Jerusalem may name street after controversial right-wing activist

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Jerusalem's advisory committee for street names stirred controversy on Wednesday when it recommended that one of the capital's streets be named after the late right-wing activist Adir Zik. Zik, a broadcaster at Israel's rightist Arutz Sheva unlicensed radio station, is famous for his fiery rhetoric and extreme statements. After the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, Zik called the slain premier and his then foreign minister Shimon Peres "traitors who were bought with money." In the lead-up to 2005's disengagement from Gaza, Zik compared the evacuation of the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 to the actions of Hitler. City council member Sa'ar Netanel said he was shocked to find Zik's name on the list of recommendations. "This is simply an outrage," he said. "We are speaking of a man who blatantly…incited against the late prime minister Rabin and against many others. Calling a street after him in Israel's capital is a slap in the face to democracy and constitutes a reward to violence and incitement. I intend to act by any means - including legal ones - to stop this disgrace."