Ministers green light law ending discounts on books

A ministerial committee okayed draft legislation Sunday intended to keep stores from offering steep discounts on books. According to a Government Press Office release, the law is “designed to protect writers’ income.”

The draft passed the Ministerial Committee For Legislation by a vote of 13 to 3, paving its way for reading in the Knesset.

Authors have long railed against sales that offer four books for NIS 100, common in major book chains. Writers say it nets them less money and cheapens the industry.

The bill was championed by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, who convinced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steintz (Likud) and Minister of Trade, Industry and Labor Shalom Simhon “to support the law,” according to the GPO statement.

The legislation would ensure that the price of a book will not be subject to change by the proprietors of the store in which it is sold for a period of 18 months following its being published. Additionally, a the sale of books at prices lower than the retail price will not be permitted, with the exception of legally sanctioned discounts.

Livnat reportedly is seeking to apply the rules only to books considered a “cultural product” and not books that are a “product of other means,” according to the statement.

“A book is not cottage [cheese],” she said. “Our duty is to ensure that the present and future Israeli public may enjoy quality Israeli Hebrew literature. This right will be realized only if authors and poets in Israel receive fair compensation for their works, so that they might continue to create and promote literature in the Hebrew language.”

The statement did not elaborate regarding the mechanism by which the government would decide what book is and is not a “cultural product”.

Netanyahu said the new legislation would seek to strike a balance between consumers’ and authors’ needs.

“The law creates the right balance between the aspiration that books not be a luxury item and that everyone be able to enjoy the experience of reading, and the need to protect authors and their works,” he said.