The Bank of Israel decided to credit the account of an elderly Jerusalemite, financial director of the House Committee for years, who accidentally burned bills worth close to NIS 10,000, after putting the bills in a plastic bowl with bleach and heating them in the microwave to disinfect them, for fear of getting corona.
A 74-year-old Jerusalem resident, who has managed the house committee’s money for years, accidentally burned bills worth close to NIS 10,000, after putting the bills in a plastic bowl with bleach and heating them in the microwave to disinfect them, for fear of becoming corona.
R. is a retiree from Jerusalem, and among her occupations she manages the finances of the House Committee. In an excited appeal to the Bank of Israel, R. sent over 70 charred bills, worth close to NIS 10,000. She wrote: “I run the building committee of the building and collect money from tenants. This week I collected all the bills in the amount of thousands of shekels. Fearing the corona I touched the banknotes with gloves and in my innocence I got company advice, put them in a plastic bowl with bleach and heated them in the microwave to disinfect them. I left the kitchen and immediately returned when I smelled burnt and the money burned. “
In her appeal she wrote that “I feel great guilt both because it is money that does not belong to me and because I am a loyal citizen and have never caused money to be wasted. It makes me frustrated and makes it even harder for me to get through these difficult days at home, not to mention the financial issue – my monthly income which is not a high pension “.
The bills that were boiled
The exceptional case was referred to the Bank of Israel’s Currency Department, where the banknotes were examined by banknote identification experts at the Bank of Israel and found to be genuine. Therefore, it was decided to credit R.’s account with the entire amount of money burned and they were deposited in the account of the House Committee.
According to Amir Spernovich, Director of the Cash Division at the Bank of Israel’s Currency Department, Request by mail (given by mail in the amount of up to NIS 1,500). It is important to note that the corona virus is not transmitted by banknotes or coins, and it goes without saying that silver banknotes in Israel contain iron wires that can ignite in the microwave. “
According to Nurit Felter Eitan, Head of the Communications Department at the Bank of Israel, “As part of the community service, we replace thousands of banknotes a year, which have been damaged, torn, worn out, etc. But we have not yet had a case of boiling banknotes We came across such a case and found it appropriate to inform the public that it would not occur to anyone else to heat bills in the microwave. “