of the Calcalist).

Why has the shekel suddenly become a currency powerhouse?

Various theories abound including:

*exceptionally low interest rates (currently 0.10%)

*the Corona pandemic

*the low rate of inflation here (currently 2.5%)

*the Bank of Israel giving up on buying dollars to try to prop up the dollar

However, the overriding reason seems to be the the huge inflow of money into the country ($40 billion dollars) between January 1-June 30. This compares to $43 billion throughout all of 2020 ($18 billion in 2017, $17 billion in 2018). If the last six months of this year keep pace with the first six, foreign investment will more than double this year.

Specifically, foreign companies that buy Israeli companies end up having to convert dollars into shekels in order to pay salaries and expenses here. This conversion has been strengthening the shekel because more and more Israeli startups are being purchased. Of course, the possible downside of this loss of dollar value might be moving purchased Israeli companies out of Israel.

Your humble servant is no economist, but it goes without saying that Israelis wake up every morning and check the currency exchange rates (not only to dollars but also to euros). 

Reconsidering Colin Powell’s record on Israel and Iran: In this excellent oped, Moshe Phillips points out that the late Powell deserves no praise for his support of Israel. In fact, the record shows that the former U.S. Secretary of State undermined Israel on numerous occasions.