Arab book fair opens

For the first time the Arab book fair contains no books that incite against the State of Israel or against the Israel Defense Forces.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Beit Hagefen Jewish-Arab center in central Haifa opened its traditional Arab book fair last week - and for the first time contains no books that incite against the State of Israel or against the Israel Defense Forces, reports Yediot Haifa. The center's Jewish and Arab managers said everyone had agreed that the idea of the fair was to display literature and culture, and it had been decided not to exhibit material that was "likely to be harmful to the public at large." In the past, displays of books describing Jews as "sons of snakes" have outraged local residents, but this year managers said every book had been vetted for incitement. The month-long Arab book fair coincides with Hebrew Book Week, which runs from May 28 to June 7.