One Student Hiked the Israel National Trail, and It Led to an Amazing Project

Stefan Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, on the Israel National Trail / Photo: Ziv Reinstein, editing: Noa Levi

Anyone who has ever packed a backpack for the Israel National Trail knows the iron rule: every gram on your back is counted and carefully weighed. On the gear list of hikers along the more than 1,000-kilometer route from Mount Hermon to Eilat, a book is usually the first thing to be left behind, even though in moments of rest facing the view or in the evening around the campfire, a good book is exactly what hikers need.

It was precisely to meet this need that the “Israel National Trail Libraries” project was born. Along the Israel National Trail, dozens of open, free libraries have been set up for hikers, who can borrow a book at one point and exchange it at the next station. A book is usually the first thing to be sacrificed on the national trek. Israel National Trail library, Shaalem Academic Center

Students volunteer to maintain the library in the field. The idea began in 2015 as an initiative by a student at the Jerusalem-based Shaalem Academic Center, who hiked the trail and felt the absence of books. It was adopted by the institution and, over the past decade, has grown into a large-scale project with 23 free libraries spread from Tel Hai in the Upper Galilee to Mount Yehoram in the Eilat area.

Behind the day-to-day operation of the libraries are students from the Shaalem Academic Center, who maintain them entirely as volunteers. Twice a year, just before the hiking seasons on the trail open in autumn and spring, they set out on a logistical operation across the country, moving from site to site, repairing the boxes and restocking them with books and reading booklets. For many of the students, it is a full-circle moment, since they themselves are trail hikers who encountered the libraries on their own trek.

“The books give the physical challenge of hiking the Israel National Trail tremendous added value and an important layer of spirit and content,” said Barak Hekter, a student at the Shaalem Academic Center and a volunteer in the project. “The book boxes now serve as a living community platform, and we often find treasures left inside by hikers, poems written in a moment of inspiration, personal manuscripts, dedications, stories, tips and useful advice for continuing the route.”

Along the trail, there are eight memorial libraries / Shaalem Academic Center

In recent years, following the events of October 7 and the Iron Swords War, the project has gained another, especially significant layer. In response to requests from bereaved families, eight memorial libraries were established along the trail in memory of those who were killed and murdered, in places they loved to hike and with the books they loved to read.

The Shaalem Academic Center welcomes donations of books for the project, and can be contacted through its website.