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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.

Yitzhak Rabin

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Yitzhak Rabin
Age: 73 †
Born: 1922
Born: March 1
Died: 1995
Died: November 4
Diplomat
Former Prime Minister Of Israel
Military Officer
Politician
Jerusalem
Middle East
Itzhak Rabin
Itshak Rabin
President
Egyptian
War
Launch
Two
Offensive
May
Division
Wanted
Sent
Would
Sufficient
Nasser
Think
Israel
Sinai
Thinking
Knew
Divisions

More quotes by Yitzhak Rabin

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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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Indigenous programs and policy will come within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet because Indigenous policy and programs should not be an add - on, they should not be an afterthought, but they should be at the heart of a good Australian Government.
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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You don't make friends with friends. You have got to make friends with your enemies.
Yitzhak Rabin
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There is no way of finding the middle ground, even with the best intentions of the world. Our most sensible policy is to stall.
Yitzhak Rabin
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I think the fact that we have been focussing on politics quite a lot and the tumult of politics rather than what we should be doing in terms of policy has made, I think, voters quite grumpy.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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If you have the same problem for a long time, maybe it's not a problem. Maybe it's a fact.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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It is the duty of the government to guarantee maximum security, and this is not an easy task.
Yitzhak Rabin
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[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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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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.
Yitzhak Rabin
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It is my hope that I could be not just a Prime Minister, but a Prime Minister for Aboriginal affairs, the first I imagine that we've ever had.
Yitzhak Rabin
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We have the right to ensure our security, especially when it is possible to reach agreement on a political solution.
Yitzhak Rabin
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I believe however that peace is attainable regardless of the Arabs mentality, society or government.
Yitzhak Rabin
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Enough of blood and tears. Enough!
Yitzhak Rabin
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A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace.
Yitzhak Rabin
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We are ready to compromise. We are ready to take calculated risks, but for a peace that will give us security.
Yitzhak Rabin
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This rally must send a message to the Israeli people, to the Jewish people around the world, to the many people in the Arab world, and indeed to the entire world, that the Israeli people want peace, support peace. For this, I thank you.
Yitzhak Rabin