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{{short description|The renaming of geographical sites in Palestine
[[File:00-00-IndexEnglish2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|1948 index of the 1:20,000 [[Survey of Palestine]] maps, with contemporary overwriting for a number of place-names]]
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[[File:Mevo Dotan.JPG|thumb|Street signs for [[Mevo Dotan]] and [[Afula]]. Afula was a Palestinian town sold by the [[Sursock family]] to the [[American Zion Commonwealth]] in the 1920s; the Hebrew name follows the Arabic, which means "[[Ful medames|beans]]".<ref>{{cite book|ref=none|last=Masalha|first=Nur|title=Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cb2rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT284|date=15 August 2018|publisher=Zed Books|isbn=978-1-78699-275-8|quote=APPROPRIATION, HYBRIDISATION AND INDIGENISATION: THE APPROPRIATION OF PALESTINE PLACE NAMES BY EUROPEAN ZIONIST SETTLERS. From Palestinian Fuleh to Jewish Afula. The etymology of the Zionist settler toponym Afula is derived from the name of the Palestinian Arab village al‐Fuleh, which in 1226 Arab geographer Yaqut al‐Hamawi mentioned as being a town in the province of Jund Filastin. The Arabic toponym al‐Fuleh is derived from the word ful, for fava beans, which are among the oldest food plant in the Middle East and were widely cultivated by local Palestinians in [[Jezreel Valley|Marj Ibn ‘Amer]].}}</ref>]]
[[Hebrew-language]] names were coined for the [[place names of Palestine|place-names of Palestine]] throughout different periods
Many existing [[Toponymy|place names]] in Palestine are
The Hebraization of place-names was encouraged by the Israeli government, aiming to strengthen the connection of [[Jews]], most of whom had [[Aliyah|immigrated in recent decades]], with the land.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=Saul B.|last2=Kliot|first2=Nurit|date=1992-12-01|title=Place-Names in Israel's Ideological Struggle over the Administered Territories|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1992.tb01722.x|journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers|volume=82|issue=4|pages=653–680|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1992.tb01722.x|issn=0004-5608}}</ref> As part of this process, many ancient Biblical or Talmudic place-names were "restored
==Early history==
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|caption1=''[[Biblical Researches in Palestine]]''
|caption2=''[[PEF Survey of Palestine]]''
|footer=In the 19th century, the contemporary Palestinian Arabic toponyms were used to identify ancient locations. These two examples were the most notable lists created during the period.<ref>{{harvnb|Rainey
|width1=200
|width2=141
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==First modern Hebraization efforts==
Modern Hebraization efforts began from the time in the [[First Aliyah]] in 1880.<ref name="Fields2017">{{cite book|last=Fields|first=Gary|title=Enclosure: Palestinian Landscapes in a Historical Mirror|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3UpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA222|date=5 September 2017|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-29104-1|pages=222|ref=none}}</ref> In the early 1920s, the [[HeHalutz]] youth movement began a Hebraization program for newly established settlements in [[Mandatory Palestine]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Boaz Neumann|title=Land and Desire in Early Zionism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIcSHW1hpeEC&pg=PA167|year=2011|publisher=UPNE|isbn=978-1-58465-968-6|page=167|ref=none}}</ref> These names, however, were applied only to sites purchased by the [[Jewish National Fund]] (JNF), as they had no sway over the names of other sites in Palestine.
