A serious world war is erupting in Israel about identity, narratives, the status of Israeli Arabs and the right of return.

Haaretz:

When the prime minister convened an emergency meeting Tuesday morning over the extreme right-wing activists’ attack on the Ephraim Brigade Command, another debate – one no less stormy – was being held in the conference room next door, drawing the interest of many cabinet ministers.

At first glance, one might have the impression that this was an esoteric debate, but behind the dry title “Ministerial Panel for the Approval of Entries into the Map of Israel, of the Government Naming Committee”, hides a serious world war about identity, narratives, the status of Israeli Arabs and the right of return.

The Government Naming Committee has been working for more than a year on a unified transliteration of the names of all the various communities in Israel. The matter becomes ever more critical when it comes to the Public Works Authority’s street signage.

On the green signs posted along the inter-city highways, the names are written in Hebrew, English and Arabic, but quite often the transliterations are inconsistent and cause confusion and even embarrassment.

The most sensitive and repeated issue up for dissent was regarding how the Arabic transliteration of community names should appear on the Public Works Authority’s signs.

Among the committee members – geographers, linguists, historians, and representatives of the Transportation Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and the Prime Minister’s Office – erupted such disagreements and arguments that a special ministerial panel had to be established to reach a decision on the matter. Read more