A group of Palestinian activists on April 9 erected nine street signs in Jerusalem’s Jabel Mukabber neighbourhood, assigning the anonymous thoroughfares road names in Arabic and English. One was named Farouk Street, a popular nickname for Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the Muslim general who conquered Jerusalem in 637 C.E. Erected by a Palestinian NGO called Jerusalem Horizons, the street signs were a small but symbolic move in the contest over the character of a city venerated by followers of three religions (Muslims, Jews and Christians) and claimed by two national groups (Israelis and Palestinians). Formed two months ago, Jerusalem Horizons strives to reclaim the Arab names of Jerusalem streets and neighbourhoods, rescuing them from what organisers term the city’s “Judaisation.”
“Our main goal is to educate the people about the importance of maintaining the original Arab names,” Fakhri Abu-Diab, a resident of Silwan and board member of Jerusalem Horizons, said. “I fear the day my son will come home using the Hebrew name for a site.”
Jerusalem Horizons calls its street-naming campaign “In the Footsteps of Omar” after the same Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. “We wish to follow in the footsteps of Omar and return Jerusalem to its Arab roots,” Abu-Diab said. “We feel that the danger of Judaisation has begun to affect the Arab, Islamic and Christian legacies of the holy city. For too long we have settled for condemnations and statements instead of real action on the ground.”