--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought it was interesting to see that…" description: "\"I thought it was interesting to see that Israel did not play a role in this revolution. The man on Cairo's Tahrir Square doesn't want anything from me,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/tom-segev-34814_cairo_i-thought-it-was-interesting-to-see-that_1149200.jpg" --- # I thought it was interesting to see that Israel did not… ![“I thought it was interesting to see that Israel did not play a role in this revolution. The man on Cairo's Tahrir Square doesn't want anything from me, but he does want something from his government. That's a good sign.” quote by Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/tom-segev-34814_cairo_i-thought-it-was-interesting-to-see-that_1149200.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/tom-segev-34814_cairo_i-thought-it-was-interesting-to-see-that_1149200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54d/tom-segev-34814_cairo_i-thought-it-was-interesting-to-see-that_1149200.jpg) > “I thought it was interesting to see that Israel did not play a role in this revolution. The man on Cairo's Tahrir Square doesn't want anything from me, but he does want something from his government. That's a good sign.” [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The protester seeks change from his government, not foreign observers, indicating genuine local agency. **In simple terms:** People want change from their own leaders, not outsiders. Key Takeaway Support local voices in movements. Themes revolution agency foreign influence government solidarity Mood critical hopeful Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - journalism - political analysis - human rights advocacy Key Concepts political agency grassroots activism national sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - What motivates the protester? - How can outsiders responsibly support? A Different Perspective External actors may misinterpret local motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Tahrir square](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tahrir-square/) ## Related quotes > [Both of these places, Cairo's downtown and Tahrir Square, are in the heart of downtown Cairo. 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He said the Americans only want oil, and, of course, Iraq has the second-largest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/any-strong-muslim-regime-that-threatens-israel-and-we-did-he-said-the/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [If Israel did not exist, the United Nations would go out of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-tillis/if-israel-did-not-exist-the-united-nations-would-go-out-of-business/) [Thom Tillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-tillis/) > [One wonders what exactly Israel did to earn Arab enmity between 1948 and 1967, when Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip and Jordan controlled Judea and Samaria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/one-wonders-what-exactly-israel-did-to-earn-arab-enmity-between-1948/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [It would be a mistake to link anything that Israel does to a certain circumstance. 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Of course, it's what I imagine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pereira/me-and-dricus-i-see-the-fighting-style-i-would-do-a-completely/) [Alex Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pereira/) > [I have some friends who were involved in the Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-spector/i-have-some-friends-who-were-involved-in-the-tahrir-square-uprising/) [Morgan Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-spector/) > [The achievement of Tahrir Square wasn’t just its grand political movement but the tiny personal battles fought and won against the frictions wearing down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/the-achievement-of-tahrir-square-wasn-t-just-its-grand-political/) [Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/) > [The Arab Spring is over. 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They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [We could have made peace with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad a long time ago. It didn't happen, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/we-could-have-made-peace-with-syrian-dictator-bashar-assad-a-long/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [If the corrupt Jordanian monarchy were overthrown, it would be the ideal opportunity to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because the West Bank and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/if-the-corrupt-jordanian-monarchy-were-overthrown-it-would-be-the/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [That's a deep change in priorities. People are much less political today. They have found other values of life. We are developing normal attitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/that-s-a-deep-change-in-priorities-people-are-much-less-political/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [“Across the city, people quoted a prophecy the Arabs used to tell to glorify the Ottoman Empire: the Turks would leave Palestine only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/across-the-city-people-quoted-a-prophecy-the-arabs-used-to-tell-to/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't forget that the peace treaties with Egypt and later with Jordan have already survived several tests: two wars with Lebanon, two Palestinian uprisings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/don-t-forget-that-the-peace-treaties-with-egypt-and-later-with-jordan/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [The saving of the Jews in Europe did not figure at the head of the list of priorities of the ruling class. 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Democracy is in jeopardy in Israel, and this threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/while-we-see-democracy-coming-to-the-arab-world-democracy-is-getting/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Like most Israelis, I know very little about the Arabs. We just look down on them and see them as a threat. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/like-most-israelis-i-know-very-little-about-the-arabs-we-just-look/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [If the region truly becomes democratic, an undemocratic bit of earth would remain here. It's hard to imagine that the world, especially the Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/if-the-region-truly-becomes-democratic-an-undemocratic-bit-of-earth/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Netanyahu adheres to his old position: He doesn't want a Palestinian state, and he doesn't want to give up the settlements and the occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/netanyahu-adheres-to-his-old-position-he-doesn-t-want-a-palestinian/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) [Explore all 14 Tom Segev quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) ## More Cairo quotes > [Both of these places, Cairo's downtown and Tahrir Square, are in the heart of downtown Cairo. 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Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/from-the-streets-of-cairo-and-the-arab-spring-to-occupy-wall-street/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Space is about 100 kilometers away. That’s far away—I wouldn’t want to climb a ladder to get there—but it isn’t that far away. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/space-is-about-100-kilometers-away-that-s-far-away-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [My mother is from Cairo, Georgia. This makes everything she says sound like it went through a curling iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-mother-is-from-cairo-georgia-this-makes-everything-she-says-sound/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [In Cairo, these young men hanging around in the street, we're told these guys are lazy, they're uneducated, they don't care, they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/in-cairo-these-young-men-hanging-around-in-the-street-we-re-told/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“Paris on the Nile’ or the ‘finery of Cairo’, Al-Ismailiya – a district to which Ismael gave his name – comprised large, wide avenues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-osman/paris-on-the-nile-or-the-finery-of-cairo-al-ismailiya-a-district-to/) [Tarek Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-osman/) > [The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. 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