Last update - 00:00 31/12/2007
With literacy down, Israeli Arabs look to revive their love of reading
By Yoav Stern
When Anwar Sadat visited Haifa in 1979, he met with a group of Israeli Arabs who asked the Egyptian president for assistance in procuring books in Arabic. Touched by their appeal, Sadat immediately sent word to Egyptian officials telling them to help the group as much as possible.
Within days, one of the group's members - Israeli Arab publisher Salah Abassi - was dispatched to Egypt with a suitcase filled with dollars. On his first night in Cairo, Abassi was so excited he could not fall asleep. Within a week, he met with 36 publishers and loaded four trucks with books.
"I brought literature and professional textbooks - even books about floristry," he told Haaretz last week. The books were sold at a bookfair that opened at 10 P.M. and closed 12 hours later; cash registers worked nonstop and all the books were sold in days.
"There was a great thirst that was quenched," Abassi said. Peace with Egypt allowed the Arabs in Israel to reconnect with the Arab literary world. Sales of books in Arabic remained high until the mid-1990s, when a decline began. Abassi claims the Internet and the Arab sector's diminished sense of isolation from the Arab world precipitated the drop.
Its consequences have been disastrous. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Israeli pupils who speak Arabic at home were ranked last in their survey, 40th place. In comparison, pupils with Hebrew as their mother tongue were ranked 8th or 11th, depending on the method of data analysis.
"We are an entire people who do not read," said Iham Halon-Hana, the head of a committee encouraging reading in the Arab sector. "Reading is not properly encouraged anywhere in the Arab world. It will solve all our problems. Children need to read of their own accord, not to pass a test, and parents must encourage them."
Education officials agree that children must be drawn in to change the situation. But up until 10 years ago, few children's books in Arabic were available. Since 2003, however, there has been a surge in book sales - particularly children's literature.
Abassi said he recognizes adult customers that used to buy books from him as children. "It gives cause for hope. Whoever does not read as a child will never read. Nowadays, we encourage children to read and there are books for toddlers," he said.
Meanwhile, financial problems in Israeli Arab towns have led to the closure of eight libraries. But in recent years, an initiative aided by the Education Ministry has boosted reading in the Arab sector. The public library in the Galilee town of Nahaf is a prime example of the campaign's success. Children flock to the library after school and are offered a wide variety of activities.
"If children come to the library, their parents will follow. If we encourage kids, their parents who have stopped reading will start anew," a Nahaf librarian said.