Ben Gurion Quotes

15 quotes from 12 authors

While many remember his military feats, these fifteen excerpts spotlight Ben Gurion’s pragmatic side—his relentless push for security and his surprising offers of peace to neighboring peoples. The voices echo his belief that strength and dialogue can coexist, a balance still debated today. For broader context, the “Israeli History” and “Leadership” pages provide richer background.

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In the end, Arik believes in security above all and is a salient pragmatist, a disciple of Ben-Gurion.

Reuven Rivlin

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“As Ben-Gurion so often said, the moral high ground is also the basis of power.”

Shimon Peres

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“ Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan were self-proclaimed atheists.”

Tariq Ali

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After '45, Ben Gurion started to organize the Zionist movement and the conference in Baltimore. At this convention, they decided that the…

Yitzhak Shamir

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We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, What is to be done with the Palestinian population?' Ben-Gurion waved his…

Yitzhak Rabin

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David Ben-Gurion established the Israeli intelligence community in June of 1948, just three weeks after the establishment of Israel and in the…

Ronen Bergman

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Already at the time of Israel's birth, Ben-Gurion extended his hand in peace to the Arab nations. His hand was rejected, but…

Ehud Olmert

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David Ben-Gurion was a mythic figure, the founding father of Israel and a modern-day prophet, but he was also a real man…

Shimon Peres

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“I am for compulsory transfer; I do not see anything immoral in it.’ David Ben-Gurion to the Jewish Agency Executive, June 19381”

Ilan Pappé

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“Ben-Gurion once said that in Israel, “in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” After such extraordinary achievement in…

Shimon Peres

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A story once went the rounds of Israel to the effect that Ben-Gurion described me as 'the only man' in his cabinet.…

Golda Meir

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David Ben-Gurion understood that the public's trust is given to a leader in order to lead, determine clear goals and make difficult…

Ariel Sharon

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Before the State of Israel became a reality, Sinatra was a strong supporter, knowing that Jews were being denied access to the…

Frank Sinatra Jr

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“In Jerusalem, as elsewhere in Palestine, the Haganah's basic strategy reflected a philosophy propounded by David Ben-Gurion. What the Jews had, they…

Larry Collins

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That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace, and I saw him making war. He mobilized me…

Shimon Peres

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