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David Ben-Gurion
37 quotes
“The agricultural community that the Arabs found in Eretz Israel in the 7th century was none other than the Hebrew farmers that remained on their land despite all the persecution and oppression of the Roman and Byzantine emperors.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leverur Motsa Ha’Falahim,” Luach Achiezer, New York, 1917, pp. 118-27, reprinted in Anachnu U’Shcheneinu (Tel Aviv: Davar. 1931), pp. 13-25
“The fellahin are not descendants of the Arab conquerors, who captured Eretz Israel and Syria in the seventh century CE. The Arab conquerors did not destroy the agricultural population they found in the country. They expelled only the alien Byzantine rulers and did not touch the local population. Nor did the Arabs go in for settlement”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Eretz Israel in the Past and Present (Yiddish, New York, 1918)
“The greater majority and main structures of the Muslim falahin in western Eretz Israel present to us one racial strand and a whole ethnic unit, and there is no doubt that much Jewish blood flows in their veins — the blood of those Jewish farmers, “lay persons,” who chose in the travesty of times to abandon their faith in order to remain on their land.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leverur Motsa Ha’Falahim,” Luach Achiezer, New York, 1917, pp. 118-27, reprinted in Anachnu U’Shcheneinu (Tel Aviv: Davar. 1931), pp. 13-25
“Everybody sees a difficulty in the question of relations between Arabs and Jews. But not everybody sees that there is no solution to this question. No solution! There is a gulf, and nothing can bridge it... We, as a nation, want this country to be ours; the Arabs, as a nation, want this country to be theirs.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Written statement (June 1919), as quoted in Time magazine (24 July 2006)
“Under no circumstances must we touch land belonging to fellahs or worked by them. Only if a fellah leaves his place of settlement, should we offer to buy his land, at an appropriate price.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1920 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Written statement (1920), as quoted in .
“The acceptance of partition does not commit us to renounce Transjordan: one does not demand from anybody to give up his vision. We shall accept a state in the boundaries fixed today, but the boundaries of Zionist aspirations are the concern of the Jewish people and no external factor will be able to limit them.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1937 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in 1937, accepting a British proposal for partition of Palestine which created a potential Jewish majority state, as quoted in New Outlook (April 1977)
“Terrorism benefits the Arabs, it may lay waste the Yishuv and shake Zionism. But to follow in the Arabs' footsteps and ape their deeds is to be blind to the gulf between us. Our aims and theirs run counter: methods calculated to further theirs, are ruinous to us.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On three fronts" (3 August 1938) as quoted in .
“From Jewish terrorism against Arabs it is a short step to Jewish terrorism against Jews.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On three fronts" (3 August 1938) as quoted in .
“If I knew that it was possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel, I would choose the latter, for before us lies not only the numbers of these children but the historical reckoning of the people of Israel.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at the Mapai's Central Committee (December 1938) as quoted in .
“We must support the army as though there were no White Paper, and fight the White Paper as though there were no war.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement (12 September 1939), quoted in .
“Our right to Palestine, all of it, is unassailable and eternal… I will not concede a single inch of our soil.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in The Times of Israel, 19th July 2020
“We accepted the UN resolution, but the Arabs did not. They are preparing to make war on us. If we defeat them and capture western Galilee or territory on both sides of the road to Jerusalem, these areas will become part of the state. Why should we obligate ourselves to accept boundaries that in any case the Arabs don't accept?”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the Israeli cabinet (12 May 1948), as quoted in "One day that shook the world" by Ellli Wohlgelernter, in The Jerusalem Post (30 April 2002)
“We extend the hand of peace and good-neighborliness to all the States around us and to their people, and we call upon them to cooperate in mutual helpfulness with the independent Jewish nation in its Land. The State of Israel is prepared to make its contribution in a concerted effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Israel's Proclamation of Independence, read on (14 May 1948)
“Even amidst the violent attacks launched against us for months past, we call upon the sons of the Arab people dwelling in Israel to keep the peace and to play their part in building the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its institutions, provisional and permanent.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Israel's Proclamation of Independence, read on (14 May 1948)
“We consider that the United Nations' ideal is a Jewish ideal.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The Watchman" in TIME magazine (16 August 1948)
“We want a Jewish state, even if not in the whole country. Who is 'we'? The Zionist movement and the great majority of the Yishuv and the great majority of the Pioneer Movement and fighters and soldiers and those who shed their blood! They fought for it!... When the question arose of the integrity of the land without a Jewish state or a Jewish state without the integrity of the land, we chose a Jewish state without the integrity of the land. Quoted by Nadav Eyal at ynet”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let me first tell you one thing: It doesn't matter what the world says about Israel; it doesn't matter what they say about us anywhere else. The only thing that matters is that we can exist here on the land of our forefathers. And unless we show the Arabs that there is a high price to pay for murdering Jews, we won't survive.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Advice reportedly given by Ben-Gurion to Ariel Sharon after the Qibya massacre in 1953. Quoted by Sharon in the documentary The 50 Years War : Israel & The Arabs (1999).
