A recent article in the Los Angeles called Babylon & Beyond: Israel: Reading with the Enemy caught my eye.
Not many know, but obtaining an Arabic copy of Harry Potter in Israel requires a special permit under the pre-state Trade with the Enemy Ordinance.It’s not because it’s Harry Potter or by a British author. It’s because it’s published in Lebanon. If you import books from countries Israel is not at peace with, you have to have a license from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. And that license can be withdrawn under the 1939 Trade with the Enemy Ordinance.
This may sound really odd to Americans.
But did you know that it wasn’t until 1988 that the U.S. allowed books, papers, music and art to be imported from Cuba? And it was after that that an amendment and court case “freed American publishers from the need to secure permission from the governments of Cuba, Iran and Sudan for publishing the works of authors from those countries.”
I knew about Cuba - although one still cannot legally get Cuban cigars here.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know, I can only imagine the restrictions in Arabic Middle Eastern countries...
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
I'm still mad I can't get a good Cubano unless I take a trip on a cruise ship or break the law - lol. But having unrestricted access to books from all over the globe is something to be thankful for, for sure.
ReplyDeleteWe have much for which we can be grateful in this country.
ReplyDeleteThat's one reason I'm glad to be an American in the good old USA.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/morganmandel
Speaking of Cuba, I would like to visit there.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of books, it would be good if all people had access to all books. I agree, I'm glad I live where we do have access to books
Speaking of Cuba, I would like to visit there.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of books, it would be good if all people had access to all books. I agree, I'm glad I live where we do have access to books
This was an interesting blog. I lived in Saudi Arabia for a while and I’m thinking they probably wouldn’t allow an Arabic copy of Harry Potter to be sold in their books stores period simply because of the content. I never thought about the licensing aspect.
ReplyDeleteJane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride
http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/
Censorship in the States existed but was well covered up. I checked so i know :) The C.I.A. was also known to purchase all available copies of works they considered to be dangerous. This is documented (and, it just occurred to me, would be one heck of a way to get on a bestseller list!)
ReplyDeleteIn the late 70s i worked in a bookstore in Athens and was surprised by an American customer who went wild when he found out we had plenty of copies of 'The Seven Sisters'. Bought 2 copies and told me it was banned in the U.S. and that he would have to sneak it in through customs.
Another such book was Norman Spinrad's 'Agent of Chaos'. I checked in bookstores and libraries from Boston to L.A. and they simply did not exist back then. Even Spinrad fans had never heard of this particular work.
I did eventually find a used, smuggled copy of the 7 Sisters in an underground bookstore in New Orleans.
It's very helpful to hear from those who have lived or are living abroad. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's very interesting about certain books not being sold in the U.S.
I took a Non-Western Lit survey in college and we had to read Lolita in Tehran. It was one of the most eye-opening books I had ever read at the time. The idea of being punished for reading books, speaking ideas that were westernized... it was absolutely gut-wrenching to think about what those women (especially women...) went through to try and educate themselves. I am really grateful to live in a country that allows a great deal of freedom of the press.
ReplyDeleteAnd did you know, though this is totally not book related, that you can't mail chess boards to Afghanistan?
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ReplyDeleteJenny, that's wonderful. When I was in college, I don't remember reading what were considered controversial books, or perhaps I didn't consider them to be so. I do know my daughter read some in college. I think that's great.
ReplyDeleteJena, I did not know that. Any idea why you can't mail chess boards? Are they illegal to own? Or is it because they weren't manufactured there?
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