This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century - solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others.

I belong to a tradition that believes that the death of a single child is a blemish on creation.

I believe in the story [ of Adam and Eve]. For me, it's a story.

It's not a weapon, [governments] don't kill, they don't conduct massacres, although massacres have been committed and many people were killed, but they stifle religion, they're afraid probably.

I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.

I was convinced that hatred among nations and among people perished in Auschwitz. It didn't. The victims died but the haters are still here.

I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I've been closer to him for that reason.