Another Page Turned

It's been one more year and Hebrew Book Week has come and passed once again.  Many years ago, this event actually held some deep significance in the general consciousness of the Israeli public. Let's be honest, there is not exactly a strong literary culture in 2013 Israel. This is something I try and say with as little vanity as possible, and with the hope that things can only get better. I used to spend so much time getting lost in my favorite bookstores in the states, and discovering new ones whenever I would find myself traveling and in a new place. It's one of my favorite things to do. The fact that in Israel people don't really gravitate towards bookstores or libraries, and that both are somewhat few and far in between  is still something that's a bit hard to digest. I swear I'm not an elitist by any means, I just had to get that out.

Hebrew Book Week 2005. Wikipedia.

It's not all doom and gloom though. I can't say that the impact of Hebrew Book Week has completely dissipated. I was surprised to see a lively book stand right outside my office with workers stopping by in between breaks to check out what was on display. Of course, I admit that I'm partial to my native tongue, and as a non-native Hebrew speaker, I can't feel the full effects as profoundly, but at the same time I do realize that I am witness to something special. The revival of Modern Hebrew in my personal opinion is one of the greatest accomplishments of the Jewish people, and stands as one of the most impressive feats overall in any society. It's not every year that a two thousand year dormant language is revived and restructured into a modern  vernacular spoken as the native language of over seven million people.

I can't help but lament a bit however, especially given that we're supposed to be the people of the book after all. Apart from the classic stalwarts of Israeli literature, many of whom it's hard for me to relate to and to speak too fondly of. A.B Yehoshua in particular and those of his ilk, particularly tradtional Sephardim with their holier than thou Zionist attitude. There is nothing that turns me off more in fact than this short sighted and narcissistic ideological view. If anything, this is the type of thought process that only serves to damage the overall Zionist message.

Thankfully there are writers like David Grossman and some fresh faces on the scene like Etgar Keret who are there to shift the balance.. I can only hope that as the demographics keep changing, the prognosticators will be wrong and that another renaissance will be in order.