Top 70 Ariel Sharon Quotes

We have built cities, developed industry and cultivated agriculture – we have transformed the State of Israel into an example and symbol for many other countries in the world.

The Jewish people remember the dramatic vote in the U.N. Assembly on November 29, 1947, when representatives of the nations recognized our right to national revival in our historic homeland.

My grandfather was facing this terror, my parents, myself.

Expressions of disobedience naturally encourage terrorist organizations and motivate them to intensify their actions.

The great question of our day is whether we, the Jewish people of Israel, can find within us the will to survive as a nation.

I was born on a farm. My strength has nothing to do with political apparatus. I get my strength from nature, from flowers.

Peace should provide security. It should be durable. I’m ready to go far in making painful concessions. But there is one thing I will never make any concessions on and that’s the security of the Israeli citizens and the very existence of the state of Israel. The Palestinians are losing time.

The strength that I have comes from irrigating the citrus plantation, ploughing in the vineyard, guarding the melon fields at night. I believe that’s what gave me the strength.

A people cannot exist if there is no social solidarity.

I would like to be on the farm. To ride the horses. To watch the cattle, and the plantations, and the beautiful vegetables that my sons are growing there. I would like it. I am one of those who do not have to worry about what I am doing later. I love the fields.

We do not build new Jewish communities in Samaria, Judea and Gaza. The United States has never accepted our building of communities or of the fence. Yet, I’ve managed to develop relations between Israel and the United States even though President Bush never supported settlements.

It is impossible to have a Jewish, democratic state and at the same time to control all of Eretz Israel. If we insist on fulfilling the dream in its entirety, we are liable to lose it all. Everything. That is where the extremist path takes us.

To our Palestinian neighbours, I assure you that we have a genuine intention to respect your right to live independently and in dignity. I have already said that Israel has no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate.

I do know that Syria never will recognize Lebanon as an independent country, and the declaration of independence of Lebanon took place in 1943. Syria never – Syria never have recognized Lebanon. They regard Lebanon as part of Syria.

I am the last person who would divide Jerusalem. I have said this many times. I don’t plan to discuss any division of Jerusalem.

I have always maintained that the only group I belong to consists of my family, my wife Lily, my mother, my sons Omri and Gilad.

I believe that the Jewish state will exist forever.

Israel is a society governed by the rule of law.

The right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel does not mean disregarding the rights of others in the land.

I’m an optimist.

If there is something that I respect about the Arabs, it’s the fact that they never change their position.

When I was born here on one of the farms in Israel, my childhood, I never thought for one day that we will not be living together with Arabs.

Israel is the only country in the world that is ready to make compromises – even though it did not lose any wars.

One has to view things realistically.

The problem is that Abu Mazen signed an agreement with the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

It’s very, very clear that you cannot move to the next phase unless the former one has been fully accomplished.

When it comes to matters of war and peace, we must not act rashly.

Jerusalem is the holiest place for the Jewish people.

It was a grave mistake to dismantle the Jewish communities in Sinai.

And Israel, being a tiny, small country, of course has interest to strengthen – we have interest to strengthen our relations with other countries, mostly countries that were hostile for many, many years.

We have learned a long time ago that one cannot compromise with terrorists.

Legitimate steps of self-defence which Israel takes in its war against Palestinian terror – actions which any sovereign state is obligated to undertake to ensure the security of its citizens – are presented by those who hate Israel as aggressive, Nazi-like steps.

The United States cannot live with terror.

There is no bullet-proof vest in my size.

A lie should be tried in a place where it will attract the attention of the world.

We don’t have any intention whatsoever to use military force to solve the Palestinian problem. But when it comes to terror – when it comes to terror, I believe that military – the right military steps is a very, very complicated kind of warfare, where I make every effort not to escalate the situation.

We have to remember that Arafat was the one that started with hijacking airplanes already in 1968.

Terrorists are trained in Syria, and weapons come from Iran and Syria, and I believe that’s something that should be stopped.

You don’t have to be a scared person. I’ve had so many tragedies. I’ve managed to withstand things that you may think you cannot tolerate. But I have the strength.

Abu Mazen understands that it is impossible to vanquish Israel by means of terrorism.

My first love was, and remains, manual labor; sowing and harvesting, the pastures, the flock, and the cattle.

I’ve been under security protection since 1978.

Countries such as Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria, which support terrorist organizations and use terror to achieve their objectives, are precisely the same countries working tirelessly to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This combination creates a new dimension to the threat on our way of life in the 21st century.

On April 19 1943, the Bermuda conference gathered, with the participation of representatives from Britain and the United States, in order to discuss saving the Jews of Europe. In fact, the participants did everything in their power to avoid dealing with the problem.

Israel is the only democracy in this part of the world.

As a Jew, it is my historic responsibility to defend the Jewish people. I feel this responsibility for the survival of the Jewish people. We’re not going to accept any decision by anybody else about security of the State of Israel. It is our role and only our role.

As one who participated in all the wars of the state of Israel, I saw the horror of wars. I saw the fear of wars. I saw my best friends being killed in battles. I was seriously injured twice.

Netanyahu is pressured easily, gets into a panic, and loses his senses… to run a country like Israel a leader needs to have reason and judgment and nerves of steel, two traits he does not have.

Myself, first of all, I am a Jew. And that is the most important thing for me.

Jordan is Palestine. The capital of Palestine is Amman. If Palestinian Arabs want to find their political expression, they will have to do it in Amman.

Both during the elections and as Prime Minister, I have repeatedly and publicly said that I support the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.

Syria is hosting the most dangerous terrorist organizations.

In all of my possessions, in all moments, whether hard or happy, I was accompanied by my dear wife, Lilly, who supported me wholeheartedly.

I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza.

One generation after another is drifting away from anything Jewish.

I prefer to stay with Likud. I think I have to be in the party I managed to build.

There is no good terror and bad terror. Terror is terror. There’s not terror that you can accept and terror that you cannot accept. Terror is terror. Murder is murder.

My opinions are aggressive, I admit that. But not my personality. I’m sociable.

All together, we know for many years that terror is the most dangerous thing for local, regional and international stability.

My strength never came from political echelons, it came from the family. And from the fields and the lands and the flowers and everything I see there. My strength came from there.

Hamas is a terror organization with a covenant that speaks about the elimination of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. They are not partners for negotiations.

I have absolute faith in the correctness of my course.

Iran, Libya and Syria are irresponsible states, which must be disarmed of weapons of mass destruction, and a successful American move in Iraq as a model will make that easier to achieve.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that destiny preserves me. I managed to survive and to succeed.

There is a famous saying: ‘It’s hard to be a Jew.’ It’s also hard to be a Palestinian. I know that.

Staying in Likud means wasting time in political squabbles rather than acting on behalf of the good of the country.

But there’s one thing we are not going to compromise at all: when it comes to security of Israeli citizens and the State of Israel, there are not going to be any compromises – not now and not in the future.