This month, Chaim V'Chessed was flooded with calls from foreign citizens living in Israel who were facing a new problem: their Israeli bank accounts were being closed down! Due to new IRS regulations on paperwork for their U.S. citizen customers, Israeli banks were threatening to close the accounts of foreign customers unless they deposited sizable sums of money.
Chaim V'Chessed contacted MK Uri Maklev and Rabbi Yitzchak Brenner of Degel HaTorah, who interfaced with Bank of Israel on our behalf. On September 27, Dr. Chedvah Bar, Supervisor of Banks, notified Chaim V'Chessed that she had issued a directive to banks countrywide to cease this discriminatory act.
Bank of Israel representatives informed Chaim V'Chessed that foreign citizens may ignore such notices from their banks. If you continue to encounter difficulty in this area, contact Chaim V'Chessed and we will take action to resolve it.
