Many of Los Angeles County\’s 84 libraries carry Jewish-flavored works, but Culver City has the only stand-alone Judaica collection. Among other Southland public libraries, Agoura Hills Library has a Holocaust and Hebrew language collection, and the Los Angeles Central Library in downtown — part of the city of Los Angeles\’ library system — has a Yiddish collection with 3,000 books.
\”Libraries have become the latest battleground in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,\” said Andrea Rapp, a Judaica librarian at the Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, who has compiled examples of alleged anti-Israel bias appearing in children\’s books.
Until recently, it seemed you could find Yiddish books only in obscure libraries or in the attic of the house of someone\’s grandparents.
Reading Is Fundamental
It\’s accepted wisdom that when children read, they develop wider vocabularies, score higher on intelligence tests and display more enthusiasm to pursue higher education. But many children don\’t have access to books, even at school.
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