February 27, 2018, Updated April 22, 2020
A vintage shekel note. Photo via Shutterstock.com

The lira is replaced by the shekel (1 shekel = 10 lirot) as Israel’s national currency. The word “shekel” derives from a biblical unit of weight of approximately one ounce (12 grams). The “new Israeli shekel” (NIS) introduced on January 1, 1986, is still in use, available in coin and banknote forms.