In late August 1948, general director of the Minister of Defense Levi Eshkol, code name Layish, sent the following message to his fellow operatives: “We are prepared to send two ships of ours to meet the Ishmaelite. The ships will go out in order to receive the cargo and will be careful not to enter the sea battle.” The ‘Ishmaelite’ was, in actuality, the Italian freighter Argero, which was loaded with rifles, ammunition and spare parts headed to Alexandria intended to aid the Arabs in the …More

Stanley Fischer is stepping down from his position as governor of the Bank of Israel. Fischer, 69, will be leaving office on June 30 after serving eight years that included shepherding the Israeli economy through the global financial crisis of 2007-08. His term was scheduled to end in 2015. He reportedly informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his decision on Tuesday, according to the bank. He is scheduled to hold a news conference on Wednesday morning to discuss his decision to leave. Fischer …More

Benjamin Netanyahu backed Israel’s economic plan last week, indicating there was no need to make changes to the current system. The prime minister pointed to the Jewish state’s financial growth as evidence, which is above the average set by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The stance came during a meeting with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria and Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. The trio gathered to discuss the global economy and Israel’s development …More

Moody’s international credit ratings agency downgraded Israel’s banking system outlook from stable to negative Tuesday, citing a predicted economic drop-off. “The negative outlook reflects the projected slowdown in economic growth and the country’s challenging operating environment which will continue over the 12-18 month outlook period,” Moody’s explained in a press release. The report referenced the weakening export demand that will result from an unresolved Eurozone …More

The Bank of Israel has dismissed rumors that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed its Governor Stanley Fischer to be the next president of Israel. Business newspaper Calcalist reported that Fischer was a strong candidate to replace Shimon Peres when his term expires in 2014. The office of the Prime Minister has not commented on the report, but the Bank of Israel released a statement saying, "The Bank of Israel and the Governor know nothing about the subject, and the announcement is baseless." Netanyahu …More

The new two-sheqalim coin minted by Bank of Israel in 2010 has been named the Coin of the Year by Krause Publications. The “Jonah in the Whale” silver coin was named the best of the 95 contenders by an international panel of coin experts judging on 10 categories. One face of the coin depicts only Jonah praying inside the whale, while the other shows inscriptions in Hebrew, English and Arabic. “We would like to congratulate the Bank of Israel on the beautiful design,” said Coin of the Year …More

Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer said today that "Prices in Israel are high," and that the standard of living, "is not the same as in the US, but about two-thirds as high." In his speech this morning at the Conference on Corporate Governance, Family Firms, and Economic Concentration, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Fischer said, "The Israeli economy is open, but there are aspects that are closed. It is very hard to find inexpensive cheese. Our real income is high, but our standard of …More

The Bank of Israel will cut its growth forecast for 2012 yet again, said bank head Stanley Fischer in a meeting with the Knesset Finance Committee on Wednesday. Fischer told the Committee the bank will downgrade its growth number from 3.2% to 2.9%. However, he said that the Israeli economy “is in good shape.” “We have a lot more freedom of action than European countries and even the US, because of the positive things done by governments,” Fischer said. “If we act properly, we'll be …More

The Bank of Israel’s Monetary committee elected to cut interest rates for December by a quarter of a percent on Monday. For the next month, interest rates in Israel will be 2.75 percent. The committee decision matched capital market forecasts and experts’ expectations. Since the end of September, interest rates in Israel have been lowered twice. The decision to lower the rate was made by a committee, rather than the Bank’s governor, Stanley Fischer, as required by the new banking laws. The main …More

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer described Israel’s economy as being in “pretty good shape,” saying that the Jewish state will be able to weather the current global economic struggles if they “run the economy properly and responsibly.” "We must not capitulate to populism. When an economist says 'populism', he means economic measures that are welcome by the public in the short term, but cause long-term damage,” Fischer said. “Populism kills economies. We must be …More

Israel’s Finance Ministry is predicting that the economy’s growth will drop to close to 4 percent in 2012, troubling many officials. "We are looking ahead to 2012 and see worrying signs. We see black clouds gathering around us and we haven’t yet reached safe shores," Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz said. The drop in growth may come from a decline in exports to other countries as the world’s economy continues to struggle. "In the past six months, optimistic forecasts have dissipated. …More

For the first time in the Bank of Israel’s history, its governor will not make the decision about whether to change its interest rate by himself. Thanks to a new Bank of Israel law, a council consisting of three professors and two high-ranking bank officials will help Stanley Fischer, the bank’s governor, set the November interest rate. Each council member has one vote, except for Fischer, who gets two. It is not known if how each member votes will be disclosed to the public. Before the change, …More