Wisdom worth sharing, words worth remembering.
He was the editor of our paper. He created the publishing house in Hebrew. He was – I wouldn't say the 'guru' – but really he was our teacher and a most respected man. I wrote for the paper of the youth movement.
In Israel a land lacking in natural resources we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology.
The problem of the Middle East is poverty more than politics.
When I am speaking about American presidents I have to speak about my very special relations with President Clinton. He contributed more to peace than anybody else in the American sense.
Israel welcomes the wind of change and sees a window of opportunity. Democratic and science-based economies by nature desire peace. Israel does not want to be an island of affluence in an ocean of poverty. Improvements in our neighbours' lives mean improvements to the neighbourhood in which we live.
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.
I believe that peace with the Palestinians is most urgent – urgent than ever before. It is necessary. It is crucial. It is possible. A delay may worsen its chances. Israel and the Palestinians are in my judgment ripe today to restart the peace process.
I think peace should be done not only among governments but among people. It was impossible before the Facebook.
Early 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.
I was learning as I did in the Ministry of Defense. I never knew but I always learned.
The Jews' greatest contribution to history is dissatisfaction! We're a nation born to be discontented. Whatever exists we believe can be changed for the better.
