Great Book Robbery of 1948
In 1948, during the Arab–Israeli War following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, thousands of books and manuscripts were stolen from Palestinian homes and libraries in towns and cities where families had fled or been displaced. Personnel associated with the newly established State of Israel’s National Library, sometimes accompanying military forces, collected these materials from abandoned properties.
Estimates indicate that approximately 60,000–70,000 books, newspapers, and manuscripts were taken from cities including Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, and Nazareth. Many of these items were transferred to the National Library of Israel and catalogued under designations such as “Abandoned Property.” These book seizures occurred alongside broader confiscations of Palestinian land, homes, and personal property during the same period.
Historians and cultural researchers describe the event as a large-scale appropriation of Palestinian cultural heritage. It is considered part of the broader context of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, highlighting issues of looting, displacement, and the seizure of both property and cultural materials under wartime conditions.
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