Thanks Tim. There is some good advice on the thread you posted, but some of it is out of date. Banking laws in Israel have changed (due to folks who were kashering money) and interbank transfers have apparently gotten fairly complicated, not to mention fee heavy. I'm also dealing with a child who is, thank G-d, financially responsible. We tried transfers and ended up with huge costs. Cash advances via credit card cost between 3-5% of the advance amount, plus a 25%+ variable APR that starts as soon as the money leaves the ATM. The main issue is getting cash to cover rent and other bills that cannot be paid via credit card. So far the best bet seems to be a debit card with ATM withdrawals in Israel. Unfortunately, I have no local TD here in Baltimore which seems to be the choice on that thread. So, if anyone knows of a good resource for an account of that type, or a better/cheaper means of transfer, I would be grateful.
Thanks again for the ideas