Organizers of one of the world’s leading children’s book fairs have excluded an Israeli-backed literary institution, a move widely interpreted as another sign of the widening cultural boycott of "Israel".
The decision comes as "Israel" faces mounting accusations from human rights experts and legal scholars of committing genocide against Palestinians.
According to Haaretz, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s largest and longest-running event dedicated exclusively to children’s publishing, has barred the Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature from participating in this year’s fair, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of publishing professionals from around the world.
The institute, which receives public funding and is supported by "Israel’s" ministries of culture and foreign affairs, was established to promote Israeli literature internationally. It made its debut on the global fair circuit last year, when it hosted an official stand at the Frankfurt International Book Fair.
Wider context
Reports indicate that when the institute applied for a booth in Bologna, organizers informed it that the fair’s board had rejected the request, ruling that an official Israeli body would not be permitted to exhibit. No detailed public explanation has been issued for the decision.
Held annually in the spring, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is considered one of the most influential gatherings in the global publishing industry, attracting publishers, authors, illustrators, agents, and distributors.
Israeli publishers continue to attend the fair in a private capacity, and cultural institutes from many countries maintain a visible presence through official booths, underscoring the significance of the decision to exclude an Israeli-backed institution.
Why it matters
The move also reflects a broader political shift in Italy. In September last year, Italian media reported that an Israeli booth would be barred from a tourism fair in Rimini following a joint appeal by the city’s mayor and the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, where Bologna is located.
In May, the region’s president, Michele de Pascale, reportedly suspended official ties between regional institutions and Israeli state bodies.
During the 2025 edition of the Bologna fair, the advocacy group Publishers for Palestine publicly criticised the event for what it described as its “silence in the face of the horrifying ongoing violence against Palestinian children.”
While the fair hosted an illustration exhibition titled Drawing for Palestine, it once again did not feature an official Israeli booth
Source:Websites