“I have just come back from the internment camps of Europe where I looked on the survivors of the Nazi charnel houses. I was in Dachau and Belsen. I saw chambers where hundreds of Jews were throttled every day. They were brought naked, as if to bathe, and the Nazis would peer through peepholes and watch them writhing in their death agonies.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An address at Hebrew University (28 November 1945), as quoted in Rebirth and Destiny of Israel (1954), p. 151
“With us, anyone who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed to Ben-Gurion in Israel : Years of Crisis Years of Hope (1973) by Roman Frister, p. 45
“I saw you then not only as the symbol of your people and its greatness, but as the voice of the invincible and uncompromising conscience of the human race at a time of danger to the dignity of man, created in the image of God. It was not only the liberties and the honor of your own people that you saved.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Winston Churchill on his leadership during World War II (1961), as quoted in "Churchill and the Jewish state" by Colin Shindler in The Jerusalem Post (27 December 2007)
“We shall be a free and self-sufficing nation, honouring Arab rights in an accord of equality, and living in peace with neighbour countries.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: page 36 of Israel: Opposing Viewpoints (1994) by Charles P. Cozic
“In Jerusalem, the United Nations (a truly United Nations) will build a Shrine of the Prophets to serve the federated union of all continents; this will be the seat of the Supreme Court of Mankind, to settle all controversies among the federated continents, as prophesied by Isaiah.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted on Look magazine, and reproduced by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (4 January 1962).
“Well done, now give it back to them.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Spoken to Louis Nir in June 1967, after his unit captured Hebron in the Six-Day War), as quoted in "Is the end in sight?" by Henry Porter in The Observer (28 October 2001)
“We will make a great and awful mistake if we fail to settle Hebron, neighbor and predecessor of Jerusalem, with a large Jewish settlement, constantly growing and expanding, very soon. This will also be a blessing to the Arab neighbors. Hebron is worthy to be Jerusalem's sister.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Hebron Is Jerusalem's Sister", Sdeh Boker, 18 Shvat 5730 (25 January 1970)
“The debate has not been for or against the indivisibility of Eretz Israel. No Zionist can forgo the smallest portion of Eretz Israel. The Debate was over which of two routes would lead quicker to the common goal.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A partial Jewish State is not the end, but only the beginning. … I am certain that we well not be prevented from settling in the other parts of the country, either by mutual agreements with our Arab neighbors or by some other means. . . [If the Arabs refuse] we shall have to speak to them in another language. But we shall only have another language if we have a state.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What matters is not what the goyim say, but what the Jews do.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An "oft-repeated credo" according to the "Windsor Star - Dec 3, 1973 and repeated in various newspapers (with minor variations) including the Jerusalem post (May 22,2009) "It doesn't matter what the goyim say, but what …
“The assets of the Jewish National Home must be created exclusively through our own work, for only the product of the Hebrew labor can serve as the national estate.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs : From Peace to War (1985) by Shabtai Teveth, p. 66
“We should prepare to go over to the offensive with the aim of smashing Lebanon, Transjordan, and Syria....The weak point in the Arab coalition is Lebanon [for] the Moslem regime is artificial and easy to undermine. A Christian state should be established, with its southern border on the Litani River [within Lebanon]. We will make an alliance with it. When we smash the [Arab] Legion's strength and bomb Amman, we will eliminate Transjordan too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria, and Cairo.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most dangerous enemy to Israel's security is the intellectual inertia of those who are responsible for security.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Supreme Command : Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime (2002) by Eliot A. Cohen, p. 172
“If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Words from the Wise : Over 6,000 of the Smartest Things Ever Said (2007) by Rosemarie Jarski, p. 170
“In our political argument abroad, we minimize Arab opposition to us. But let us not ignore the truth among ourselves. I insist on the truth, not out of respect for scientific but political realities. The acknowledgement of this truth leads to inevitable and serious conclusions regarding our work in Palestine... let us not build on the hope the terrorist gangs will get tired. If some get tired, others will replace them. A people which fights against the usurpation of its land will not tire so easily... it is easier for them to continue the war and not get tired than it is for us... The Palestinian Arabs are not alone. The Syrians are coming to help. From our point of view, they are strangers; in the point of law they are foreigners; but to the Arabs, they are not foreigners at all ... The centre of the war is in Palestine, but its dimensions are much wider. When we say that the Arabs are the aggressors and we defend ourselves — this is only half the truth. As regards our security and life we defend ourselves and our moral and physical position is not bad. We can face the gangs... and were we allowed to mobilize all our forces we would have no doubts about the outcome... But the fighting is only one aspect of the conflict which is in its essence a political one. And politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves. Militarily, it is we who are on the defensive who have the upper hand ... but in the political sphere they are superior. The land, the villages, the mountains, the roads are in their hands. The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country, while we are still outside. They defend bases which are theirs, which is easier than conquering new bases... let us not think that the terror is a result of Hitler's or Mussolini's propaganda — this helps but the source of opposition is there among the Arabs.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at the Mapai Political Committee (7 June 1938) as quoted in
“Our code must be framed to speed the absorption of immigrants into our economy, culture and society; to fuse the returning tribes into a homogeneous national and cultural unit; to forward our physical and moral healing and the cleansing of our lives from the trivia and dross which gathered upon us in dependence and exile. To maintain the status quo will not do. We have set up a dynamic State, bent upon creation and reform, building and expansion. Laws which lag behind development, merely a digest of experience and the lessons of the past, are useless to us. We need to anticipate the character of the times, discern embryonic forms emergent or renewed, and clear the path for circumstantial change.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rebirth and Destiny of Israel (1954), p. 419; a portion of this paragraph has sometimes been misquoted as: "To maintain the status quo will not do. We have to set up a dynamic state bent upon expansion.
