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Israel’s financial scene just got a shot of free-market dynamism that should make every patriot cheer: a new digital bank called Esh is rolling out checking accounts advertised as fee-free, promising to upend the old guard that has long soaked consumers with monthly charges and opaque fees. The announcement landed in mid-September when Esh officially unveiled its model and claimed it would offer current accounts without the usual commissions that Israeli banks have treated as a cash cow.
This isn’t some charity play; Esh is pitching a bold revenue-sharing approach that hands customers a cut of the income generated from their deposits — the bank says it will return roughly half of that income back to account holders, and it boasts a founder list that includes tech heavyweights like Nir Zuk. The new lender has been shepherded through regulatory scrutiny and sits alongside other recent challengers aiming to break the cozy cartel of Israel’s established banks.
Conservatives should welcome the disruption here: competition, not government price-fixing, is what drives better service and lower costs for working people. For years the mainstream banks enjoyed quasi-monopolistic comfort while ordinary savers and small businesses paid the price; a lean, tech-driven rival that can actually pass savings along to consumers is the exact remedy free-market patriots have been arguing for. No amount of Washington-style bureaucratic lecturing can replicate what entrepreneurs deliver when they are free to compete.
On a different but equally uplifting front, Israel’s cultural and religious tourism is getting a boost at Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, where a new guesthouse and visitor complex tied to an extraordinary first-century archaeological site is preparing to open this November. The Magdala project has revealed a well-preserved synagogue, ritual baths and other finds that connect modern visitors directly with the world of the Gospels, and the site’s new hospitality facilities are aimed at pilgrims and history-lovers alike.
Archaeologists have hailed the Magdala stone and related discoveries as some of the most important finds in the region, showing detailed carvings and synagogue architecture that deepen our understanding of Jewish life in the Second Temple period. This is the kind of heritage that cements the historical bond between modern Israel and the Judeo-Christian tradition — a fact that should make defenders of Western civilization proud, not apologetic.
Taken together, these stories are a reminder of what free people and bold entrepreneurs can build: a banking alternative that forces accountability, and a restored ancient site that invites pilgrims back to the cradle of Western faith. If conservatives want to beat back the left’s narratives about markets and values, we ought to point to real wins like these — innovation that helps everyday families and preservation that honors our shared roots.
Let’s not be naive about the road ahead; challengers will face pushback from entrenched interests and regulators who love to tinker. But champions of liberty should roll up their sleeves and cheer on competition, support Israel’s rightful stewardship of historic sites, and call out any attempt to strangle innovation with needless red tape.
