News of a potential banking crisis in the US in the wake of the failure of two major banks in the past few days is dominating international headlines.
The headlines in Israel are focusing on a number of high-tech companies that transferred their funds from Israeli banks to SVB due to their opposition to the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plan.
On Monday, JDN published an apropos video of the Lubavticher Rebbe advising a man that “Eretz Yisrael is the best bank in the world!”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
Isn’t Signature Bank the American branch of Bank Hapoalim?
“Isn’t Signature Bank the American branch of Bank Hapoalim?”
Normal: Not for a long time. Signature was established about 20 years ago by Bank Hapoalim but was spun off in an IPO about 5 years later. Bank Hapoalim initally retained partial ownership after the IPO but totally divested its shares a year or two later.
Sounds more like the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l was saying that he should invest in EY, as that is the surest ‘bank’ in the world, i.e. roi. Not that he should keep his money in a bank in EY.
So do Lubavitchers have their money there, or is this just some more empty rhetoric?
When The corruption Madoff Ponzi Scheme happened the famous line going around the world was:
“IF YOU WANT TO INVEST, DON’T INVEST IN MADOFF, MADOFF GOT MAD AND FELL OFF, IF YOU WANT TO INVEST THEN INVEST IN CHARITY IT’S AN ETERNAL INVESTMENT THAT CAN’T GO BAD, YOU KNOW YOUR STOCKS WENT UP AND DON’T HAVE TO CALL WALL STREET EVERY DAY”
What’s a person’s money worth after they leave this temporary physical world? It’s not even worth counterfeit or monopoly money, it’s completely worthless. What do you think the niftars children will buy a Sefer Torah in the zechus of the Neshama?
I agree with TheFakeMaven. I’m sure the Rebbe gave advice on investments just like many Gedolim that were sincere in helping yidden with their Gashmius and Rucnius (which is admirable), but this exchange was NOT about a financial investment per se, although he meant financial success, but the directive to achieve this was via supporting Eretz Yisroel! Misconstruing a Godul’s words for politics, is chutzpah and is one of the prime reasons and a springboard for our children to not respect them!!!
I agree with TheFakeMaven
Must be Purim Night
But dont know west or east Bank
@fakemaven, ccb45, Menachem shmei,
The word the Rebbe used was ‘deposit’ not ‘invest’.
I’m sure the Rebbes words were exact, and intended in their most literal sense. Not sure exactly why people would look to misconstrue the clear wording of the video just in order to sow doubt as to the foresight and tzidkus of the Rebbe’s directives.
Maybe I shouldn’t judge; easy to be a skeptic, not so easy to be a believer…..
Yechi, do you actually see from this clip that the Rebbe instructed to bank “in” Israel? The message except for the “deposit” suggests a ruchnios idea of giving to the land! Of course he had Ruach Hakodesh but it’s very vague and isn’t clear of the intention, in my humble opinion. But again, I might be wrong. Please clarify.
Yechi, sorry for the double, but the Rebbe said invest twice vs deposit only once! I’m not lubavitch but watched with an open and clear mind and I “am” a believer but like many things the Rebbe said have been so closely examined and as a result, so many different opinions of what his intent was!
Abie Rotenberg said it 20 years ago:
“So, send your spare cash to Barbados, or better yet the Holy Land!”