27+ Abba Eban Quotes On Education, Freedom And World

Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician. He was a member of the Mapai party and served as Israel's Foreign Minister from 1966 to 1974. He was a leading proponent of the two-state solution and a vocal advocate for Israel in international forums. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Abba Eban on education, leadership, freedom.

Top 10 Abba Eban Quotes

1. History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
2. If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.
3. Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
4. A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually.
5. The Jews are the living embodiment of the minority, the constant reminder of what duties societies owe their minorities, whoever they might be.
6. One of the chief tasks of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all.
7. Lest Arab governments be tempted out of sheer routine to rush into impulsive rejection, let me suggest that tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.
8. Consensus is what many people say in chorus but do not believe as individuals.
9. I think that this is the first war in history that on the morrow the victors sued for peace and the vanquished called for unconditional surrender.
10. It is our experience that political leaders do not always mean the opposite of what they say.

Abba Eban Short Quotes

• Tragedy is the difference between what is and what could have been.
• Tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.
• Israel is not an aviary.
• His ignorance is encyclopedic.
• A nation writes its history in the image of its ideal.
• You can't achieve anything without getting in someone's way. You can't be detached and effective.
• Human beings act intelligently only after they have exhausted the alternatives
• Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives.
• Better to be disliked than pitied.
• Time and again these governments have rejected proposals today - and longed for them tomorrow.

Abba Eban Famous Quotes And Sayings

Zionism is nothing more, but also nothing less, than the Jewish People's sense of origin and destination in the Land linked eternally with its name. It is also the instrument whereby the Jewish Nation seeks an authentic fulfillment of itself. — Abba Eban

Playing the game I have learned the meaning of humility. It has given me an understanding of futility of the human effort. — Abba Eban

Science is not a sacred cow. Science is a horse. Don’t worship it. Feed it. [Addressing a group of prospective contributors to an Israeli scientific research program] — Abba Eban

Salvation, the prophets tell us, is preconditioned by repentance. The redeeming act of God waits upon man's initiative. — Abba Eban

It [idolatry] nourishes mans ambition to domineer over his fellow man. Idolatry, therefore, is the source of all social and moral evil in the world. — Abba Eban

Nobody does Israel any service by proclaiming its 'right to exist.' Israel's right to exist, like that of the United States, Saudi Arabia and 152 other states, is axiomatic and unreserved. Israel's legitimacy is not suspended in midair awaiting acknowledgement.... There is certainly no other state, big or small, young or old, that would consider mere recognition of its 'right to exist' a favor, or a negotiable concession. — Abba Eban

Our intention to regard the closing of the Straits as a casus belli was communicated...to the foreign ministers of those states which had supported international navigation in the Straits in 1957 and thereafter. There can be no doubt that these warnings reached Cairo. One thing was now clear. If Nasser imposed a blockade, the explosion would ensue not from 'miscalculation', but from an open-eyed and conscious readiness for war. — Abba Eban

Life Lessons by Abba Eban

1. Abba Eban's work as an Israeli diplomat demonstrates the importance of diplomacy and negotiation in resolving international disputes.
2. He also showed the power of effective communication, both in terms of speaking and writing, in order to make a strong case for a nation's interests.
3. Finally, his work demonstrated the need to remain open to compromise and to be willing to listen to the other side in order to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.