Seeing that directional signposts were frequently inscribed only in the Arabic language with their English transliterations (excluding their equivalent Hebrew names), the Jewish community in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], led by prominent Zionists such as [[David Yellin]], tried to influence the naming process initiated by the [[Royal Geographical Society]]'s (RGS's) Permanent Committee on Geographical Names,<ref name="Fields2017"/>{{sfn|Bitan|1992|p=366}} so as to make the naming more inclusive.{{sfn|Maisler|Ben-Zvi|Klein|Press|1932|pp=3-5 (Preface)}} Despite these efforts, well-known cities and geographical places, such as Jerusalem, Jericho, Nablus, Hebron, the Jordan River, etc. carried names in both Hebrew and Arabic writing (e.g. [[Jerusalem]] / Al Quds / ''Yerushalayim'' and [[Hebron]] / Al Khalil / ''Ḥevron''),<ref>[[Elkan Nathan Adler|Adler, Elkan Nathan]] (2014), pp. 225, et al.</ref> but lesser-known classical Jewish sites of antiquity (e.g. [[Jish]] / ''Gush Halav''; [[Beisan]] /''Beit She'an''; [[Shefa-'Amr|Shefar-amr]] / ''Shefarʻam''; [[Kafr 'Inan]] / ''Kefar Hananiah''; [[Bayt Jibrin]] / ''Beit Gubrin'', etc.) remained inscribed after their Arabic names, without change or addition.<ref name= "EGleichen1925">[[Lord Edward Gleichen|Gleichen, Edward]], ed. (1925). '''Quote:''' (Preface) "The following List of Names in Palestine, having been submitted through H.M. Secretary of State for the Colonies to the High Commissioner, and referred by him for correction to special Arabic and Hebrew subcommittees, is now published by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official use."</ref><ref>[[British Colonial Office]] in Palestine (1931), pp. 1, 13, 37, 52, 54–56, 59, 65. '''Quote:''' (p. 2) "The list of geographical names has presented many difficulties. Many place names in Palestine are of Arabic origin while others are of Hebrew, Phoenician, Greek, Latin, or Frankish ancestry –– to mention only the most important sources –– but, as most places are inhabited by Arabic-speaking people, local usage has given them names in Arabicised forms or in colloquial Arabic. To adopt the colloquial forms in transliterating names was not considered consistent with the end in view, and as a general rule an effort has been made to put the names in as literary a garb as possible. In most names of Arabic origin this was comparatively easy; but in some the Arab experts recommended the retention of forms not usually admitted in Arabic grammatical word construction."</ref>{{sfn|Maisler|Ben-Zvi|Klein|Press|1932|pp=3-5 (Preface)}} The main objection to adding additional spellings for ancient Hebrew toponymy was the fear that it would cause confusion to the postal service, when long accustomed names were given new names, as well as be totally at variance with the names already inscribed on maps. Therefore, British officials sought to ensure unified forms of place-names.<ref>[[Lord Edward Gleichen|Gleichen, Edward]] (1920), p. 309</ref>
One of the motivating factors behind members of the [[Yishuv]] to apply Hebrew names to old Arabic names, despite attempts to the contrary by the RGS Committee for Names,{{sfn|Maisler|Ben-Zvi|Klein|Press|1932|pp=3-5 (Preface)}} was the belief by [[historical geographers]], both Jewish and non-Jewish, that many Arabic place-names were mere "corruptions" of older Hebrew names<ref>[[Meron Benvenisti|Benvenisti, M.]] (2000), pp. 47–48. Quote: "The Arab conquerors who colonized the land following the conquest of 638 C.E. settled among its Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian natives. They easily assimilated the Hebrew-Aramaic geographical and topographical names, and, their language being closely related to the Semitic languages spoken there, they made only slight changes in spelling and pronunciation. They had no difficulty finding Arabic forms for names such as Ashkelon –– which they transformed into ''Asqalan'' –– Beit Horon to ''Beit Ghur'', Beersheba to ''Bir Saba'a'', and Eilat to ''Aila''."</ref> (e.g. ''Khirbet Shifat'' = [[Yodfat]]; ''Khirbet Tibneh'' = [[Timnah]];<ref>[[Clermont-Ganneau]] (1896), pp. 67–68, 214, where he wrote: (p. 214) "''Tibneh'', 'chopped straw', one would swear was Arabic, but it is beyond a doubt that it is the name of the town ''Timnah'', brought into that shape by one of those popular etymologies which are as dear to the peasantry of Palestine as to those of our European countries." On pp. 67–68 he wrote: "One has to beware, however, of these appellations that appear to be of purely Arabic origin, they are often ancient Hebrew names converted by a process of popular etymology into words familiar to the Arabs. In many cases slight phonetic changes assist the process. These
According to Professor [[Virginia Tilley]], "[a] body of scientific, linguistic, literary, historical, and biblical authorities was invented to foster impressions of Jewish belonging and natural rights in a Jewish homeland reproduced from a special Jewish right to this land, which clearly has been occupied, through the millennia, by many peoples."<ref name="Tilley2005">[[Virginia Tilley|Tilley]] (2005), p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4-Mun0HBek4C&pg=PP190 190]</ref>
