The 7 Best Independent Bookshops in Israel (2026)

Updated August 2026 · 7 picks

The best independent bookshops in Israel are Halper's and the Book Junction for secondhand English in Tel Aviv, Sipur Pashut in Neve Tzedek for literature, Tmol Shilshom and the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem, and the Levinsky and Dizengoff secondhand stalls. Most stock English alongside Hebrew. Seven worth a detour, below.

1. Halper's Books — Allenby Street, Tel Aviv

The country's great secondhand English bookshop — chaotic, enormous, essential.

₪ Budget

Halper's on Allenby has been Tel Aviv's secondhand English bookshop for decades: floor-to-ceiling shelves, stacks in the aisles, a serious Judaica and Middle East section, and a stock that turns over with the city's constant flow of arrivals and departures.

It is the sort of shop where the system is in the owner's head rather than on the shelves, and asking is far more productive than browsing alphabetically.

Prices are a fraction of what new imported English books cost in Israel, which is reason enough to go, but the real draw is finding things you were not looking for.

Good to know: Ask rather than browse — the stock is deeper than the shelves suggest.

Google Maps Website

2. Sipur Pashut — Shabazi Street, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv

A small, seriously curated literary bookshop in the prettiest street in Tel Aviv.

₪₪ Mid-range

Sipur Pashut — 'a simple story' — is a small independent bookshop on Shabazi Street in Neve Tzedek, and it is the most literary shop in Tel Aviv: tightly curated, strong on poetry and translated fiction, and firmly on the side of independent publishing.

It runs readings, launches and events, and it functions as a hub for the Hebrew literary scene rather than just a retailer.

The stock is Hebrew-first with an English selection, and the staff will point you at what is worth reading in translation. Neve Tzedek outside is worth the walk regardless.

Good to know: Ask what Israeli fiction has just been translated — that is the shop's strongest recommendation.

Google Maps Website

3. Tmol Shilshom — City centre, Jerusalem

Jerusalem's literary bookshop-cafe, in a nineteenth-century courtyard.

₪₪ Mid-range

Tmol Shilshom is tucked into a stone courtyard off Yoel Moshe Salomon Street and has been Jerusalem's literary cafe and bookshop for decades — the place where writers worked, readings happened and the city's literary life had an address.

The name comes from an Agnon novel and the setting is exactly what you would hope: thick walls, books on every surface, and a menu built for sitting for a long time.

It is one of the very few places in Jerusalem where being a tourist and being a regular look the same.

Good to know: Go for breakfast or an afternoon and stay — the courtyard is the point, not the speed.

Google Maps Website

4. The Educational Bookshop — Salah al-Din Street, East Jerusalem

The best English-language stock on the region's history and politics.

₪₪ Mid-range

The Educational Bookshop on Salah al-Din Street in East Jerusalem is a family-run Palestinian bookshop with an English and Arabic stock that is unmatched in the country for books on the region — history, politics, memoir, poetry and translation.

It runs across more than one premises on the same street, with a cafe upstairs at one of them, and it functions as a meeting point as much as a shop.

Whatever you already think about the region, this is a selection you will not find in west Jerusalem, and the staff know their stock in detail.

Good to know: Open on Saturday, unlike most of Jewish Jerusalem — useful for a Shabbat afternoon.

Google Maps Website

5. The Book Junction — Tel Aviv

Secondhand English at volume, and a good place to offload what you finished.

₪ Budget

The Book Junction is one of the Tel Aviv secondhand English shops that keeps the Anglophone reading population supplied, with a large general stock across fiction, history and the usual expat categories.

It buys as well as sells, which is the practical part: if you are travelling long-term, you can trade the paperbacks you have finished rather than carrying them.

Prices are low and the turnover is fast, so it rewards repeat visits more than a single thorough browse.

Good to know: Bring books to trade in — most of the secondhand shops here buy as well as sell.

Google Maps Website

6. The Allenby and Dizengoff secondhand stalls — Allenby and central Tel Aviv

A run of small dealers where the finds are genuinely unpredictable.

₪ Budget

Beyond the named shops, central Tel Aviv holds a scattering of small secondhand dealers — along Allenby, around King George and near Dizengoff — selling Hebrew and English stock out of cramped rooms and, in warm weather, off tables on the pavement.

These are the places where old Israeli editions, Hebrew poetry, Judaica and odd out-of-print English titles surface, usually for very little.

There is no efficient way to shop them. The method is walking and looking, which is the correct way to spend a Tel Aviv afternoon anyway.

Good to know: Carry cash — several of the smallest dealers still prefer it.

Google Maps Website

7. The Steimatzky and Tzomet Sfarim branches — Nationwide

Not independent, but the reliable answer in every town in the country.

₪₪ Mid-range

Steimatzky and Tzomet Sfarim are the two national chains and they are in every mall and high street in Israel, which makes them the practical option when you are not in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Both carry a decent English section — bestsellers, travel guides, Israeli fiction in translation — alongside the Hebrew stock, and both run the aggressive multi-buy offers that dominate Israeli bookselling.

Include them here for coverage rather than character. For anything interesting, the independents above are a different experience entirely.

Good to know: The multi-buy deals are steep — the sticker price is rarely what you pay.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy English-language books in Israel?

Easily. Israel has a large Anglophone population and English books are stocked by nearly every general bookshop, with several specialising in them entirely. Prices for new imported English titles are high — often ₪90–₪150 — which is why the secondhand English shops do such steady business.

Where do I find secondhand books?

Halper's on Allenby in Tel Aviv is the biggest and best known for English, and there is a run of secondhand dealers along the same street. Jerusalem has several near the centre. Prices are typically ₪20–₪50 and the stock turns over constantly because of the expat and immigrant flow.

Are bookshops open on Shabbat?

In Tel Aviv, many are, and Saturday is a good browsing day. In Jerusalem, most Jewish-owned shops close from Friday afternoon to Saturday night, though the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem operates. Friday morning is the busiest shopping window everywhere.

What Israeli authors should I read in translation?

Amos Oz, David Grossman, Etgar Keret, Zeruya Shalev, A.B. Yehoshua and Sayed Kashua are the names most widely translated into English, and every good bookshop here stocks them. Ask the staff — Israeli booksellers are opinionated and will tell you what is actually good.

Do bookshops have cafes?

Several of the best do, and it is part of the model rather than an add-on. Tmol Shilshom in Jerusalem has run as a bookshop-cafe for decades and hosts readings; a number of Tel Aviv shops do the same. It makes them good places to work or read for an afternoon.

What about Arabic and Palestinian literature?

The Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem is the main address, with a deep English and Arabic stock on the region's history and politics. Haifa and Nazareth also have Arabic bookshops. It is a distinctly different selection from the west Jerusalem and Tel Aviv shops.

1. Halper's Books — Allenby Street, Tel Aviv

2. Sipur Pashut — Shabazi Street, Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv

3. Tmol Shilshom — City centre, Jerusalem

4. The Educational Bookshop — Salah al-Din Street, East Jerusalem

5. The Book Junction — Tel Aviv

6. The Allenby and Dizengoff secondhand stalls — Allenby and central Tel Aviv

7. The Steimatzky and Tzomet Sfarim branches — Nationwide

Frequently asked questions

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