64 quotes found
"We gave them 42% of the land. Did we get 42% of peace? Did we even get 20% of peace?"
"The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger."
"The significance of the disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process."
"Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And all this with authority and permission. All with a presidential blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress."
"The disengagement is actually formaldehyde. It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians."
"The occupation made it very clear to me that there was something wrong, and I started to ask myself all kinds of questions and came to the conclusion that Zionism is negative and bad, and that we are oppressing the Palestinians."
"Everyone fights with their abilities - the Israelis have helicopters and rockets and the Palestinians have nothing but themselves and some very primitive home-made explosives."
"I grew up in an Israeli culture where suicide attackers are really heroes. Look at Samson, who in order to fight the Philistines in Gaza made the theatre collapse on himself and all the civilians there. He is a very big hero among Jewish children. I grew up on the myth of better suicide than surrender. So what is so special about suicide bombers?"
"I don't understand why people would find my views abhorrent. If you ask any Israeli to put himself in a similar situation of occupation and oppression for 36 years - everyone would say they would do the same, including [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon. I never heard any similar criticism from those Israelis who are shocked by the killing of women and children in suicide attacks, of an Israeli rocket attack that kills Palestinian civilians."
"I don't support such actions or see this as the solution, but I can very well understand how suicide bombings became a very popular way of fighting - first, because it is quite successful; secondly, because people are ready to risk everything in order to achieve some progress in the national struggle."
"The formula for the parameters of a unilateral solution are: To maximize the number of Jews; to minimize the number of Palestinians; not to withdraw to the 1967 border and not to divide Jerusalem."
"We are approaching the point where more and more Palestinians will say: we have been won over. We agree with [National Union leader Avigdor] Liberman. There is no room for two states between the Jordan and the sea. All that we want is the right to vote. The day they do that, is the day we lose everything. Even when they carry out terror, it is very difficult for us to persuade the world of the justice of our cause. We see this on a daily basis. All the more so when there is only one demand: an equal right to vote. The thought that the struggle against us will be headed by liberal Jewish organizations who shouldered the burden of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa scares me."
"Had I believed that there is a real chance of reaching an agreement, I would have recommended making an effort. But that is not the case. The choice we will be facing will be between less than a Geneva Accord—which means a return to the 1967 border, the crushing of Jerusalem, and a struggle to our last breath to ward off the international pressure to absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees into the shrinking State of Israel—and a comprehensive unilateral move, and I stress the word comprehensive. Through such a move we will define our borders, which under no circumstances will be identical to the Green Line and will include Jerusalem as a united city under our sovereignty."
"For thousands of years, we Jews have been nourished and sustained by a yearning for our historic land. I, like many others, was raised with a deep conviction that the day would never come when we would have to relinquish parts of the land of our forefathers. I believed and to this day still believe in our people's eternal and historic right to this entire land."
"The day will come when the two-state solution collapses and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights. As soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished. The Jewish organizations, which were our power base in America, will be the first to come out against us, because they will say they cannot support a state that does not support democracy and equal voting rights for all its residents."
"When we saw that the Secretary of State, for reasons we did not really understand, wanted to vote in favor of the U.N. resolution... I looked for President Bush and they told me he was in Philadelphia making a speech, I said, 'I don't care. I have to talk to him now'. They got him off the podium, brought him to another room and I spoke to him. I told him, 'You can't vote in favor of this resolution.' He said, 'Listen, I don't know about it, I didn't see it, I'm not familiar with the phrasing.' [I said to him] 'I'm familiar with it. You can't vote in favor.' He gave an order to the Secretary of State and she did not vote in favor of it -- a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organized and maneuvered for. She was left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged."
"What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. It’s the result of government policy – knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated."
"The sooner the Arab children will learn that they must build their houses where they are now, as the solution is not their return to Israel, the better it will be for everyone."
"Israeli Arabs must know they cannot live here and call the day of Israel's establishment the day of disaster."
"What Hamas did was a massacre"
"There is no consensus in Israel regarding the two state formula. We will not, under any circumstances, allow the establishment of a neighbouring state that will be a genuine threat on our existence."
"Terrorism is trying to paralyze and silence democracies fighting against it, exactly as was manifest in the world's reaction to Israel's counter-terrorist offensive Cast Lead in light of the Goldstone Report."
"We will not apologize – not for conquering Katamon or Jaffa or Tzfat, nor for liberating Hebron, and not for building Jerusalem our capital."
"If the Nakba is a tragedy, then the establishment of the State of Israel is a tragedy. The Palestinians experienced a catastrophe that was brought on by their leaders, but the establishment of the State of Israel is not the reason for it."
"I whole-heartedly believe that the land of Israel is ours in its entirety."
"Dividing Jerusalem will bring disaster for the city. It cannot be that every time something is built in Jerusalem, the international community censures it. This constant criticism is a mark of disgrace for the international community."
"The residents here [in Migron settlement] are not thieves and are not trying to banish people from their land. They came here innocently, with the encouragement of the State of Israel."
"[Israeli citizens who marry Palestinians need to move to] the other side."
"Zionism from its outset was a settlement movement. If we stop going on this path, how can we justify the faith that all of Zion belongs to us?"
"There are red lines that I as a democrat, say you cannot cross. I see it as defiance against Israel and Jerusalem as its capital as well as another protest against the historical narrative, a matter already pending before the High Court. (Responding to a MK Tibi-proposed bill recognising Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state)"
"The communities in Judea and Samaria [referring to West Bank settlements] do not threaten our existence, they guarantee our existence."
"We miss [Rehavam Ze'evi's] clear, ideological voice, his leadership, his larger than life presence."
"Today, almost 20 years after Oslo, we can see clearly that the idea of separating the [Israeli and Palestinian] nations failed."
