Israel National Library reports dramatic increase in books about Oct 7 atrocities

Israel’s National Library, located in Jerusalem, on Monday released a report revealing a dramatic increase in new books about the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023. The release of the report coincided with the annual Hebrew Book Week, which celebrates books published in Israel.

According to the report, nearly 7,000 books (6,928) were published in Israel in 2024. Among them, 548 explore the trauma of the Oct. 7 attacks and the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza from a range of perspectives. The report also highlighted that very few books were released in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 events.

While most of the books focus on Israel there were also book titles that addressed the Oct. 7 attack’s impact on Jewish communities worldwide. In addition, there were more than 60 new book titles in the children’s and young adult literature genre, which explored various themes such as bomb shelters, air raid sirens, fathers in reserve duty, grief, loss and displaced families. 

Israel’s National Library also collected 392 works that were linked to Oct. 7, and published by Jewish communities worldwide. This means that almost 1,000 Oct. 7-related books were published last year in Israel and abroad.

The report noted that there were only 30 memorial books for fallen IDF soldiers and Oct. 7 victims. The national library attributes this low number to the fact that most memorial works are normally published around anniversaries. It is therefore likely that there will be an increase in these kinds of books in the coming months. 

The report noted that about 90% of all books published in Israel last year were in Hebrew. Around 5% were in English, and only 2% were in Arabic. However, the number of Arabic-language books still rose from 144 in 2023 to 200 in 2024 – a 39% increase.

The Israeli book market has traditionally been dominated by male writers. But the report reveals a notable shift: in 2024, women authored 51.5% of all prose and poetry published in Israel.

Israel publishes a high number of books per capita compared to many other countries around the world. Last October, marking the first anniversary of the October 7 atrocities, the National Library of Israel reported that 169 books and papers related to the attacks had already been published.

Before Oct. 7, the Yom Kippur War of 1973 was considered the most traumatic event in modern Israeli history. Around 300 books and reports were published about the war in its first year, and thousands more have followed over the past half-century. Given the unprecedented trauma and the ongoing impact of the Oct. 7 attacks and subsequent war, it is likely that works related to that event will eventually surpass those written about the Yom Kippur War.

Prominent British pro-Israel investigative journalist Douglas Murray covered the Oct. 7 massacre and much of the first year of the war. In April, his widely praised book “On Democracies and Death Cults” was released, documenting his first-hand experiences in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon during the ongoing conflict launched by Iran and its terrorist proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis – against the Jewish state.