Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I believe that history is not made by cynics. It is made by realists who are not afraid to dream. Let us be these people.
The last thing that Israel needs is to be part of the internal agenda in the United States between Republicans and Democrats.
In a democracy, you need to have a strong judicial system. You need freedom of speech, you need art, and you need a free press.
The Israeli public has been brainwashed into believing that its global isolation stems from delegitimization and anti-Semitism.
The wise Jewish Israeli must work with the moderate Muslim and the Christian leader of the free world against the crazy Muslims.
The fact that a terrorist was killed, and it doesn't matter if it was in Dubai or Gaza, is good news to those fighting terrorism.
What I am trying to say to Israel is, 'Listen, borders is something that we need, and hopefully, peace is something that we need.'
For me, it is clear that when it comes to the need of Israel to defend itself, the role of the United States of America is crucial.
An Israeli soldier is raised on values of respecting human life, and they don't change their values when they turn 18 and enter the army.
Mr. Obama's call to support genuine democracy has implications for the kinds of elections the international community promotes and endorses.
Israel has a problem not because of the perception that the entire world is against us, but because of the government's problematic policies.
Most of the Israelis reside in settlement blocs which will be part of the state of Israel in the future, and they will remain in their homes.
I'm not asking myself, 'How I can be different from Netanyahu?' because I am different, and Kadima is different from Likud, by its own nature.
I was by Ariel Sharon's side on the day it was decided to form Kadima. It was founded in aim to create a government of hope and responsibility.
We must draw a distinction between understanding and supporting Israel's values and existence, and criticising any Israeli government's policy.
Relations between countries are built on values and interests and many other things, but at the end of the day, leaders are also only human beings.
I am good at persuading people. In convincing the other, I try to start from their point of view so it's easier for me to find a common denominator.
Corbyn's words imply a serious lack of moral judgement. Just as all Muslims are not to blame for ISIS, not all Brits are to blame for [Jeremy] Corbyn.
I want Israel to be a normal state, part of the international community, part of the free world, but unique in terms of the Jewish people. I want both.
Being an Israeli is to know that you have risen from the ashes of those who were killed and knowing you have a responsibility for the coming generations.
There is an essential difference between someone who harms a child on purpose and someone who harms a child by accident during combat in civilian territory.
Hamas does not represent the national aspirations of the Palestinians. It represents extreme Islamic ideas, which they share with Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria.
If Syria wants to be part of the international community, there are some conditions that they have to meet. And the first one is to stop embracing the terrorism.
I believe that democracy is about values before it is about voting. These values must be nurtured within society and integrated into the electoral process itself.
After I retire, I have my own vision, which is not connected to the state of Israel. It's about me, living near the sea, and maybe writing something about the past.
There is a mutual interest between Israel and the United States of America. It is more than friendship - it is friendship plus mutual interest, and it is bipartisan.
Democracy is not only the right to vote, it is also about not resorting to violence in order to reach political goals and respecting agreements signed by former governments.
I've been involved in ties with elements in the Arab world for years now. They wish to establish relations with Israel, but they cannot do so while there is no peace process.
I don't think that everything is a zero-sum game in which, when the president of the United States says something, that means that he is pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli, or vice versa.
The state of Israel, and a government under me, will make it a strategic objective to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza. The means for doing this should be military, economic, and diplomatic.
When you look at the Lebanon-Syria border, you see a porous border despite the fact that you have a U.N. Security Council decision that speaks of an embargo on weapons transfers to Hezbollah.
I believe Israel needs branding. I want that the word 'Israel' will relate not just to an Israeli soldier or a camel, but Israel as an advanced liberal society with a strong economy and great people.
Turkey knows the importance of its ties with Israel; it knows it's in the same moderate camp with Israel, the moderate Palestinians and other Muslim countries, and the threat to Turkey is not from us.
It's not enough to speak loudly and confidently. You have to know how to get the world on your side, to accept Israel's ideas of security and defending its interests. Netanyahu does not know how to do this.
The capacity to influence radical groups can diminish significantly once they are viewed as indispensable coalition partners and are able to intimidate the electorate with the authority of the state behind them.
I hate the idea that talking security is Likud and right wing, and talking about peace is left wing and Labor and Kadima. The whole idea is to find a way to bridge: to find a way to have security and peace together.
When we distinguish between Israel's right to defend itself and settlements, then we legitimize its security needs; when we distinguish between isolated settlements and the blocs, then we legitimize the settlement blocs.
There is an intimacy and trust that is needed between leaders, between their assistants and advisers. Usually, you have the real substance behind closed doors; and the press conferences, you have niceties, nice photo ops.
As leaders, we in Israel must take into account the concerns of diaspora Jewry. Israel is strong enough to take criticism from within the family of Jews who say, 'OK, we disapprove of Israeli policy, but we stand firm for Israel.'
Something that truly frustrates me is the impression in Israel that when you are talking about security, you are bold; you are tough: this is what we need against all the enemies that we have. And when someone is talking about peace, you know, it's the naive left wing, soft.
There is the worldview of Greater Israel, the worldview of settlements: to send citizens to live in those places. That's not about security; that's not about the army. That's about an ideology that believes we need to stay in all of the Land of Israel. I don't share that ideology.
Israel needs to change direction, and this is not just political. We're becoming more closed-in, more isolated, more scared. Those who talk tough are making the State of Israel very weak, very isolated - very Jewish, in the Diaspora-sense, in that 'everyone is against us.' We need to get out of this.
Something happened to the State of Israel. What was morally obvious in 1948 is not so obvious anymore. When the State of Israel was established, it was, for the parents and grandparents of these young Jews, a miracle. It was David and Goliath. We were the just cause. It was about values. We were small, but we were the good guys in the world!
Radical groups can become legitimate political players in the democratic process if they accept core democratic principles and abandon the use of force as a political tool. Or they can maintain armed terrorist militias in order to threaten their neighbors and intimidate their people. The international community should not allow them to do both.
Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people and embraced all the Jews who had to leave Arab states. This should be also the true meaning of the future Palestinian state. It should be the answer for the Palestinians wherever they are - those who live in the territories, and those who are being kept as political cards in refugee camps.
I understand the sentiments of the Palestinians when they see the settlements being built. The meaning from the Palestinian perspective is that Israel takes more land, that the Palestinian state will be impossible, the Israel policy is to take more and more land day after day and that at the end of the day we’ll say that it is impossible, we already have the land and cannot create the state.