Yitzhak Rabin Quotes

If you have the same problem for a long time, maybe it's not a problem. Maybe it's a fact.

Israel's willingness to cooperate closely with the U.S. in protecting American interests in the region altered her image in the eyes of many officials in Washington.

We are committed to free access and free practice, to the members of the other two religions, to the holy shrines in Jerusalem. To the Muslims, to the Christians.

It is not worth the paper it is written on unless it is backed by the kind of force that will make the other side consider the penalties too heavy to break the agreement.

I considered the prevention of war as the test of our security policy; in addition to being able to rapidly and forcefully end any war forced upon us.

I, serial number 30743, Major General Yitzhak Rabin, am a soldier in the army of peace.

The Government chose to give peace a chance. The Government chose to do something to achieve it.

Israel has an important principle: It is only Israel that is responsible for our security.

In the midst of fighting there is no place for public debate.

The negotiations must address all aspects, both peace and withdrawal.

Steps toward a rapprochement between Israel and the Arab states create a process that turns economics into the moving force that shapes the regional relations instead of nationalist interests that were dominant in the past.

I was a military man for 27 years. I fought so long as there was no chance for peace. I believe that there is now a chance for peace, a great chance. We must take advantage of it for the sake of those standing here, and for those who are not here - and they are many.

A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace.

You don't make friends with friends. You have got to make friends with your enemies.

We appreciate the efforts of the United States, of the president, of the secretary of state, and we are ready to find any form of talks, but we have to overcome the differences between Syria and Israel to reach peace.

Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life.

I am healthy. I wish all my colleagues to the peace process to be healthy.

Enough of blood and tears. Enough!

But, more than anything, in the more than three years of this Government's existence, the Israeli people has proven that it is possible to make peace, that peace opens the door to a better economy and society; that peace is not just a prayer. Peace is first of all in our prayers, but it is also the aspiration of the Jewish people, a genuine aspiration for peace.

The struggle to get weapons is continuous, but the United States will aid us, if it finds Israel displaying a willingness for peace.

[Israel will] create in the course of the next 10 or 20 years conditions which would attract natural and voluntary migration of the refugees from the Gaza Strip and the west Bank to Jordan. To achieve this we have to come to agreement with King Hussein and not with Yasser Arafat.

Practically the only way to dry the swamp of radical Islam is through economic development and an improved standard of living.

I believe that it is my responsibility as the prime minister of Israel to do whatever can be done to exploit the unique opportunities that lie ahead of us to move towards peace. Not everything can be done by one act.

Syria doesn't want to talk with us on a bilateral basis, only under the auspices of the United States.

Peace is not made with friends. Peace is made with enemies.

Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone, and has to join the global journey toward peace, reconciliation and international cooperation.

I enter negotiations with Chairman Arafat, the leader of the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, with the purpose to have coexistence between our two entities, Israel as a Jewish state and Palestinian state, entity, next to us, living in peace.

We can continue to fight. We can continue to kill - and continue to be killed. But we can also try to put a stop to this never-ending cycle of blood. We can also give peace a chance.

There are two phases of the redeployment of the Israeli forces in the West Bank: One, to allow elections. Second, after the elections, to help further redeployment.

For me, Jerusalem was united, will be under Israel sovereignty, will be the capital of Israel and the heart of the Jewish people.

I'm not saying Christopher Pyne and all them are my enemies, they're great blokes, shouted me a few beers a couple of times which I like, it's - we have got to sit down with the people like that. We have got to sit down with people like that and negotiate and work our way through. If we don't do that then we're just going to continue the sins of the past.

I'll continue to carry out whatever we are committed to. Whatever we believe leads us to a permanent solution the way we want it, the way I want it.

I am 73 years old. I was born in Jerusalem. I'm the first prime minister of Israel to be born here. I am the only former general to become a prime minister.

The use of force, including beatings, undoubtedly has brought about the impact we wanted - strengthening the [occupied] population's fear of the Israeli Defense Forces.

I admire King Hussein his courage in leading his country for a long time.

We did not think that [Egyptian President] Nasser wanted war. The two divisions he sent to Sinai on May 14 would not have been sufficient to launch an offensive against Israel. He knew it and we knew it.

We'll fight terror like there's no peace, and make peace like there's no terror.

Vis a vis the Golan Heights, the present government of Israel, under my leadership, is the first government that is ready to speak about a withdrawal.

We accept every form or way to talk to the Syrians how to achieve peace.

Peace will be victorious.

I would like Israel to be a Jewish state, and therefore not to annex over 2 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israel, which will make Israel a bi-national state.

We are ready to compromise. We are ready to take calculated risks, but for a peace that will give us security.

We have to recognize that there is a Palestinian entity, that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority has to run their life.

You have got to sit down and talk to people. You can't understand people from a distance.

We will not leave the Golan Heights, not even in exchange for a peace treaty. We will be ready for a limited compromise and it does not have to be in territorial terms.

I believe however that peace is attainable regardless of the Arabs mentality, society or government.

It is the duty of the government to guarantee maximum security, and this is not an easy task.

We have the right to ensure our security, especially when it is possible to reach agreement on a political solution.