[ noun ] the basic unit of money in Israel <noun.quantity>
Shekel \Shek"el\, n. [Heb. shegel, fr. sh[=a]gal to weigh.] 1. An ancient weight and coin used by the Jews and by other nations of the same stock.
Note: A common estimate makes the shekel equal in weight to about 130 grains for gold, 224 grains for silver, and 450 grains for copper, and the approximate values of the coins are (gold) $5.00, (silver) 60 cents, and (copper half shekel), one and one half cents.
2. pl. A jocose term for money.
The new government, grappling with its first crisis, has begun work on an economic program aimed at restoring public confidence in the shekel and ending a speculative run on the dollar.
During the meeting, the government also decided to reduce the state budget by about $270 million, converting the shekel at its pre-devaluation rate.
Going from the exotic shekel to the romantic franc without passing through the humdrum dollar made me feel like a sophisticated jet-setter.
The government has devalued the shekel by 13 percent since last week as a first step toward reviving export industries hampered by a frozen exchange rate.
'You don't have to let every shekel move freely to have international convertibility,' said Mr Klein. Further moves by Israel towards convertibility will, however, depend on control over inflation and continued fiscal discipline.
They apparently hope to sell at a profit after the shekel is devalued.
Interest rates soared in Israel on Thursday as skepticism grew over the government's decision to devalue the shekel.