An Israeli Town’s Campaign To Rename Sodom Street
The residents of Ashkelon in Southern Israel like to think of themselves as good, upstanding folk. Which is why one local street sign has become a cause of great annoyance and embarrassment.
For as long as most Ashkelon residents can remember, they have had a Sodom Street. Sodom, if you recall, was one of the two cities said in the Book of Genesis to have been destroyed by God for its immorality.
For years, led by residents of the streets near Sodom Street who were constantly the subject of cutting jokes about their morality, the people of Ashkelon have been campaigning to change the name, and the local media reports they have now succeeded.
The replacement name is as innocuous as they come — Metar, the Biblical word for chords that support tents.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
