Israeli program leaves Spanish-language books on streets of Ecuadorian cities

More than 200 books in Israeli literature translated into Spanish have been “published” on the streets of different cities in Ecuador.

Israeli books, translated into Spanish, are being left in public places in several Ecuador cities.

The Libros Libres de Israel Project or Israel Free Books aims to share Israeli culture in the South American country and encourage reading, AJN the news agency reported.

“This is a project where people leave books on public roads for others to find,” said Israel’s ambassador to Ecuador, Edwin Yabo.

Each book has a code and is registered on bookcrossing.com. By entering the code, one can track the places where the book has traveled and share comments about it.

“Although the platform has been available for many years, it has never been used in Latin America before. The idea is very interesting and romantic. We just opened an account on behalf of the Israeli embassy, ​​”Yabo explained.

In addition to the capital Quito, Israeli books have been published in Cuenca, Guayaquil, Riobamba, Santo Domingo and the Galapagos Islands. In addition to city streets, the books are being left in parks and other public places.

“This is a cultural and social project because it is a way of making public spaces great libraries,” Yabo said.

Last year, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno praised the country’s Jewish community for the 80th anniversary of its founding. In response, Yabo read a message from Israeli President Raven Rivlin, in which he recalled Ecuador’s “humanitarian response”.

“We will not forget Ecuador’s humanitarian response,” Rivlin said. He also recalled Ecuador’s consul Manuel Antonio Munoz Borero, who was declared righteous by the Yad Vashem people in Jerusalem for saving the lives of some 700 Jews during World War II.