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Jabotinsky most popular street name in Israel
Not Ben-Gurion or Herzl, but rather Likud founder wins title of most commemorated historical figure in Israel, with 57 streets, parks and squares bearing his name. Only one woman makes top 20 list, and it's not former PM Golda Meir
Ofer Petersburg
While you may expect it to be David Ben-Gurion or Binyamin Ze'ev (Theodor) Herzl, the most commemorated historical figure in Israel is in fact none other than Ze'ev Jabotinsky, founder and leader of the Irgun and Revisionist Zionism.
According to data collected by the Mapa geographical database, 57 sites (including streets, squares and parks) in the country are named after Jabotinsky. Herzl, the founder of Zionism, lags behind, with only 52 sites across Israel named after him.
Meanwhile, Israel's first prime minister Ben-Gurion, the state's first president Chaim Weizmann and national poet Haim Nahman Bialik have each given their names to 48 public sites.
The first Sephardi Jew on the list comes only at the fourth place: One of the greatest Jewish poets, Rabbi Shalom Shabazi of Yemen, who has 48 sites bearing his name.
The late prime minister Menachem Begin, who was known for his modesty and who specifically asked before his death not to be commemorated, has streets and parks named after him in no less than 43 communities.
Among the 20 most commemorated figures in Israel, there is only one woman, and surprisingly, it is not former prime minister Golda Meir, but rather paratrooper Hannah Szenes, who gave her name to 38 Israeli sites.
And Meir? The woman who has a Manhattan junction bearing her name is only commemorated in 12 streets in Israel.
"In the land of the Jews women do not count. This is a disgrace," said former Minister Shulamit Aloni. "Rachel Kagan signed the Declaration of Independence, was the first woman Knesset member and a WIZO leader. Where is she today?
"Everybody sings and memorizes poems by the poet Rachel, but she has also disappeared from the map," she added.
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