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Middle East

Israel’s road sign debate

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signLast month, Israel’s new transport minister Israel Katz proposed an overhaul to his country’s road signs. So far they’ve been trilingual: Hebrew, Arabic and English. But Katz wants to remove Arabic and English city names and replace them with transliterations of the Hebrew names. So instead of the English word, “Jerusalem,” and the Arabic name for the city, “Al-Quds,” both languages would spell out “Yerushalayim,” the Hebrew name of the city. The proposal hasn’t been implemented yet. But street signs in Israel have long been ideological battlegrounds. Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem (Photo credit: Daniel Estrin)

Photo credit: Daniel Estrin
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Discussion

3 comments for “Israel’s road sign debate”

  1. I am so grateful for people like these two, that see a need in the world and do something about it!!!

    Posted by Carrie Grubb | August 13, 2009, 8:33 pm
  2. I always enjoy Estrin’s work. In America, we read and hear the “big’ stories and about conflict. Estrin always brings a human element to his stories and lets us know how people are living in the Middle East.
    Please air more of his material.

    Posted by Mike Finkel | August 13, 2009, 8:48 pm
  3. Posted by Josh Berer | August 14, 2009, 5:38 pm

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