Book Week in Haifa: Once a city celebration, today it is barely noticeable

(haipo) – June is approaching, and with it Book Week – a date that for decades was one of the central events in Haifa’s cultural calendar. In recent years, small, scattered initiatives have been taking place in the city, mostly initiated by private entities, trying to preserve something of that spirit. But it’s hard not to notice: Haifa no longer celebrates books. There is no central area, no sense of holiday – certainly not a sense of community. It seems that Book Week has lost its status, just as the book itself has lost its centrality in the lives of children, youth and adults. Today, when books have been pushed aside in the face of screens, TikTok, Instagram and endless distractions – today, it is essential to celebrate them, to restore their respect and interest.

How it all started: Haifa Book Week of the 60s and 70s

Hebrew Book Week was founded in 1926 in Tel Aviv, but similar events had been held in Haifa since the 50s. The city, which was experiencing a cultural boom at the time, joined in the celebrations with great enthusiasm. The first stands were set up on HaNeviim Street, then in Paris Square, and finally – in a location that became traditional: the Memorial Garden across from Haifa City Hall. The entire area was filled with book stands, activities for children, readings, performances and meetings with writers and poets. The city looked like a colorful literary fair. Book Week was not just a sales market – it was a celebration of culture, of Hebrew, of community.

A family experience and holiday memories

“I remember as a child the whole city decorating for Book Week,” says the city resident, now a mother of three. “Passersby would arrive festively dressed at the Memorial Garden – not just a walk with the children, but a real ceremony. It was a holiday. Each child in my family would get to choose one book, and we would wander for hours among the stands, debating, excited. My parents taught us that a book is a gift, an experience, something that is only yours. It was a special evening full of reading, culture and a community embrace.”

Parents: "Our children need books, not just screens"

Among the initiatives that have taken place in the city in recent years – small writing workshops, story readings in kindergartens or stands in the Cinematheque plaza – there are also parents who are trying to bring back the glory of its past. “My son is 8 years old, and he loves books,” says Anat, a mother from Haifa. “But when there is no reading culture around him – it is disappearing. In a city like Tel Aviv, there are festivals, reading events, meetings with authors. Why can’t Haifa have the same thing? Why don’t we have a real celebration in the city, inviting children, parents, grandparents to come and celebrate books together?”

“On Independence Day, the city invests millions in singers and events – and that’s fine,” she adds, “but why not also invest in a cultural celebration like Book Week? After all, not every child likes noisy performances. Other children – and adults – also need quiet, profound culture that speaks to the heart and mind.”

The book struggles for its place in the new world

It’s hard to ignore the reality: books are no longer king. Many teenagers spend most of their time watching videos, social networks, and playing games. But for this very reason, it’s more important than ever to give prominence to events that promote reading, understanding, depth, and encounters between people through words. Book Week can be a bridge – between children and books, between generations, between culture and community.

Beyond that, it is also an opportunity to promote local creators: Haifa writers, poets, illustrators, independent publishers. Haifa Book Week can be an opportunity for both them and the city's residents.

And what about the Haifa Municipality?

According to many residents, the municipality does not see this event as a priority. There is no advance planning, no marketing, no significant budget. Many initiatives come from private entities – shops, community centers, associations. They claim that Haifa, which was once a cultural capital, is neglecting the world of books.

This is how it's done in other cities – in Israel and around the world

In Tel Aviv, Book Week takes place all along Rothschild Boulevard, with dozens of stalls, events and thousands of visitors every evening. In Jerusalem, Safra Square is filled with events for children and adults. Be'er Sheva has transformed the station complex into an entire week of discussion about books. Smaller cities like Modi'in, Nes Ziona and Ra'anana operate complexes with local authors, storytelling theatre, markets, workshops and silent performances.

Around the world – many cities operate large and well-funded literary festivals: in London, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin – the book continues to be at the center. Why not in Haifa as well?

A time to read – and a time to act

For Book Week to return to what it was, action is needed. Brave city leadership that will place culture at the center, allocate a budget, involve the community, bring in creators, organize events, and allow children to discover the magic of leafing through books, the silence of reading, and belonging to a city that celebrates the spirit, not just the noise.

If we turn Book Week into a real holiday, we can restore not only the status of the book, but also the connection of Haifa residents with their city, with their culture, and with themselves.

"A celebration of books that has faded"

In 1990, writer and journalist Yoram Mark Reich returned from London to Haifa, right into the center of the Israeli literary scene. "Even then, respectable publishers were publishing my books – Kinneret, Yedioth Sfarim, Kibbutz Hameuhad, and more," he says.
As someone who was then appointed editor of a successful children's weekly, with tens of thousands of subscriptions, Mark Reich became a familiar figure among the younger generation of readers. "I opened booths only for my books during Book Week, for children and adults. It was a real celebration. Children flocked to see me, hear me, talk to me. There were no selfies back then, throughout the 90s... It wasn't just a sale - it was a joyful gathering. Every fifteen minutes they would announce over loudspeakers that I was signing the comic books "Pazit" and the book "Longing for Popeye," which, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education, was taught in most schools in the country, and children came in droves to have me sign their books. There was a feeling of a lively and vibrant festival."

The events I attended took place in central locations in the city – first at the Sports Hall in Romema, then at Castra, and finally at the Grand Canyon. "Yona Yahav purchased books from me to read to the kindergartens he visited during Book Week. The atmosphere was joyful and festive. Entire families wandered between the stalls. My daughters, who were born in the 90s, would come with me, each in turn. One of them fell asleep in the evening in a suitcase, which had previously been full of books. It was exciting to see the combination of private life and love for literature. My regular neighbor at the stalls was Prof. Adir Cohen, who would come with his son Amatzia to sell his books. I even had to hire employees to help operate the stalls, because of the workload."

But alongside the pleasant memories, Mark Reich finds it difficult to ignore the bleak present. "I'm not sure there's any point in bringing back Book Week. Interest in books has waned. Today, people buy much less, you can feel it. The book of the past is losing out, unfortunately, to the digital options. Maybe a used book market would have been more successful. I miss that festival, the life it brought to the city. For ten days, Haifa was joyful and culturally alive."

Haifa Municipality: It is still unclear what the events will be during Book Week

The municipality responded that at this stage it is still unclear what events will be part of Book Week. Last year there were events related to reading and exchanging books.