I was in Israel last week. Luckily, the signs were not only in Hebrew. I wouldn’t have survived well with my loanword vocabulary: amen, bagel, cider, hallelujah, kibbutz, klezmer, kosher.
However, different writing systems and variable transcripts caused headaches while driving. The names used in Finnish editions of the Bible were often difficult to recognize in the local names.
Jerusalem was Yerushalayim in Hebrew and Al-Quds in Arabic.
Jesus’ hometown Nazareth, where 70% of the population are Arabs, is called An-Nāşirah in Arabic and Nazerat in Hebrew.
Abraham’s residence Beersheba is written in the form of Be’ér-Sheva in Hebrew and Bi’r as-Saba’ in Arabic.
The town name Jaffa, which is very familiar to Finns, appears on signs as Yafo in Hebrew and Yāffā in Arabic.
The general confusion – in addition to the chaotic traffic – is increased by the fact that spellings can be different from one sign to another. So, if you go to Israel for a roadtrip, I only wish you mazel tov ’good luck’.