Well GP didn't specify "without nikkud". Most modern prayerbooks and bibles come with nikkud. Being able to read without nikkud does often require familiarity with the words but there are a limited number of constructions in Hebrew, especially when you remove loanwords in modern Hebrew (presumably GP was referring to religious literature, which doesn't include aberrations such as ווידאו (video) or אמברקס ("ambreks" - a vehicle handbrake)). It's not 100% phonetic but it's a whole lot easier than English, so while a you might mispronounce unfamiliar words you will be able to guess correctly quite a bit, or at least be close.