As early as 1920, a Hebrew sub-committee was established by the British government in Palestine with the aim of advising the government on the English transcript of names of localities and in determining the form of the Hebrew names for official use by the government.{{sfn|Bitan|1992|p=366}}
==JNF Naming Committee==
In 1925, the Directorate of the [[Jewish National Fund]] (JNF) established ''The Names Committee for the Settlements'', with the intent of giving names to the new Jewish settlements established on lands purchased by the JNF.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ettinger|first=Y.|date=25 August 1925|title=Determining the Names of the Settlements acquired by the Jewish National Fund|language=he|publisher=[[Davar]]|url=http://jpress.org.il/olive/apa/nli_heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=DAV/1925/08/25&id=Ar00304}}</ref> It was led directly by the head of the JNF, [[Menachem Ussishkin]].{{sfn|Benvenisti|2000|p=26}} The [[Jewish National Council]] (JNC), for their part, met in parley in late 1931, in order to make its recommendations known to the British government in Mandatory Palestine, by suggesting emendations to a book published by the British colonial office in Palestine in which it outlined a set of standards used when referencing place-names transliterated from Arabic and Hebrew into English, or from Arabic into Hebrew, and from Hebrew into Arabic, based on the country's ancient toponymy.<ref>{{harvnb|Maisler|Ben-Zvi|Klein|Press|1932|pp=
[[Meron Benvenisti]] writes that the Arabic geographical names upset the new Jewish community, for example on 22 April 1941 the [[Zevulun Regional Council|Emeq Zevulun Settlements Committee]] wrote to the head office of the JNF:{{sfn|Benvenisti|2000|p=30}}<blockquote>Such names as the following are displayed in all their glory: Karbassa, al- Sheikh Shamali, Abu Sursuq, Bustan al-Shamali – all of them names that the JNF has no interest in immortalizing in the Z'vulun Valley.... We recommend to you that you send a circular letter to all of the settlements located on JNF land in the Z'vulun Valley and its immediate vicinity and warn them against continuing the above-mentioned practice [i.e., the use of] old maps that, from various points of view, are dangerous to use.</blockquote>
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==1951: Governmental Naming Committee==
In March 1951, the JNF committee and the Negev committee were merged to cover all of Israel. The new merged committee stated their belief that the "Judaization of the geographical names in our country [is] a vital issue".{{sfn|Benvenisti|2000|p=24}} The work was ongoing as of 1960; in February 1960 the director of the [[Survey of Israel]], Yosef Elster, wrote that "We have ascertained that the replacement of Arabic names with Hebrew ones is not yet complete. The committee must quickly fill in what is missing, especially the names of ruins."{{sfn|Benvenisti|2000|p=40}} In April 1951, [[Yitzhak Ben-Zvi]] and Dr. [[Benjamin Maisler]] were appointed to the [[Government Naming Committee]].<ref>{{Citation |contribution=State of Israel Records |title=Collection of Publications, no. 152 |publisher=Government of Israel|place=Jerusalem|year=1951 |page=845|url=https://www.nevo.co.il/Law_word/law10/yalkut-0152.pdf |language=he }}</ref>
Between 1920 and 1990, the different committees had set Hebrew names for some 7,000 natural elements in the country, of which more than 5,000 were geographical place-names, several hundred were names of historical sites, and over a thousand were names given to new settlements.{{sfn|Bitan|1992|p=367}} [[Zev Vilnay|Vilnay]] has noted that, since the 19th century, biblical words, expressions and phrases have provided names for many urban and rural settlements and neighborhoods in Modern Israel.{{sfn|Vilnay|1983|p=Abstract}}
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* [[Judaization of Jerusalem]]
* [[Judaization of the Galilee]]
* [[Place
* [[List of modern names for biblical place names]]
* [[Glossary of Hebrew toponyms]]
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== General bibliography==
{{
* {{cite book|last=Adler|first=Elkan Nathan|author-link=Elkan Nathan Adler|title=Jewish Travellers |publisher=Routledge |year=2014|location=London|language=en|oclc=886831002}} (first printed in 1930, translated from the original Hebrew)
* {{cite book|last=Amara|first=Muhammad|title=Arabic in Israel: Language, Identity and Conflict|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnE3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182|date=27 September 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-66388-5|chapter=Hebraization of Arabic Place Names}}
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*{{Cite book|title = Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible
| last1 = Layton | first1 = Scott C.
