Tens of thousands of Panamanians visited the Israeli pavilion at the International Book Fair in Panama, which took place in August 2022. The Israeli pavilion, which was built and managed by the Israeli embassy in Panama, was erected at the entrance to the fair and received a great deal of exposure.
The pavilion featured an impressive display of Hebrew literature translated into Spanish, including works by Amos Oz, David Grossman, Batya Gur, Etgar Keret, Zeruya Shalev, Yuval Noah Harari and others, as well as videos showing Israeli landscapes, entertainment venues and technology, and a corner for taking pictures with the Israeli flag and signs such as “I love Jerusalem.” Numerous children’s activities were held in the pavilion as part of the embassy’s collaborations with a group of writers from the Jewish community who write books for children about Jewish and Israeli figures such as David Ben Gurion, Ilan Ramon, King David, etc.
The embassy also conducted a collaboration with Israeli high-tech company Incredibuild. “Sophie’s Crystal Ball,” a children’s book written by the CEO - Tami Mazal Shachar - was translated into Spanish with a message encouraging young girls to dream big to achieve whatever they want. Many groups of children stayed at the pavilion and listened to the story, and had a conversations on the subject. The pavilion received excellent media exposure and sharing on social media by the many visitors.
Israeli Ambassador to Panama, Itai Bardov, noted that the book fair is an excellent opportunity to showcase the rich and diverse culture of Israel in Panama. “It is very exciting to meet the many people and children who came to the pavilion for the activities we conducted. Israel will continue to participate in this important fair,” he said.
