The Stories Behind the Street Signs

The Chazon Ish (Public Domain)

As the founder of My Israel Home, a boutique real estate agency helping people from abroad buy homes in Israel, I often write about new communities, market trends, and legal updates. These are practical and timely topics — relevant to anyone looking to build a life here.

But over the years, many readers have noticed another thread in my writing: articles about the names of Israel’s streets.

Why street names? Because they help us feel at home.

Legal guides and community profiles help people move to Israel. But the stories behind our street signs help people feel connected to Israel. They’re more than just directions — they’re introductions to our national soul.

In most countries, street names are purely functional — Fifth Avenue, 42nd Street, Main Street. But in Israel, street names carry meaning. They honor our values, our memories, and our aspirations. Our heroes aren’t just remembered in textbooks — they’re etched into the map of daily life.

When a neighborhood names its streets after biblical figures, Talmudic sages, Zionist pioneers, scientists, poets, or righteous gentiles, it’s making a statement. These names reflect who we admire, what we want to remember, and the kind of society we strive to build.

This variety also reflects the richness and diversity of Israeli society. Our national story is anything but monolithic — it’s a chorus of voices: Ashkenazi and Sephardi, religious and secular, native-born and immigrant. All have a place in our country.

For Jews living abroad, these names offer something rare: an unfiltered glimpse into Israel’s inner voice. Beyond headlines and politics, they reveal what Israelis cherish — and give Diaspora Jews a powerful way to connect with the ideals and people that shape the country.

Writing about street names isn’t a detour from my work in real estate; it’s an extension of it. Because our mission isn’t just to help people find homes — it’s to help people feel at home. And that means understanding the stories, values, and the broad spectrum of heroic individuals who define the State of Israel.

Let me give you a few examples:

Chazon Ish Street, in Bnei Brak, honors Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz — a soft-spoken Torah giant who held no official title but became one of the greatest halachic authorities of the 20th century.

Ilan Ramon Street, found in cities across the country, commemorates Israel’s first astronaut. Ramon took a microfilm of a Holocaust-era Sefer Torah into space. He died in the 2003 Columbia disaster, but his story — one of courage and Jewish pride — lives on in the streets we walk.

Janusz Korczak Street, in cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa, is named for the Polish-Jewish educator, doctor and children’s author who chose to accompany the orphans in his care to Treblinka. Offered a chance to escape, he refused. His legacy of compassion and courage lives on here.

Torah scholars. Astronauts. Holocaust martyrs. Their names are everywhere — not just in books and museums, but in the everyday geography of our lives.

So yes, I’ll continue writing about new neighborhoods and property regulations. But I’ll also keep writing about Israel’s street names — because our streets tell the story of the Jewish people.

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Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.