--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was…" description: "\"Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/david-ben-gurion-9178_arab-israeli-conflic_why-should-the-arabs-make-peace-if-i-was_20217.jpg" --- # Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I… ![“Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs.” quote by David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/david-ben-gurion-9178_arab-israeli-conflic_why-should-the-arabs-make-peace-if-i-was_20217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/david-ben-gurion-9178_arab-israeli-conflic_why-should-the-arabs-make-peace-if-i-was_20217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/david-ben-gurion-9178_arab-israeli-conflic_why-should-the-arabs-make-peace-if-i-was_20217.jpg) > “Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs.” [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that Arab leaders would never accept peace with Israel because they view the land as divinely granted to them, dismissing any moral or legal claims by the other side. **In simple terms:** Divine entitlement fuels conflict. Key Takeaway Religion used to justify territorial claims. Themes nationalism religion conflict identity politics Mood defiant pessimistic resolute Type political statement ideological claim When to use this quote - diplomatic talks - peace talks - regional negotiations Key Concepts territorial claims divine right peace negotiations Practical Applications - policy analysis - conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - What alternative frameworks could override religious claims? - How do historical narratives shape current peace prospects? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arab israeli conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab-israeli-conflict/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Making peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-peace/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Zionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zionist/) ## Related quotes > [We do not wish and do not need to expel Arabs and take their places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-do-not-wish-and-do-not-need-to-expel-arabs-and-take-their-places/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/it-is-the-duty-of-israeli-leaders-to-explain-to-public-opinion/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [ If I was an Arab leader I would never make \[peace\] with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/if-i-was-an-arab-leader-i-would-never-make-peace-with-israel-that-is/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [How will decent people in the region ever believe in peace if Arab terrorists interpret every gesture of peace as a display of weakness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/how-will-decent-people-in-the-region-ever-believe-in-peace-if-arab/) [Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/) > [We will not accept any...coexistence with Israel...Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel…The war with Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gamal-abdel-nasser/we-will-not-accept-any-coexistence-with-israel-today-the-issue-is-not/) [Gamal Abdel Nasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gamal-abdel-nasser/) > [Even if there is peace with all the Arab states, I don't know if the terrorism against us will pass from this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-shamir/even-if-there-is-peace-with-all-the-arab-states-i-don-t-know-if-the/) [Yitzhak Shamir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-shamir/) > [Well, because the Arabs who were involved in 9/11 cooperated with the Zionists, actually. It was a cooperation. 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Both President Assad and King Hussein were felt to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/what-holds-an-arab-leader-in-power-is-a-mixture-of-violence-and/) [James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/) > [If we look at Abdel Nasser in Egypt as an Arab leader, he was secular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/if-we-look-at-abdel-nasser-in-egypt-as-an-arab-leader-he-was-secular/) [Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/) > [Every time an Arab leader truly wanted peace, they got it. If the Palestinians truly want peace, we will make peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/every-time-an-arab-leader-truly-wanted-peace-they-got-it-if-the/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) ## More by David Ben-Gurion > [The assets of the Jewish National Home must be created exclusively through our own work, for only the product of the Hebrew labor can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/the-assets-of-the-jewish-national-home-must-be-created-exclusively/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [Thought is a strenuous art - few practice it, and then only at rare times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/thought-is-a-strenuous-art-few-practice-it-and-then-only-at-rare-times/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [In the land of Israel was born the Jewish nation. 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We consider it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-don-t-consider-manual-work-as-a-curse-or-a-bitter-necessity-not/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [We have preserved the Book, and the Book has preserved us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-have-preserved-the-book-and-the-book-has-preserved-us/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [We consider that the United Nations' ideal is a Jewish ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-consider-that-the-united-nations-ideal-is-a-jewish-ideal/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [If I knew that it was possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/if-i-knew-that-it-was-possible-to-save-all-the-children-of-germany-by/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [Courage is a special kind of knowledge: the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/courage-is-a-special-kind-of-knowledge-the-knowledge-of-how-to-fear/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [From Jewish terrorism against Arabs it is a short step to Jewish terrorism against Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/from-jewish-terrorism-against-arabs-it-is-a-short-step-to-jewish/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) [Explore all 74 David Ben-Gurion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) ## More Arab israeli conflict quotes > [“My identity as Jewish cannot be reduced to a religious affiliation. 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Georgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-f-georgy/) > [The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's colonization of Palestine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-preeminent-obstacle-to-peace-is-israel-s-colonization-of-palestine/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“In the end both people realized something so utterly simple and yet horrifyingly distant- by removing the ‘otherness’ from their respective identification, they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-f-georgy/in-the-end-both-people-realized-something-so-utterly-simple-and-yet/) [R.F. 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Georgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-f-georgy/) [Browse all 16 Arab israeli conflict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab-israeli-conflict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? 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