On banking in Israel, Jews and Muslims can agree
A new government plan opens saving accounts for every Israeli child that comport with Jewish and Muslim laws against usury.
Starting in January 2017, the State of Israel will open a savings account for every child eligible for a child allowance and deposit 50 Israeli shekels ($13) in it every month until the child is 18. These funds will be disbursed in addition to the child allowance received by his or her parents. Under the plan, Saving for Every Child, the funds in the name of the child will be put in a retirement account or a bank account, according to the parents’ wishes. In addition to investment plans at banks and retirement funds, ranked by degree of risk, parents can also select from two other options: a savings plan that conforms to Halakhah (Jewish law) and a plan that conforms to Sharia (Islamic law).
Jewish and Islamic law have something in common when it comes to borrowing and lending with interest. “Lending with interest is one of the gravest transgressions in the Torah, and therefore, one of the greatest mitzvoth [good deeds] is lending without interest,” Rabbi Abraham Fine, from the Court for Interest in Jerusalem, explained to Al-Monitor. Similarly, Ibrahim Salma, imam of the Ajami Mosque in Jaffa, told Al-Monitor, “In Sharia, interest is a grave sin, and a Muslim must not pay or receive interest, even a pittance.”
