The value of the Israeli New Shekel against the British Pound has dropped to 5.76.

With the Israeli New Shekel hitting the lowest level in recent weeks it would seem that this would conflict with the festivities of the Jewish festival Yom Kippur and would discourage people sending money to Israel for this religious festival. Despite this, RationalFX have noted that money transfers to Israel have become an increasingly popular transaction, with people sending on average £1500.

The value of the Israeli New Shekel against the British Pound has dropped to 5.76.

With the Israeli New Shekel hitting the lowest level in recent weeks it would seem that this would conflict with the festivities of the Jewish festival Yom Kippur and would discourage people sending money to Israel for this religious festival. Despite this, RationalFX have noted that money transfers to Israel have become an increasingly popular transaction, with people sending on average £1500.

While the drop in the value of the Israeli New Shekel against the British Pound may affect those sending money to Israel, it will prove extremely beneficial to those sending money from Israel; they will be able to get extremely competitive exchange rates which will allow their recipient to receive more of the money they transfer.

 

In 2010, the world’s Jewish population was estimated to be over 13 million, with approximately 56% (740,000) of these living outside of Israel which means there will be thousands of Jewish individuals celebrating Yom Kippur this October in various nations all over the world. With such a large Jewish population worldwide wanting to send money in time for Yom Kippur, the price of the Israeli New Shekel against the pound could prove costly.

Yom Kippur is often referred to as the single most religious day of the year for Jews and is celebrated (as with many other Jewish celebrations) with feasting and prayer, with the addition of a traditional 25-hour period of fasting for Yom Kippur. During this time of the year it is common for people to travel to and from the larger Jewish populated nations such as Israel, USA, France, Canada and the UK to celebrate Yom Kippur together with family and friends.

Rosh Hashanah sparks the first of 10 High Holy Days, or ‘Days of Awe’, ending with Yom Kippur, the Hebrew Day of Atonement, falling on October 8th this year. The 10 day ‘atonement and repentance’ period is typically commemorated with asking for forgiveness for wrong doings and the giving of charity. Many Jews spend the day attending religious services in a synagogue, with up to 5 services being conducted throughout the day dedicated to the occasion.

Rosh Hashanah marks the first day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The yearly cycle of the Jewish calendar differs greatly from the traditional Gregorian calendar and therefore the Jewish High Holy Days do not fall on the same day each year. Yom Kippur can arrive as early as 14th of September, as it will for the first time in 2013 since 1899. On the other hand, Rosh Hashanah can occur as late as 14th of October, which will not occur again until 2043, with the last time being 1967.

With thousands of the Jewish population travelling globally to celebrate the festival amongst others, the need to transfer Israeli New Shekel will ultimately be high. However, despite the turn in price, research shows that remittances to Israel are getting higher and higher with over 28billion Israeli New Shekel being transferred this year.

When you send money through a bank or a money sending bureau to and from Israel for Yom Kippur it can take as long as 12 days for the money to be received and the transaction will be costly as you will be offered uncompetitive exchange rates and charged considerable transfer fees, which combined with the drop in the value of the Israeli Shekel could make your transaction unnecessarily expensive.

If you choose to send your money to or from Israel through a foreign exchange broker such as RationalFX it could be a lot faster and will enable you to significantly reduce the costs of transferring money. When you send money to Israel through RationalFX you will be offered a competitive exchange rate and only be charged a minimal transaction fee, which will result in more Israeli New Shekel being sent in the transaction.

Call us today on +44 (0) 20 7220 8181 to discuss and arrange money transfers to and from Israeli or register with RationalFX to start transferring money for Yom Kippur to family and friends.