| publisher = [[Brill Publishers|BRILL
| year = 2018
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b96mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5
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* {{cite journal |last1=Maisler |first1=B. |author-link1=Benjamin Mazar |last2=Ben-Zvi |first2=Y. |author-link2=Yitzhak Ben-Zvi|last3=Klein |first3=S. |author-link3=Samuel Klein (scholar)|last4=Press |first4=Y. |author-link4=Yeshayahu Press|title= A Memo of the Jewish National Council to the Government of Palestine on the Method of Spelling Transliterated Geographical and Personal Names, plus Two Lists of Geographical Names |journal=Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects |volume=4 |issue=3 |publisher=[[Academy of the Hebrew Language]] |jstor=24384308 |date=1932 |language=he}}
* {{cite book|last=Masalha|first=Nur|title=The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=px1jDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT72|date=9 August 2012|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=978-1-84813-973-2|chapter=The Zionist Superimposing of Hebrew Toponymy}}
* Masalha, Nur (2015), [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/72000834.pdf Settler-Colonialism, Memoricide and Indigenous Toponymic Memory: The Appropriation of Palestinian Place Names by the Israeli State], Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies, 14 (1). pp.
* {{cite book|title=Lands of the Bible: A Geographical and Topographical Description of Palestine, with Letters of Travel in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece|first=J.W.|last=McGarvey|author-link=John William McGarvey|publisher=Adamant Media Corporation|year=2002|isbn=978-1-4021-9277-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E. H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
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* {{cite journal |last=Press|first=Michael D.|title=The Arabic Names of Tẹ̄l ʿẸ̄rānī and ʿIrāq el-Menšīye|journal=[[Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins]] |publisher=Deutscher verein zur Erforschung Palästinas |volume=130 |issue=2|pages=181–193|date=2014|jstor=43664932|language=en }}
* {{cite book|last=Ra'ad|first=Basem L.|title=Hidden Histories: Palestine And The Eastern Mediterranean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYr0swEACAAJ|date=15 August 2010|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=978-0-7453-2831-7}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rainey|first=A.F.|author-link=Anson Rainey|title=The Toponymics of Eretz-Israel|journal=[[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research]]|publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] on behalf of The [[American Schools of Oriental Research]]
* {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1860|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc08smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine and in the Adjacent Regions: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=2}}
* {{cite book |last=Schürer |first=E. |author-link=Emil Schürer |title=Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi [A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ] |series=Geschichte de jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi.English |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |translator=Miss Taylor |volume=1 |date=1891 |location=New York |language= en |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.ah63dw;view=1up;seq=7 }}
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{{refend}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebraization of Palestinian place names}}
[[Category:Cultural assimilation and names]]
[[Category:Geographical renaming]]
[[Category:Geography of Israel]]
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[[Category:Language revival]]
[[Category:Toponymy]]
[[Category:
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