More than 100 leading Israeli economists, business executives and former senior public officials, including two Nobel Prize laureates, have signed a sharply worded letter warning that comprehensive international banking sanctions against Israel would cause "enormous and irreversible damage" to the economy. The signatories accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to grasp the severity of the threat and dismiss his proposal to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent potential restrictions as a solution associated with criminal organizations.
The letter, signed by 109 prominent figures, follows Netanyahu's remarks on Friday that Israel must prepare an alternative economic system capable of bypassing banking sanctions, with blockchain technology among the options under consideration. The signatories express "alarm and deep concern" over his statements, warning that such an approach would do nothing to protect Israel from the consequences of international financial isolation.
‘A solution used by criminal gangs’: top economists blast Netanyahu's crypto sanctions plan
(Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO, Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
Among the signatories are Professor Joel Mokyr, who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and Professor Aaron Ciechanover, a Nobel laureate in chemistry. The list also includes former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel; former Finance Ministry directors-general Yoram Ariav, Avi Ben-Bassat, David Brodet and Haim Shani; former deputy central bank governors Zvi Eckstein, Avia Spivak and Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg; and former supervisors of banks Yair Avidan and Rony Hizkiyahu. Former budget directors David Boaz and Udi Nissan also signed the letter, alongside Israeli Academy of Sciences President David Harel and prominent technology and venture capital figures, including Check Point co-founder Marius Nacht, CyberArk co-founder Alon Cohen, Dov Moran and Gigi Levy-Weiss.
‘Israelis will not be able to use credit cards’
The signatories warn that sweeping banking sanctions would paralyze the Israeli economy. "Israel's banking system, companies, exporters and investors, foremost among them the high-tech sector, the economy's engine of growth, will be unable to function," they write. "Unemployment will soar, foreign investment will disappear entirely, and Israel's economic standing in the world will collapse."
The letter also details the potential consequences for ordinary Israelis. "Israelis will not be able to use credit cards, international shopping websites such as Amazon and AliExpress will be blocked to customers in Israel, and foreign workers will leave the country en masse because they will be unable to transfer money to their families. The health care system will be unable to purchase medical equipment and medicines."
The signatories conclude that such sanctions would "completely destroy the model that allows Israel to exist as a modern, advanced economy." Citing South Africa, Iran and Russia as examples of countries subjected to major international sanctions, they warn that Israelis' standard of living would fall dramatically and that the state's ability to finance its defense needs and protect itself against its enemies would be severely damaged.
‘A fundamental lack of understanding and ignorance’
The final section of the letter directly challenges Netanyahu's leadership. "Netanyahu is knowingly leading the State of Israel toward an international boycott and economic isolation," the signatories write, "and all he has to offer the Israeli economy is a bizarre solution commonly used by criminal organizations, which will accomplish absolutely nothing."
They add that the prime minister's remarks demonstrate "a fundamental lack of understanding and ignorance in the face of Israel's collapsing standing in the international arena."
The letter describes an extreme scenario involving comprehensive banking sanctions, a step that no government is currently advancing. Measures already introduced are narrower and largely focused on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In September, Britain announced a ban on imports from settlements and sanctions targeting companies and individuals assisting their expansion, including financial institutions. The Netherlands introduced a ban on trade in settlement goods that same month, with deliberate violations punishable by up to six years in prison.
Seven Israeli banks appeared in a database of companies involved in settlement-related activities updated by the United Nations Human Rights Council in September. The Jewish People Policy Institute has counted 121 restrictive measures against Israel across 62 countries, including 40 financial measures, according to Calcalist.
The latest warning follows a separate letter issued last week by an economists' forum, signed by more than 60 economists and former senior officials, which also raised concerns about international isolation and sanctions. The new appeal broadens that coalition to include leading figures from Israel's high-tech industry, venture capital funds and major law firms, people and businesses whose international operations would be directly affected by the alternative financial system Netanyahu has proposed.