The Eilat Municipality presented today (Monday) the "Unity Street" in the heart of the tourist area, replacing "Durban Street" – the street parallel to the runway of the old airport. For decades, the street was named after Eilat's twin city in South Africa, but last year, Mayor Eli Lankri canceled the name due to the antisemitic remarks made by the country's president.
The name of unity was chosen by the city's residents and was approved by the municipality, as a symbol of unity among us and our steadfast and united stance against our enemies. As mentioned, today the mayor unveiled the new sign.
As a reminder, about a year ago, Lankri decided to suspend the "Sister Cities" agreement signed with the city of Durban in South Africa in 1976 and canceled all cooperation with them, in light of anti-Semitic statements by the President of South Africa towards the State of Israel during the "Iron Swords" war – including the expulsion of their diplomats from Israel and accusing Israel of war crimes. Then the mayor said: "The sister city agreement, which symbolizes friendship, solidarity, and bonds between the cities, was violated precisely during our difficult time, and we are experiencing this from those who are supposed to be our friends."
The mayor further emphasized then and now that Eilat will not maintain any kind of relations with supporters of terrorism and anti-Semites. In accordance with this decision, the city's name was removed from the twin cities sign located in the tourist center.
At the same time, the mayor instructed the Street Names Committee to remove the street named after the city of Durban, and the municipality called on the public to suggest a new name for the street. Hundreds of residents responded to the municipality's call and suggested names that matched the spirit of the times. Out of dozens of names, the one that was suggested the most times is "Unity."
According to the Municipal Regulations (Assigning Numbers and Names to Streets and Marking Houses with Numbers) 1971, Section 7 states that a municipality may change the number and name of a street only in the month of October each year. With the approval of the street name by the Street Names Committee and unanimously by the Eilat City Council, the new sign was installed this week as mentioned.
"The name 'Unity' was chosen by the residents of Eilat as a response to those who seek to harm us and disrupt the fabric of our lives." "Unity is also the answer to what we did during those difficult days when we absorbed tens of thousands of evacuees, opened our homes and our hearts, and stood shoulder to shoulder against the challenges of the time," said Lankri. "In choosing this name, the residents of Eilat proved that even in moments of unbearable crisis, the people of Israel strive for internal peace, and there is no more poignant message than this."
He also added that soon a Unity Square will be established along the road, which will serve as a living and constant reminder of the values that guide us: "It will stand firm just as we stand firm: determined, united, and unassailable." It is worth noting that in the shadow of the war, most of the twin cities sent support to Eilat and Israel as befits twin and friendly relations, including favorable coverage in the foreign media. Notably, the city of Kamen in Germany, which offered assistance, and the city of Kampen in the Netherlands.
This is not the first time a street name has been canceled following events against Israel, after the city of Haifa changed the name of UN Boulevard to Zionism Boulevard in the 1970s in response to a resolution equating Zionism with racism.
