ABSTRACT
This chapter employs a comparative perspective to explore the dynamic of renaming the past as a technique of historical revision. At the center of this historical investigation is the juxtaposition of patterns of renaming the past carried out in Spring 1951 in Haifa, Israel, and in East Berlin, the capital of communist East Germany. The commemorative naming of streets in Arab Haifa began in 1935. Streets were named after the Hashemite kings of Transjordan and Muslim Caliphs, warriors, and victories as well as philosophers and poets from the Golden Age of early Islam. Intended for posterity, the lifespan of commemorations is limited by the politics of commemoration. Any large-scale commemorative renaming of streets is a result and expression of a radical reshaping of power relations; renaming the past is a function of a discrepancy between the worldview of power-holders and the historical narrative inscribed on street signs.
