Looking forward to a review.
Of obvious concern with any financial institution is FATCA, and proper documentation will need to be provided regarding tax residency. For larger transfers they might also ask for proof of source of funds.
I can't provide a full review yet, as my situation is a little complex, and I have only been able to open up an account with VFEX so far.
The other options (clearshift, interactive brokers) some hurdles I need to jump over due to the situation not being a straightforward individual account with a single signer on either end.
Clearshift doesn't have any option to enroll online. Though once you make contact with them online they respond pretty fast with documents to submit. Their stated conversion markup is 0.50% with a minimum of ILS180. Quite straightforward. On the phone they speak Hebrew and English (didn't try Yiddish).
VFEXGS is a huge advantage of working with a Heimishe middleman that you can talk to. Needed to provide documentation, but it was a pleasure working with a Heimishe middleman to get things done rather fast, and to understand the details. Phone conversations were primarily in Yiddish, though English is also an option. IDK about Hebrew.
The financial institution used by VFEX is located in London, so funds need to be wired there (in almost any currency) and are sent from there. They use a tiered rate structure as follows:
While that is the general rate structure per transfer set by the bank, VFEX will allow you to get a fixed rate based on the amount you transfer into the account, so that future transfers are at the fixed rate, even if smaller transfers.
The one drawback I have with VFEX (I don't know if the others present the same problem or not) is that transfers from/to Israeli banks go via SWIFT, and the Israeli banks tend to charge quite high rates on outgoing and incoming SWIFT transfers. On a 50,000 ILS transfer I was charged a minimum charge of 81 ILS IINM, and on a transfer ten times that size I was charged the maximum of around 460 ILS. If any of the other options allow a domestic Israeli bank transfer, that would be a point in their favor, as the bank charge for those is under 1 ILS.