--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think a decent person has to…" description: "\"I don't think a decent person has to choose between being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. I think you have to be pro-Peace.\" — Amos Oz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/amos-oz-1478_decent_i-don-t-think-a-decent-person-has-to-cho_2865821.png" --- # I don't think a decent person has to choose between being… ![“I don't think a decent person has to choose between being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. I think you have to be pro-Peace.” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/amos-oz-1478_decent_i-don-t-think-a-decent-person-has-to-cho_2865821.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/amos-oz-1478_decent_i-don-t-think-a-decent-person-has-to-cho_2865821.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/amos-oz-1478_decent_i-don-t-think-a-decent-person-has-to-cho_2865821.png) > “I don't think a decent person has to choose between being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. I think you have to be pro-Peace.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for peace over partisan allegiance, urging unity beyond political divides. **In simple terms:** Choose peace, not sides. Key Takeaway Prioritize peace. Themes peace conflict resolution humanity Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political discourse - community building - activism - dialogue Key Concepts ethical philosophy global citizenship Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals foster peace in polarized settings? - What sacrifices does peace require? A Different Perspective Peace may be idealistic in deeply entrenched conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Palestine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palestine/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Palestine is about how we drink the water, whether we are being ecological or not. Palestine is our way of exercising our daily living.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/palestine-is-about-how-we-drink-the-water-whether-we-are-being/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [Israel's pro-American orientation exists not just among Israeli elites but also among the whole population. Come what may in Israel, it's inconceivable that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/israel-s-pro-american-orientation-exists-not-just-among-israeli/) [Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/) > [Palestinians want a state of their own. They want to live in freedom. They want to get rid of the terrible misery in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uri-avnery/palestinians-want-a-state-of-their-own-they-want-to-live-in-freedom/) [Uri Avnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uri-avnery/) > [Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/israel-has-always-been-pro-american-israel-will-always-be-pro-american/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty-2/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“So if you're anti-war, be pro-peace instead. If you're antihunger, be pro-people having more than enough to eat. If you are anti-a-particular politician, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/so-if-you-re-anti-war-be-pro-peace-instead-if-you-re-antihunger-be/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I am pro-peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-hussein/i-am-pro-peace/) [King Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-hussein/) > [If you hold an anti-war rally, I shall not attend. But if you hold a Pro-Peace rally invite me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-you-hold-an-anti-war-rally-i-shall-not-attend-but-if-you-hold-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace. I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-anti-bush-i-am-not-pro-iraq-i-am-pro-peace-i-have-written-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-was-once-asked-why-i-don-t-participate-in-anti-war-demonstrations-i/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Mainstream Jewish intellectuals became 'pro'-Israel after the June 1967 war when Israel became the U.S.A.' s strategic asset in the Middle East, i.e., when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/mainstream-jewish-intellectuals-became-pro-israel-after-the-june-1967/) [Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/) > [The pro-Israel lobby has been remarkably successful in suppressing criticism. Politicians challenge it at their peril because of the lobby's ability to influence political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/the-pro-israel-lobby-has-been-remarkably-successful-in-suppressing/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I've always wondered what it means to the Republican Party to be pro-Israel. My husband says that is is because certain sects of Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/i-ve-always-wondered-what-it-means-to-the-republican-party-to-be-pro/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [Christ at the Checkpoint is primarily a public relations scheme to dissuade American evangelicals from pro-Israel views.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tooley/christ-at-the-checkpoint-is-primarily-a-public-relations-scheme-to/) Mark Tooley ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/every-country-in-the-world-should-follow-the-example-of-president/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think loathing begets fanaticism, and in the end, loathing begets hatred and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-loathing-begets-fanaticism-and-in-the-end-loathing-begets/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature is about telling stories. Now, the gift of literature is that, in some lucky cases, reading a novel or a story makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-is-about-telling-stories-now-the-gift-of-literature-is/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Very often, fanaticism begins at home. It begins inside the family. It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. He is a teenager craving unconditional, endless love from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/trump-is-many-things-he-is-pampered-he-is-an-immature-man-he-is-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-only-way-to-keep-a-dream-any-dream-at-all-to-keep-a-dream-perfect/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Judaism and Christianity, and Islam too, all drip honeyed words of love and mercy so long as they do not have access to handcuffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/judaism-and-christianity-and-islam-too-all-drip-honeyed-words-of-love/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Never cut loose from your longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/never-cut-loose-from-your-longings/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Explore all 223 Amos Oz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More Decent quotes > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing than act. There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-keel/as-long-as-i-can-sing-halfway-decent-i-d-rather-sing-than-act-there-s/) [Howard Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-keel/) > [You weren't a decent man and you didn't do your best. We none of us were and none of us did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-weren-t-a-decent-man-and-you-didn-t-do-your-best-we-none-of-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the challenge of beating the jet lag and getting a decent sleep can be as hard to solve as finding the right setup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/sometimes-the-challenge-of-beating-the-jet-lag-and-getting-a-decent/) [Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Music and the arts feed our souls, but a decent wage puts food on the table. Musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/music-and-the-arts-feed-our-souls-but-a-decent-wage-puts-food-on-the/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) Land ethic > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Every New Yorker spends a certain amount of nervous energy thinking, "How can I afford to stay here? What do I have to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-zukin/every-new-yorker-spends-a-certain-amount-of-nervous-energy-thinking/) [Sharon Zukin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-zukin/) > [It is something that most parents hope for in life: That their children will be moderately successful, polite, decent human beings. Anything on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/it-is-something-that-most-parents-hope-for-in-life-that-their/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [takes a devil to make a decent angel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/takes-a-devil-to-make-a-decent-angel/) [Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/) > [I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I'm sure they're decent people. I mean they gotta be if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-guess-the-only-thing-to-do-now-is-meet-his-parents-i-m-sure-they-re/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) Browse all 1,392 Decent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think a decent person has to choose between being pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. 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