IN THE dark rooftop viewing space of the Khalil Al Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah, the air was heavy with sighs. Occasionally the faint sound of a whimper could be heard. The screen flickered with images of Palestinians forced out of their homes in the 1948 war. On camera, refugees recounted their ordeals and lamented the loss of something precious: their books. 

This was the Ramallah debut of "The Great Book Robbery", a 2012 documentary about the looting of some 70,000 books from private Palestinian libraries during the 1948 war. It vividly chronicles the large-scale cultural pillage and dispossession of Palestinian literary archives. Directed by Benny Brunner, a Dutch-Israeli immigrant and self-described former Zionist, the film left the 40 or so attendees in awe. Adding to the poignance, the audience was gathered in a centre named for a famous Palestinian poet and scholar whose own book collection had been looted.


The theft took place largely unnoticed amidst the tragedy and chaos of the war. Ilan Pappé, an Israeli historian who features prominently in the documentary, says the looters were either individual thieves who took their spoils home, or official operatives who took the books to Israel’s National Library, where at least 6,000 of remain today. Many of the books were recycled as paper; others were marked “AP” for abandoned property. Part of the tragedy, the documentary reveals, is that Palestinian prisoners were forced to pillage books from each other’s homes. In one especially moving scene a Palestinian named Mohammad Batrawi recalled being forced to loot his own home. “The appropriation...of the spiritual essence of the Palestinians different than the appropriation of the land,” observes Mr Pappé. The film ends with Batrawi calling for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The documentary showcases a vibrant pre-1948 Middle East: one where Haifa had a rail link to Cairo and Damascus, and the Palestinian cultural scene was abuzz with literary cafes, cinemas and theatres. In lieu of tests or graded assignments, students and teachers discussed politics and philosophy under trees. It is this storied legacy of Arab culture and intelligentsia that "The Great Book Robbery" pays tribute to.