Natsrat instead of Nazareth: Israel wants to Hebraize road signs

Jul 13, 2009, 14:16 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israel wants to change the Arabic and English spelling on road signs to leading to major cities and ancient holy sites, an Israeli newspaper reported Monday.

Historic sites in the Holy Land often have parallel, not always entirely identical, names in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Road signs are generally topped with Hebrew names, then Arabic - the second official language, and English.

But instead of their age-old names in Arabic and English, the new Israeli government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to use the Hebrew transliteration, Yediot Ahronot reported.

Jerusalem will no longer be written as such in English, nor as al-Quds in Arabic, but only as Yerushalayim - both in Hebrew, Arabic and English letters.

Even the hometown of Jesus, known to Christians worldwide as Nazareth and local Arabs as al-Nasrah, will no longer be described as such on Israeli signs. It will be Natsrat, as pronounced in Hebrew.

In addition, the ancient Roman port of Caesaria becomes Kesariya. Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, becomes Tveria - on the Yam Kineret.

The initiative was authorized by Transportation Minister Israel Katz, of the ruling Likud party.

'If someone wants to use a road sign to turn Jewish Jerusalem into the Palestinian al-Quds - that won't happen under this government, and certainly not under this minister,' Katz told the daily.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and subsequently annexed by Israel, as the capital of their future state. The current government has vowed Jerusalem will remain the 'undivided' capital of Israel.

His has decision sparked scorn among Arab-Israeli lawmakers, including Ahmed Tibi, of the United Arab List - Ta'al faction with four mandates in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel's parliament.

'Al-Quds remains al-Quds,' he said. 'The minister errs if he thinks that word laundering can erase the Arabs' existence in Israel and their link to the land.'

The move sparked also criticism within the government. 'Street signs are no political theme. Arabic is an official language in Israel,' said Minorities Minister Avishai Braverman, of the dovish coalition Labour Party.

A commentator in Yediot too charged that the Transport Ministry should rather deal with 'real problems' such as deadly traffic accidents.

The ministry said the project, now approved by Katz, was begun already a year ago, under previous transportation minister Shaul Mofaz, a hawk in the centrist, former ruling Kadima party.

It said the spelling changes would be made gradually on signs that need replacement.