Shimon Peres
Photo: David Rubinger
Rush to rename roads for Peres
From Dimona's mayor to the transport minister, officials throughout Israel are considering renaming roads and sites after the recently deceased statesman Shimon Peres, including the Ayalon Highway.
Though former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres was only interred on Friday, authorities throughout the country are already considering naming sites and streets after him. Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz announced on Sunday that, after Rosh Hashanah, he would examine the possibility of renaming the Ayalon Highway for the late statesman.
Katz said that the idea was proposed to him by members of the Peres family when he paid them a condolence call.
Ayalon Highway (for now) (Photo: Avi Moalem)
Meanwhile, Dimona Mayor Benny Biton already has sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking him to add Peres's name to the Negev Nuclear Research Center in his city. "The story of the establishment and founding of the state is interwoven with Peres's life story," he wrote, specifying Peres's special role in Dimona's history. "He was amongst the leaders in the establishment of the nuclear reactor adjacent to our city."
Biton announced that the artificial lake that was recently inaugurated in his city will be named after Peres.
Yisrael Katz visiting the Peres Center for Peace (Photo: Zvika Tishler)
Last week, the Names Committee of the Kiryat Bialik Municipality announced that the Nahal Hagdurah Promenade, which connects Nahal Na'aman with Kishon, will be renamed in Peres's memory.
Givatayim Mayor Ran Konik has proposed to his Tel Aviv counterpart, Ron Huldai, to change the name of Derech Hashalom to Derech Shimon Peres, as the two municipalities share jurisdiction over that road.
Hillel Posek, Ilana Curiel, Ahiya Raved & Itay Blumental contributed to this report.
