Comic's family object to naming East Jerusalem street after him

The family of the famed late actor and comedian Shaike Ophir have voiced disappointment and criticism over the decision by Jerusalem municipality to name a street after Ophir that lies east of the Green Line.

The city has decided to honor Ophir - one of the brightest stars in the history of Israeli cinema - by naming after him a street inside the Palestinian village Jabal Mukkaber, which lies within the municipality's jurisdiction.

Ophir's widow, Lydia, said that a city official told her that the new street will be in East Talpiot, an area commonly known as Armon Hanatziv, which also lies east of the Green Line. "I asked him where the street was," Lydia Ophir recounted the telephone conversation with the city representative who called to inform her of the decision. "He said it was in Armon Hanatziv, so I agreed."

The widow added that she asked the representative to help her find the street on a map, but he said he did not have one.

In reality, the street naming committee, headed by Deputy Mayor Yaakov Kahlon, chose a street in Nof Tzion, a luxury housing project which was built inside the Palestinian village not far from Armon Hanatziv. Residents are currently moving into the neighborhood, which has a capacity of 240 families.

Ophir's daughter, Karin Ophir, called the decision "bizarre, ridiculous and pathetic." Her mother added: "This is a joke. I don't understand it. I am sure Shaike would not want a street in a settlement named after him."

Lydia Ophir is currently trying to retract her consent to the decision to name the street after her late husband.

The new neighborhood, Nof Tzion, has raised opposition from left-wing Israeli and foreign activists, who call the neighborhood an "attempt to judaize East Jerusalem."

The committee headed by Kahlon - a close associate of Mayor Nir Barkat - has also voted to give three streets in East Jerusalem Jewish names. They also decided not to name a street after the late philosopher and scientist Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz, a vocal critic of the settlements. Ornan Yekutieli, a secular local leader who died in 2001, has also been rejected.

The three street names to be changed are Old Bethlehem Road in Ras Al Amud, which will be named Ma'aleh Hazeitim, after the nearby Jewish neighborhood. The road connecting the Sultan's Pool to Silwan will be called Guy Ben Hinom and a street in Jabal Mukkaber will from now on be known as Maaleh Hanatziv Street.

All three name proposals came from Aryeh King, a right-wing activist and a leader of the Jewish settlement movement in East Jerusalem. Meir Margalit, a city counselor and a member of the naming committee, told Haaretz that the naming of the three streets was "part of a master plan to change the area's profile."

The committee also decided to name a street after the right-wing radio broadcaster Aryeh Zik, of Arutz 7 and other media associated with the right wing. He was one of the fiercest critics of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, before his assassination by a right-wing radical. Zik said Rabin and Shimon Peres were "traitors who were bought out."