Keter Publishing House

Keter Publishing House (Hebrew: כתר ספרים‎‎ Keter Sfarim, "Keter Books") is one of the largest publishers in Israel. It was formed in 2005 through a merger of Keter Publishing (Hebrew: כתר הוצאה לאור‎‎ Keter Hotsa'a La'or) and Steimatzky. Keter has a large book marketing and distribution network, as well print services and book production for the Israeli domestic and export market. Keter is the most prominent publisher of contemporary Hebrew literature in Israel. Keter also published the first edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica and is a co-publisher of the Junior Britannica.

Founded in Jerusalem, the company started in 1959 as a government owned company. Originally named the The Israel Program for Scientific Translations (IPST), it was created at the initiative of longtime Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek. The company initially focused on the translation and publishing of scientific and technical manuscripts from Russian into English, mostly for the National Science Foundation of the United States.

During the 1960s the company expanded its publishing activities into English under the names "Israel Universities Press" (IUP) and "Keter Books". The government sold the company to Meniv Israel Investment Company in 1966 and in 1969 was sold again to Clal Israel, which renamed the company to Keter Publishing House. The company then focused on expanding publishing Judaica and Israel titles for exporting, publishing the acquired Encyclopedia Judaica, and created a printing and bindery division called Keterpress Enterprises.

In 1987 Keter went public. For a time controlling interest was held by Robert Maxwell though Macmillan, and then by Arledan, a Jerusalem-based investment company. In 2005 Keter and the Steimatzky merged to form "Keter Books."

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