In Short: Israel, Friedel Stern, Israeli Cartoon and Satire Book, 1958

Original 1958 illustrated humor book by Friedel Stern, published by Hod in Israel. A bilingual Hebrew and English cartoon book presenting Israel through the eyes of a tourist, with sharp visual satire on Israeli society, language, bureaucracy, manners, politics, modernity, immigration, and everyday life in the first decade of the state.

Only one available.

Friedel Stern was one of Israel’s most important cartoonists and illustrators, known for her clean line, social observation, and satirical depictions of everyday Israeli life. Born in Leipzig in 1917, she immigrated to Palestine in 1936 and became a prominent figure in Israeli visual culture, publishing cartoons in newspapers and magazines and producing illustrated books, maps, posters, and stamps.

In Short: Israel uses the format of a tourist’s journey to produce a compact satire of the young state. Its Hebrew and English text, bright mid-century design, and cartoon sequences move between signage, slang, social customs, public institutions, bureaucracy, food, nightlife, tourists, and the performance of national identity. Unlike formal state propaganda, the book is closer to social satire: affectionate, critical, visually modern, and deeply tied to the contradictions of Israel in the 1950s.

A strong mid-century Israeli humor book by a major female cartoonist, documenting the visual language, civic myths, and everyday absurdities of early statehood.

Title: In Short: Israel
Hebrew title: בקיצור: ישראל
Publisher: Hod
Country: Israel
Author: Friedel Stern
Language: English and Hebrew
Format: Hardcover illustrated book
Pages: 162
Dimensions: approximately 17 × 18 cm
Published: 1958
Condition: Good vintage condition. Original illustrated hardcover with rubbing, corner wear, spine wear, and edge wear. Interior pages show light age toning, handling wear, and some handwritten notations or ownership marks. Illustrations remain clear and bright.
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