The shekel is very strong, and this bothers Zaher Abu Hamda, a Lebanese pundit writing for the relatively moderate Ma’an News.
One might think that a strong shekel is good for Palestinians, who get paid in shekels, and it allows them to import goods at reduced prices. But that is way too straightforward an analysis for today’s Jew-haters.
According to Abu Hamda, the strong shekel is a direct outgrowth of Jews engaging in usury during the Middle Ages.
Since Jews were so good at cornering the market on banking, they parlayed that into a monopoly on diamonds and sulphur before World War II, which then led to their success in high tech fields, which means a strong shekel, all using the same underhanded methods that Jews have always used.
Makes perfect sense – if you are an antisemitic conspiracy theorist.
The last paragraph reveals a bit more, though:
The main reason for the strengthening of the Israeli economy is the security factor. For example, with the second intifada, 20 years ago, the shekel fell against the dollar to 4.5. Here, it becomes clear to us that the Israelis are buying security by any means, whether it is a truce with Gaza or the temptations of permits (for Palestinian workers) in the West Bank. Therefore, if we want to break Israel, we must think of ways to defeat the shekel and their economy, or at least weaken it, before thinking about military and political plans.
It sure doesn’t sound like the goal is a Palestinian state.
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