500 Sheqalim
Obverse:  Edmond de Rothschild
Reverse:  cluster of grapes
Dominant color:  red
Dimensions:  138 x 76 mm
Signatures:  Moshe Mandelbaum, Governor Bank of Israel; Chaim Barkai, Chairman Advisory Council
Printers (unverified):  Royal Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem/Netherlands

Date of issue:  1 December 1982

The 500 Sheqalim banknote shows Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (1845-1934), a French philanthropist and activist for Jewish national and humanitarian affairs and a member of the prominent Rothschild family. In 1882, Edmond de Rothschild began to buy land in Palestine, becoming a leading proponent of the Zionist movement, financing the first site at Rishon LeZion. In his goal for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, he promoted industrialization and economic development. In 1924, he established the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), which acquired 506 km² (125,000 acres) of land and set up business ventures. Edmond de Rothschild also played a pivotal role in the wine industry. Under the supervision of his administrators in Palestine, farm colonies and vineyards were established, and two major wineries were opened in Rishon LeZion and Zichron Yaakov. It is estimated that Edmond de Rothschild spent over 50 million dollars in supporting the settlements, and backed research in electricity by engineers and financed development of an electric generating station. Edmond de Rothschild is buried at Ramat Hanadiv Memorial Gardens near Zichron Yaakov, where his remains were re-interred in 1954. For his Jewish philanthropy Baron Edmond became known as "HaNadiv HaYadu'a", ("The Known Benefactor" or "The Famous Benefactor").

On the banknote's obverse, Edmond de Rothschild's effigy is flanked by agricultural workers and an agricultural settlement.

The reverse shows a cluster of ripe grapes, symbolizing Rothschild's pre-eminence in building a thriving wine industry in the Land of Israel.