Every book that lands in your hands has a story behind it. Not just the one printed on its pages, but the journey it took to get here. English books in Israel have traveled quite a road, and it's one worth telling.

Books that crossed oceans

English-language books arrived in this country the same way their readers did: in suitcases and shipping containers, carried by wave after wave of immigrants from English-speaking countries. For decades, olim packed their libraries alongside their dishes and photo albums, knowing that English books would be harder to replace than almost anything else in their homes. That early scarcity shaped everything. A paperback from America or England wasn't just a book; it was a lifeline back to a familiar world.

The shops that kept English alive

That need gave rise to a quiet ecosystem of English bookstores. In Jerusalem, places like Sefer ve Sefel, an entirely English-language secondhand shop, became institutions where English speakers hunted for their next read. The Book Gallery in Jerusalem grew into what it describes as the largest secondhand bookstore in Israel, with a serious English section covering Israel, Zionism, Jewish history, and beyond. These weren't just shops; they were gathering points for readers determined to keep reading in their mother tongue.

Even today, the hunger is real. According to a January 2026 article in Haaretz, Tel Aviv opened its first store devoted exclusively to new English-language books, proof that even in the "first Hebrew city," English readers are still carving out their space.

And now, books come to you

Here's what's changed: you no longer have to trek to a physical shop and hope they have what you want. That's exactly why Eva's Used Books exists. Every English book you see on our shelves gets carefully packed and shipped anywhere in Israel, straight to your door. Someone's well-loved novel becomes your next favorite read, without the trip to a shop or Amazon's shipping fees.

Because that's really what secondhand books are: stories with connecting flights.