According to Yediot, in Mea Shearim it has been very common for the new bills graced with the images of Leah Goldberg and Rachel the Poetess to be defaced.
Defacing currency is illegal, but there does not seem to really be any way to stop it or hold anyone accountable for it.
The regular go to man for opinions out thee is Yoelish Krausz. Krausz explains that people have stopped withdrawing money via the ATM machine, as the ATM spits out the new bills. Instead, they go to the bank and specifically request the old bills. They prefer to not use the new bills, even though it is allowed.
Sounds to me like lines in the local banks have probably gotten a lot longer recently.
Krausz also explains with Chanukah upcoming and the common distribution of chanukah gelt to the kids.. those Admorim who do distribute money to their kids and grandkids will give out the old 20 shekel bills, though eventually this form of protest will expire - eventually the banks won't give out the old bills and eventually people will just stop defacing the new ones.
The interesting part is that he says they are doing this as a reaction. The general community is fighting against them regarding "hadarat nashim" - the exclusion of women from the public sphere. This is their response, their fighting back. They are doing it intentionally, to be provocative on this matter.
Meaning, they do not really care all that much about it, but feel they have to fight back against what they are attacked for. So it makes them more extreme. I can appreciate that.
------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel ------------------------------------------------------
