Yitzhak Rabin quotes

Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli military leader and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Israel. A key architect of the Oslo Accords, he played a crucial role in advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He is remembered as a courageous leader dedicated to the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Here are 59 of his quotes:

We must think differently, look at things in a different way. Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions. (Yitzhak Rabin)
We do not celebrate the death of our enemies. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
No Arab ruler will consider the peace process seriously so long as he is able to toy with the idea of achieving more by the way of violence. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
I believe however that peace is attainable regardless of the Arabs mentality, society or government. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
You don't make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Practically the only way to dry the swamp of radical Islam is through economic development and an improved standard of living. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
In the midst of fighting there is no place for public debate. (Yitzhak Rabin)
Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone, and has to join the global journey toward peace, reconciliation and international cooperation. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
The struggle to get weapons is continuous, but the United States will aid us, if it finds Israel displaying a willingness for peace. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Israel has an important principle: It is only Israel that is responsible for our security. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Jerusalem is united, will never be divided again. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Only the change on the international scene, the crisis in the gulf, and the strong, firm position of the United States against aggression between two Arab countries created realities that led to the Madrid Peace Conference. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
We did not think that 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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth. (Yitzhak Rabin)
We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority. The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
Almost all the regimes which did not place Man and the sanctity of Life at the heart of their world view, all those regimes have collapsed and are no more. You can see it for yourselves in our own day. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
I believe that in the long run, separation between Israel and the Palestinians is the best solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin
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. View quote
Yitzhak Rabin