Quote By David Ben Gurion, The First Prime Minister Of Israel?
I don't understand your optimism. Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been antisemitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that? They may perhaps forget in one or two generations' time, but for the moment there is no chance. So, it's simple: we have to stay strong and maintain a powerful army. Our whole policy is there. Otherwise the Arabs will wipe us out.
What do you think about this quote? Pay attention to these lines: If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. There has been Anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?’
2009-03-11T15:28:00Z
Luppines and everyone else: Sorry, I didnt read all of your answers but I agree, I've seen many which have been fake. I got this one off Wikipedia because it seems to be the most used.
Stainless Steel: Lol. Okay....son.
Stainless Steel2009-03-11T14:37:01Z
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Maybe this Bin Gurrione was an antisemite, son! Areil Sharron said once that the jews must stop worrying about us, the Americans, because they control us. Thank God that George Bush creep is gone. Steel
Edito__________ I reckon it's gonna be a real hot week end here at Y/A ! I'm gonna get me some Miller 6packs and a big bucket of popcorn.
He also said “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles” As someone who is pro-Israel I perfectly understand why the Palestinians hate us, (less so for the Arab world). The question then becomes how can you get them to accept Israel? The answer is you have to give them something that they value greater than war with Israel. An example would be the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. It will take a lot of time, a few miracles, and likely more bloodshed along the way, but I believe it can happen.
So far as I can tell the quote is genuine, taken from a conversation with Nahum Goldmann in "The Jewish Paradox : A personal memoir" (translated, presumably from Hebrew).
Ben Gurion was apparently disagreeing with Goldmann's optimism about Israel's prospects for peace. Evidently he had a pretty clear perception of the Arab perspective, and was arguing it to Goldmann as his reason not to be optimistic.
I think he got it right. God's alleged promises to the Jews does not entitle them to ownership of the land they say he promised. The history of Jewish nationhood two thousand years ago does not entitle them to current ownership. Jewish suffering during the Holocaust also does not entitle them to compensation out of Arab possessions.
The ultimate justification for the existence of Israel derives from modern secular history:
1. The Jews, motivated by religion, history, and concern for their physical safety as a minority, sought to establish a safe haven and homeland in their ancient territory by buying land in Palestine and settling there legally, under the British Mandate and the Balfour Declaration.
2. The Arabs, motivated by age old religious hatred of Jews, desire to dominate the land they lived in, resentment of Jewish land purchases, resentment of the British, and growing exclusion from Jewish enterprises (triggered by Arab hostility), opposed the Jews violently. The Arabs started the violence as early as 1920; eventually, the Jews started to defend themselves.
3. The UN voted to partition the land. The Jews agreed, but the Arabs launched a war of annihilation against them. The Arabs lost the war, and a lot of land that was used to wage it.
Israel's existence rests on the right of its inhabitants to self defense against the Arabs who tried to kill them for reasons that did not justify killing.
And that's what Ben Gurion meant when he said, "Otherwise the Arabs will wipe us out." He understood very well this aspect of the Arab perspective, too.
He was able to empathize with his enemy's grievances even as he mounted a strong defense against their attempts to murder his people. Very impressive.