"For some reason the settlement enterprise is being accused of being an obstacle to peace. Personally, I explain at each possible forum that the obstacle to peace is the objection by the Arabs to it and the fact that they do not want us here."
"I have a vision that suddenly all the Jewish people [from around the world] will come to live here... And if there were 10 million Jews here, we wouldn't have to give up on anything."
"Specifically, in these days when brutal and murderous terrorism seeks to drive us apart, we must reiterate to ourselves – here, in the Knesset, in schools, in academia and in the halls of Torah study – that to be Jewish is democratic and democracy is Jewish. Only in this way can we know that brutal terrorism will not break us physically, or our spirit."
"You are weak people, only a country that isn’t normal acts this way. No apartheid law will erase the fact that in this homeland there are two nations."
"In a government that has lost all shame, that fears its own shadow, the majority tramples the minority, legislation is racist and the democratic space is under constant threat."
"This is an evil law, a black flag hovers over it."
"Today, I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns in the country, that the state has declared that it does not want us here. ... It has passed a law of and told us that we will always be ."
"I'm no politician. I think my being Miss Universe will show people that Israel has another side, not only war."
"I am so surprised by New York City. I thought New York must be ugly and unpleasant, you know, I saw all those movies about New York….But New York is beautiful and the people here are really nice."
"All I want is to continue to study….I want to learn about everything, about people, about life."
"As Miss Universe I can reach people who are usually not interested in politics and are not familiar with the problems of the Mideast. In that way I can make a modest contribution to peace. And another thing: as Miss Universe I can show the world that life in Israel is not all war."
"My mission, the mission of my term, is to do everything in order to rebuild hope."
"The historic connection of Jews to Hebron, to the tomb of the patriarch, to the heritage of the patriarchs and matriarchs is unquestionable. Recognition of this connection must be beyond all controversy."
"Israel will welcome a comprehensive, diplomatic solution which permanently solves the Iranian nuclear threat. In the case of a failure to achieve such a solution, Israel is keeping all options on the table and it must be said that if the international community does not take a vigorous stance on this issue — Israel will do so. Israel will protect itself."
"We have to continue dreaming of peace."
"Indeed, we both (Israel and Bahrain) want, above all, regional peace and mutual prosperity."
"May you (Eytan Stibbe) influence the whole of humanity for another hundred years. May you continue to bring all of us, your nation, your country, and your family, great pride. Fly in peace and return in peace. Look after yourself."
"I think that it is very important to protect our Israeli and Jewish identity. It's not simple. We live in a very diverse world, but part of a person's ability to develop is having an identity that you believe in and belong to."
"Glass ceilings are being smashed every day in Israel, and I'm proud that during my time in the President's Residence, another one is being broken by a worthy and promising officer."
"The Iranian nuclear threat must be neutralized once and for all, with or without an agreement. Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities."
"Today we saw the true face of Hamas. A terrorist army whose only goal is the cold-blooded murder of innocent men, women, and children. Supported and directed by their proxy commanders in Iran, they carried out an unprovoked, heinous attack against the Jewish state on a Jewish holy day. Innocent civilians were massacred and wounded, and many are still under attack."
"The State of Israel will take all measures necessary to eliminate this clear and immediate danger to our citizens. Israel will overcome in the face of all challenges. I call upon the family of nations – this war waged against us marks a line in the sand. Now is the time to hear clear, unequivocal condemnation of Hamas, its allies, and its backers in Iran. Now is the time to stand firm with Israel in support of its just and moral battle in the face of an abhorrent enemy."
"We are working, operating militarily in terms according to rules of international law, period. Unequivocally. It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It's not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It's absolutely not true. They could have risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup 'd état. But we are at war, we are defending our homes, we are protecting our homes, that's the truth and when a nation protects it's home it fights and we will fight until we break their back bone."
"I exist thanks to the decision of my parents, born in Poland, to rebel against the rabbis and immigrate to Israel"
"google translate: I exist thanks to the decision of my parents, born in Poland, to rebel against the rabbis and immigrate to Israel"
"We must turn Israel into a state that’s a challenge to world Jewry and not a Vatican. I believe that we don’t want Israel to turn into a ghetto and an Orthodox theocratic state. Most of the Israelis reject this way of living. We must have a bill of rights and we must liberate the Israeli woman from the bondage of the religious law"
"On that wonderful and moving day, the State of Israel was announced as a democratic country that guarantees complete social and political equality of rights for all its citizens, regardless of religion, race, or gender. All this in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel - the declaration that is the founding document of the young country And of the people fighting for their freedom and sovereignty. (google translate)"
"It's a trick, we always use it. When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel then we bring up the Holocaust. When in this country [US] people are criticizing Israel then they are "anti-semitic" and the organization is strong and has a lot of money and the ties between Israel and american jewish establishment are very strong and they are strong in this country. As you know, they have power which it's okay, they are talented people and they have power, money and media and other things. And their attitude is "Israel is my country, right or wrong", the identification, and they are not ready to hear criticism and it's very easy to blame people who criticize certain acts of the Israeli government as anti-semitics and to bring up the Holocaust and the suffering of the jewish people. And that is to justify everything we do to the Palestinians."
"Shas, they're just political gangsters. The problem is that the politicians-Shulamit Aloni, Yossi Sarid, all of them have cushy jobs on the side. They don't truly feel responsible for representing voters, the citizens"
"Do you know, in the month before the Jewish Terror Groups were arrested and indicted, I printed an article, "Messiah or Knesset," that predicted the existence of such organizations? Shulamit Aloni read it aloud at the Knesset. "If a writer could predict this," she asked, "why couldn't the authorities?""
"[in the Labor party] we don’t know what 'I think' means, we only know what 'we' think"