The present Arab uprising didn't stem from Israel. The old guard is trying to keep down the young chickens. The old guard is better organized. They may win elections, but unless they have a solution to poverty, to corruption, to oppression, they will not last. I am with the young people.
Shimon PeresIran is a great problem, but not necessarily a great country. In fact, I think it is a very weak country.
Shimon PeresWhat is wrong with the Iranians in addition to the nuclear bomb? This is the only country on Earth in the 21st century that has renewed imperialistic ambitions. They really want to become the hegemon of the Middle East in an age that gave up imperialism.
Shimon PeresWe had a lot of support - don't give me "the world", just the televisions. In America we enjoy support,China is neutral, India is for, in Europe they're divided.
Shimon PeresNow, I learned soon enough, that among the three, two don't trust the third one - the third one is the government. Both industry and unions feel the government is a talking organization and a spending organization.
Shimon PeresLeading the Jewish people is not easy -- we are a divided, obstinate, highly individualistic people who have cultivated faith, sharp wittedness and polemics to a very high level.
Shimon PeresTerrorists and murderers are so dangerous. We shouldn't fall victim to believe that they are immune.
Shimon PeresOne of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition with you, you will have a coalition against you. I don't want to see China and Russia on the side of Iran more strongly than they are.
Shimon PeresWhen you have two alternatives, the first thing you have to do is to look for the third that you didn't think about, that doesn't exist.
Shimon PeresIn the past, most wars were motivated by the idea of nationhood. Today, however, wars are incited above all using religion as an excuse.
Shimon PeresIn order to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear country you have to introduce a system of verification and inspection.
Shimon PeresWe checked carefully the international law - what does a nation do when terrorists are using civilians to defend their life, as a shelter. And they say you do not have a choice.
Shimon PeresAnd in England there has always been something deeply pro-Arab, of course, not among all Englishmen, and anti-Israeli, in the establishment. They abstained in the 1947 UN partition resolution... They maintained an arms embargo against us in the 1950s... They always worked against us. They think the Arabs are the underdogs.
Shimon PeresI joined the army as a private. I was offered a rank at that time, but I refused. I preferred to remain a private. First of all, I wasn't taken by ranks, and before I knew it, they put me in the most sensitive positions anyway.
Shimon PeresOne of the most important branches of the Egyptian economy is tourism. No bikinis, no tourism. So they have to decide what to do.
Shimon PeresThe history of Israel is divided into two parts. One, under attack that we have had to defend ourselves. When you defend yourself your thinking is totally different from when you want to make peace. So under attack you behave like if you want a hawk, when peace comes you become a dove.
Shimon PeresIf world is suspicious that Israel may detonate nuclear bomb and if the suspicion is a deterrent - that's good enough.
Shimon PeresI was learning, as I did in the Ministry of Defense. I never knew, but I always learned.
Shimon PeresFrom my earliest youth, I have known that while one is obliged to plan with care the stages of one's journey, one is entitled to dream, and keep dreaming, of its destination.
Shimon PeresThere is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary.
Shimon PeresBulgaria is a true friend of Israel, that stood up to save the Jewish people 70 years ago in Europe, and who stood by throughout the terror attack that took place in Burgas last July.
Shimon PeresI call on the Iranian people: it is not too late to replace the corrupt regime and return to your glorious Persian heritage, a heritage of culture and values and not of bombs and missiles... How can a nation allow a regime to instill fear, take away the people's freedom and shock the young generation that seeks its way out of the dictatorial Iran.
Shimon PeresWe asked the workers to give up 25 percent of their salaries. Imagine! We asked the industrialists to freeze all costs, no matter what the inflation is.
Shimon PeresFor many years the stakes were clear. There were the Arabs attacking us and us defending ourselves, so basically there were no real problems [between the United States and Israel]. Now there are many small cells, and each of them can destroy on their own. Some can arrive at New York and kill thousands of people.
Shimon PeresHe taught me literature, and he actually taught me how to read. He was my personal mentor.
Shimon PeresIsrael is a start-up nation, and I think it can be done in other places. I will do it outside the government. I don't need the government.
Shimon PeresIf a problem has no solution, it may not be a problem, but a fact - not to be solved, but to be coped with over time.
Shimon PeresI think peace should be done not only among governments but among people. It was impossible before the Facebook.
Shimon PeresMost of the Palestinians don't understand what they're doing... Politically, people can say what they want. The problem is not political, but religious.
Shimon PeresI think I was a good student, because I jumped over a school. My main interest was basically history and literature. Sports were basically basketball and swimming at a pool. I was so happy.
Shimon PeresPeace with the Palestinians will open ports of peace all around the Mediterranean. The duty of leaders is to pursue freedom ceaselessly, even in the face of hostility, in the face of doubt and disappointment. Just imagine what could be.
Shimon PeresNothing had excited me-the huge cars, the entourages, the bodyguards, the policeman jumping to attention, all meant nothing to me ... till I came to the old man's office. (On becoming prime minister)
Shimon PeresDemocracy wants to win by reason, not by arms or by any other material damage, because, look, I don't have to remind you that I am totally for peace. It is my greatest dream. It was and will remain so.
Shimon PeresEarly in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital.
Shimon PeresIsrael was born under the British mandate. We learned from the British what democracy means, and how it behaves in a time of danger, war and terror. We thank Britain for introducing freedom and respect of human rights both in normal and demanding circumstances.
Shimon PeresI don't think for example that the Indians look at [what is right and what is wrong] that way [the Palestinians do]. There are a billion, 200 million people in that part of the world. Why? They suffer from terror. People that do not suffer from it don't understand what I'm talking about, you know?
Shimon Peres