Abba Eban
On the United Nations
“If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”
On Peace with the Arabs
“The Arabs say they
want their territory back, but they don’t
want to talk to us, and they don’t
want to negotiate with us, and they don’t
want to recognize us. They want peace by
immaculate conception” - Quoted in Alfred
Leroy Atherton, Jr., Foreign Affairs Oral History
Collection of the Association for Diplomatic
Studies and Training, Summer 1990
On Israel's Right to Exist
“Nobody does Israel any service by proclaiming its 'right to
exist.' Israel's right to exist, like that of the United States, Saudi
Arabia and 152 other states, is axiomatic and unreserved. Israel's
legitimacy is not suspended in midair awaiting acknowledgement.... There is certainly no other state,
big or small, young or old, that would consider mere
recognition of its 'right to exist' a favor, or a negotiable
concession.” - New York Times, November
18, 1981
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