Annual Review
In the year 2003, the Names Committee determined names for rural and urban settlements, as well as eight names for Bedouin settlements in the Negev and names for local councils. In addition, the Committee determined names for industrial areas (centers of employment outside of community boundaries), names for border crossings, tunnels, planned interchanges and intersections, geographical features (mountains, rivers, springs, heights and plateaus), as well as historical sites.
At the beginning of 2004, the Government Names Committee published the “Atlas of Settlement in Israel” edited by Ms. Chana Bitan, the scientific coordinator for the Government Names Committee in coordination with the advisory scientific committee headed by Prof. Moshe Brur.  The atlas contains 6 maps of settled areas and one complete topographical map of Israel, on a scale of  1:240,000.
  In addition, the Atlas contains an alphabetical listing of community names, explanations of the name’s source and statistical and graphical data as follows:
1. a graph showing the breakdown of settlement by year
2. a diagram showing the historical sources of the names.
3. a graph detailing ten criteria on which the names were based: historical names, private names from Jewish sources, names given in verses and idioms in Biblical sources, names commemorating persons, associations and projects related to the annals of Zionism and building of the country, names commemorating the fallen, the places, or battles connected to Israel’s wars, geographical names, and other issues.
In addition, a pamphlet containing all the names of the interchanges and intersections in Israel, including relevant statistical data as well as the sources of the names.
Publications File (PF) 162. p. 959.

List of the Members of the Government Names Committee
Prof. Avraham Biran   Committee Chairman, Archaeologist Architect Avinoam Avnon   Ministry of Transportation, Ma’atz
Mr. Azariah Alon   The Society for the Protection of Nature
Prof. Yehoshua Ben-Arieh Geography Department, The Hebrew University
Prof. Moshe Brur Geography Department, Tel Aviv University
Mr. Magen Broshi Israel Museum
Ms. Esther Goldberg Linguist, The Academy for the Hebrew Language
Prof. Amiram Gonen Geography Department, The Hebrew University
Prof. Avinoam Danin Botany Department, The Hebrew University
Mr. Yehuda Ziv Chairman of Sub-committee for Settlement Names, Geographer, IDF Representative
Prof. Moshe Kochavi Archaeology and Ancient Eastern Cultures Department, Tel Aviv University
Mr. Avi Goren Representative of the JNF
Dr. Ze’ev Mashal Geographer and Archaeologist, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Dov Nir Geography Department, The Hebrew University
Prof. Ze’ev Safray Israel Studies Department, Bar-Ilan University
Prof. Yoram Tzafrir Chairman of Sub-committee for Historical Names, Archaeology Department, The Hebrew University
Prof. Naftali Qadmon Chairman of Sub-committee for Geographical Names, Cartographer, The Hebrew University
Prof. Zachariah Kali Archaeology Department, The Hebrew University
Prof. Richav Rubin Geography Department, The Hebrew University
Mr. Benyamin Ricardo Geographer, Representative of the Ministry of the Interior
Mr. Baruch Partzman Geographer, The Center for the Survey of Israel
Prof. Moshe Sharon The Institute for Asia and Africa Studies, The Hebrew University
Ms. Hannah Bitan Geographer, Scientific Coordinator of the committee, and a member of the Committee.