Sales of books about Arab-Israeli relations are growing in the Russian Federation
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Since the outbreak of the new war in Israel, Russian book publishers have observed a sharp increase in Russian interest in literature about the Arab-Israeli conflict. In “Read-Gorod” sales of thematic literature increased by 30% by September, in “Litres” – almost nine times. Leading authors include Anita Shapira, Ronen Bergman, Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal. Market participants note that the information feed “does not show the root causes of geopolitical conflicts, only increasing stress and anxiety,” and the literature allows readers to analyze the situation and form their own opinion.
According to the bookselling network “Read-Gorod”, which Kommersant got acquainted with, in the segment of literature that can help to understand the essence problems between Israel and Palestinefrom October 7 there has been an increase in unit sales by 30% compared to September 7–13.
The most dramatic dynamics are found in Anita Shapira’s book “The History of Israel. From the origins of the Zionist movement to the intifada of the beginning of the 21st century,” says the representative of Eksmo-AST.
In second place is Mossad. The most striking and daring operations of the Israeli secret service” by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal. The top three is completed by the work “Rise up and kill first. The Secret History of Israeli Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman.
Also among the bestsellers is the novel “Judas” by Israeli journalist Amos Oz, and the study by historian Yuri Slezkine “The Age of Mercury. Jews in the modern world.”
The Litresa e-book service confirms the trend. Thus, from October 7 to October 12, almost nine times more works in the “History of Israel” category were sold than during the same period of the previous month.
The rating of books about the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict was topped by the already mentioned work of Ronen Bergman. Also among the bestsellers is Anita Shapira’s book in electronic and audio format. The top 5 of the list is completed by the electronic and audio version of the international bestseller “The Arabs. Story. XVI–XXI centuries.” Eugene Rogan, a representative of Litres clarified. Mann, Ivanov and Ferber (MIF) did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Russians often turn to specialized literature during geopolitical conflicts. Since the beginning of partial mobilization in Russia last September, publishers have seen a decline in book sales overall, but a sharp increase in Russian interest in literature about the Second World War and Hitler’s Germany (see “Kommersant” dated October 11, 2022).
As of October 14, the number of Russians killed as a result of attacks by the Palestinian Hamas movement, which began on October 7, has increased to 16. Eight people are listed as missing. At least one more was taken hostage and is in the Gaza Strip. The death toll of Israelis on October 15 exceeded 1,400, Palestinians – 2,600.
Trust in a book as a source of information is traditionally higher, “a large flow of news leads to stress and anxiety, it is quite difficult to continue to live and work productively, think critically and make decisions based only on news,” explains Irina, Marketing Director of the Alpina Publishing Group Antonov. Books provide support, she adds, allowing you to understand the causes of events, trace historical parallels and form your own view of the current situation. And the reading process itself helps to focus and calmly analyze information, summed up Irina Antonova.
Books provide depth of understanding and give it a breadth of context, agrees the former head of the Association of Internet Publishers Vladimir Kharitonov. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has very deep roots and a complex history,” he notes. According to him, the news feed only shows “what”, but does not tell “why”, “for what reason”. Another thing, he clarified, is that “one book, at least in this matter, will definitely not be enough.”
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