“We have rebelled against all controls and religions, all laws and judgments which the mighty sought to foist upon us. We kept to our dedication and our missions. By these will the State be judged, by the moral character it imparts to its citizens, by the human values determining its inner and outward relations, and by its fidelity, in thought and act, to the supreme behest: "and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Here is crystallized the eternal law of Judaism, and all the written ethics in the world can say no more. The State will be worthy of its name only if its systems, social and economic, political and legal, are based upon these imperishable words. They are more than a formal precept which can be construed as passive or negative: not to deprive, not to rob, not to oppress, not to hurt.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rebirth and Destiny of Israel (1954), p. 419.
“I was in Dachau and Belsen. I saw chambers where hundreds of Jews were put to death every day. ... I saw the gallows in Belsen where Jews were hanged each Jewish holy day, while the rest were paraded to witness the ghastly punishments of men who had perhaps come a few minutes late to their daily grind. ... It is beyond mortal power to bring back to life six million who were burned, asphyxiated and buried alive by the Nazis. But our six million brothers and sisters who went to their deaths have bequeathed us a sacred injunction: to prevent such a disaster overtaking the Jewish peoples in the future and to do so by the Jewish people being an independent people in its own land, capable of resisting any foe or enemy by its own strength.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to an unnamed American friend, as quoted in David Ben-Gurion, in His Own Words (1969) edited by Amram M. Ducovny, p. 57 - 60; similar remarks appeared in an address at Hebrew University (28 November 1945)
“For many of us, anti-Semitic feeling had little to do with our dedication [to Zionism]. I personally never suffered anti-Semitic persecution. Płońsk [Ben-Gurion's hometown] was remarkably free of it ... Nevertheless, and I think this very significant, it was Płońsk that sent the highest proportion of Jews to Eretz Israel from any town in Poland of comparable size. We emigrated not for negative reasons of escape but for the positive purpose of rebuilding a homeland ... Life in Płońsk was peaceful enough. There were three main communities: Russians, Jews and Poles. ... The number of Jews and Poles in the city were roughly equal, about five thousand each. The Jews, however, formed a compact, centralized group occupying the innermost districts whilst the Poles were more scattered, living in outlying areas and shading off into the peasantry. Consequently, when a gang of Jewish boys met a Polish gang the latter would almost inevitably represent a single suburb and thus be poorer in fighting potential than the Jews who even if their numbers were initially fewer could quickly call on reinforcements from the entire quarter. Far from being afraid of them, they were rather afraid of us. In general, however, relations were amicable, though distant.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Memoirs (1970), p. 36.
“Regarding the Galilee, Mr. [Moshe] Sharett already told you that about 100,000 Arabs still now live in the pocket of Galilee. Let us assume that a war breaks out. Then we will be able to cleanse the entire area of Central Galilee, including all its refugees, in one stroke. In this context let me mention some mediators who offered to give us the Galilee without war. What they meant was the populated Galilee. They didn't offer us the empty Galilee, which we could have only by means of a war. Therefore if a war is extended to cover the whole of Palestine, our greatest gain will be the Galilee. It is because without any special military effort which might imperil other fronts, only by using the troops already assigned for the task, we could accomplish our aim of cleansing the Galilee.”
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a protocol of the Government of Israel, translated from Hebrew by Israel Shahak, in "Truth or Myth about Israel? Read between Quotation Marks" by Charley Reese in The Orlando Sentinel (13 June 1999); later publishe…