What’s an Egyptian diva doing in Jerusalem?

One way that countries stake out their values and mold their identities is through symbols: monuments, seals, memorials, holidays, and, of course, names. The names we give to cities, the names we give to schools, the names we give to children, and the names we give to our streets.

The JPost Podcast is proud to introduce a new segment that looks at the amazing stories, politics, history and identity struggles behind Israel’s street names. We call it “A road by any other name,” and you can expect new episodes of this segment every couple of weeks.

In today’s episode, we look at Umm Kulthum street in east Jerusalem, named after the famous Egyptian diva. The process of getting the street name, however, was a long, contentious one that touches on many of the issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We hear from Tour Guide Alex Stein, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel ACRI, and the Jerusalem Municipality about why street names can be so contentious.