6 November 2026
Shay Mizrahi was appointed to the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) for a three-year term. The IAAC is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. It advises the General Assembly on transparency, accountability, and the management of UN resources. Mizrahi heads the Local Government Audit Division and is Deputy Director General under the State Comptroller in Israel. Israel had no member on the committee before this appointment. The seat was sought under the Western Group, which earlier had only American candidates. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon backed the candidature.
Committee:
Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC)
Parent body:
United Nations General Assembly
Term:
three-year term
Regional group:
Western Group
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the IAAC, its parent body the United Nations General Assembly, the State Comptroller in Israel, and the three-year term won by Shay Mizrahi.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IAAC Independent Audit Advisory Committee — A panel that advises the UN General Assembly on audit work, risk and financial controls.
5 November 2026
El Al reported record revenue of $1.27 billion for the third quarter. The airline is joining the TA-35 stock index for the first time. El Al said net profit fell 14% to $172.2 million. El Al said a dividend of $116.2 million would be paid. A one-time expense on options and a strengthening shekel cut into the profit. El Al is the flagship airline of Israel.
Revenue:
$1.27 billion
Net profit:
$172.2 million
Dividend:
$116.2 million
Index:
TA-35
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the TA-35 stock index, El Al as the flagship airline of Israel, and the shekel whose strengthening cut into the profit.
UPSCBank
In plain words
TA-35 Tel Aviv 35 index — The index of the biggest listed companies on the stock exchange in Tel Aviv.
3 November 2026
Donald Trump announced that the United States would end its annual military assistance to Israel. The assistance runs at approximately $3.8 billion annually under an agreement signed in 2016 that was scheduled to run through 2028. It is used mainly for purchasing American-made military equipment. The office of Benjamin Netanyahu called the change a transition from assistance to partnership. U.S. assistance to Israel has long been treated as a bipartisan agreement. Neither the Defense Ministry nor the Finance Ministry in Israel had been informed of the agreement Trump described. No final decision has been made and the issue is still under discussion, officials said.
Annual assistance:
approximately $3.8 billion
Main use:
purchasing American-made military equipment
Ministry not informed:
Defense Ministry
Ministry not informed:
Finance Ministry
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the size of the annual military assistance to Israel at approximately $3.8 billion, its use for purchasing American-made military equipment, and the Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry in Israel.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
MoU Memorandum of Understanding — A written understanding between two governments that sets out what each will do.
6 November 2026
The PMO in Israel said that it reads the planned end of American aid as a move towards partnership. PMO spokesman Doron Spielman called it a transition from aid towards partnership and mutual investment. US President Donald Trump has spoken of stopping that assistance before this year is out. The sum under discussion is nearly $4 billion in annual American assistance. Benjamin Netanyahu is the Prime Minister of Israel. The PMO said aid to Israel had always been a cross-the-aisle agreement.
Yearly assistance:
nearly $4 billion
Office:
PMO
Spokesman:
Doron Spielman
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the office of the Prime Minister of Israel, the holder of that office, and the size of the yearly American assistance to Israel at nearly $4 billion.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
PMO Prime Minister Office — The office that works directly under the head of government in Israel.
3 November 2026
A 3,300-year-old Egyptian amulet was found lying on the ground at Tel Gezer in the Judean Lowlands. Shiloh Attoun, a 17-year-old American high school student, spotted the scarab seal during a school trip. The seal carries two cobra symbols and was dated to the Late Bronze Age. Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Adam William Asper visited the school and collected the find. The artifact was moved to the national antiquities collection. Attoun was given a certificate of appreciation by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Tel Gezer ranked among the leading Canaanite cities of that age and sat on a strategic crossroads in the Judean Lowlands.
Age of the find:
3,300-year-old
Site:
Tel Gezer
Period:
Late Bronze Age
Body:
Israel Antiquities Authority
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the Israel Antiquities Authority as the body that takes in reported finds, Tel Gezer as a Canaanite city in the Judean Lowlands, and the Late Bronze Age dating of the scarab seal.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IAA Israel Antiquities Authority — The state body in Israel that runs excavations and keeps reported finds.
Background
Israel Antiquities Authority staff took charge of the scarab amulet found at Tel Gezer. The find was placed in the National Treasures of Israel Department of the IAA. An IAA archaeologist, Adam William Asper, was sent to meet the school group and collect the artifact. The site of Tel Gezer itself is managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA). Professor Ido Koch of Tel Aviv University examined the seal and dated it to the Late Bronze Age. Tel Gezer sits at a strategic crossroads in the Judean Lowlands.
Custodian of finds:
National Treasures of Israel Department
Site manager:
Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA)
Region:
Judean Lowlands
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the Israel Antiquities Authority and its National Treasures of Israel Department, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority as the site manager, and the place of Tel Gezer in the Judean Lowlands.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
INPA Israel Nature and Parks Authority — The body that runs national parks and nature reserves in Israel.
Background
El Al joins the TA-35 Index as it reports record revenue for the third quarter. The TA-35 Index tracks 35 of the largest companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. El Al is the Israeli flag carrier and flies from Ben-Gurion Airport. Revenue rose to a record $1.27 billion in the quarter. El Al also posted a net profit of $175 million, down about 14% from $203 million a year earlier. A share index of this kind is the common measure of how listed firms in a country are valued.
Index:
TA-35 Index
Companies tracked:
35
Exchange:
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Airport:
Ben-Gurion Airport
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the TA-35 Index, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that lists it, and El Al as the Israeli flag carrier flying from Ben-Gurion Airport.
UPSCBank
In plain words
TASE Tel Aviv Stock Exchange — The only stock exchange in Israel, where the TA-35 Index is computed.
Background
The Bank of Israel's rate decision and its monthly reserve figure both sit in this section today, so the institution itself is worth knowing.
The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel and the shekel is the country's currency.
Its interest rate decisions are taken by a body called the Monetary Committee.
The Bank publishes minutes of the meetings at which monetary policy is decided.
Its stated policy aims are price stability, support for economic activity and market stability.
The Bank also publishes a monthly figure for Israel's foreign exchange reserves and expresses it as a share of GDP.
The Bank is headed by a Governor, a post held by Prof. Amir Yaron at the time of the September 2026 rate decision.
Central bank:
Bank of Israel
Currency:
Shekel
Body that sets the interest rate:
Monetary Committee
Head of the Bank:
Governor
Why it matters for exams: Pairing a country with its central bank and currency is among the most repeated factual questions in banking papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Central bank — The institution that issues a country's currency and sets its policy interest rate.
Price stability — Keeping the general rise in prices low and steady over time.
Background
Shai Mizrahi, who serves in the State Comptroller and Ombudsman Office, now holds a three-year term on the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC). He is the first Israeli selected to serve on the body, which works under the UN General Assembly. The office audits public bodies and local authorities in Israel. Mizrahi is deputy director general and head of the Local Government Audit Division. He took a first degree in law and a higher degree in public law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mizrahi also represented Israel on an OECD international peer review team examining the supreme audit institution of Chile. Israel keeps a mission to the United Nations, led by Ambassador Danny Danon.
Audit body:
State Comptroller and Ombudsman Office
Division:
Local Government Audit Division
University:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the State Comptroller and Ombudsman Office as the audit body of Israel, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the OECD peer review of supreme audit institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — A grouping of mostly high income economies; Israel is a member.