Top 90 Ehud Olmert Quotes

The United States is a superpower whose influence reaches across oceans and beyond borders.

Abu Mazen has deprived himself of all the practical authorities of government.

A prime minister has to keep a certain balance when dealing with sensitive issues.

Iran is an anti-Semitic, terrorist government.

I never thought that Syria and Israel should engage in a violent confrontation because I don’t think that there is any particular interest for any of us to do it.

I don’t understand this pathetic need for luxuries.

What do you prefer? A prime minister obsessed with being popular, or a prime minister who does the job?

Nobody stands above the law.

The situation of any leader in the Middle East is not easy.

Saudi Arabia is the country that in the end will determine the ability of the Arabs to reach a compromise with Israel.

My doctors say I am very healthy.

There is always a human being behind the titles and the status.

I don’t like this terminology that you have no choice. You always have a choice.

Who thinks seriously that if we sit on another hilltop, on another hundred meters, that this is what will make the difference for the state of Israel’s basic security?

Israel always has to be in a position to defend itself against any adversary and against any threat of any kind.

As a young politician, I voted against the return of Sinai and peace with Egypt. I was mistaken.

Every prime minister … has the responsibility to provide security for his people.

When it was not very comfortable, politically, for me, I said things which lots of people didn’t like, some of them may have liked. I said my beliefs, my truth, and my convictions, and that’s how I am going to continue to do in the future.

I’ve been mayor of the city of Jerusalem, which is perhaps, in some ways, more complex and more difficult than a ministerial position.

International economic and political sanctions on Iran, as crucial as they may be, are only an initial step, and must be dramatically increased.

I have to think about the possible ramifications of an early retirement.

We must give up Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem and return to the core of the territory that is the State of Israel prior to 1967, with minor corrections dictated by the reality created since then.

The days that Israel was separated from Europe are gone.

I want to arrive at the possibility of peace with the Syrians, and when I believe that the conditions are right, I will not miss the opportunity.

The military operation in Lebanon was the most successful military operation in recent Israeli history. Many in Israel don’t recognise that.

Before I became prime minister, as mayor of Jerusalem, I became world-renowned because of my fight for the unity of Jerusalem.

Abu Mazen has got to do only one thing: to fight terror. That’s what he needs to do.

I love my country more than anything else.

Turkey is not an enemy of Israel. I have worked closely with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Israel will not tolerate a situation in which Iran has effective control of non-conventional weapons that can be used directly against the state of Israel.

I’m not saying it was wrong to intervene in Kosovo.

I don’t know that there is one serious American representative that will advise Israel to sit with a terrorist government and negotiate with them.

Israel is prepared for a compromise. The majority of Israelis understand this compromise will be serious, will be meaningful, and will be painful.

Historic scores cannot be settled, and scars cannot be obliterated.

The Palestinian Authority is ruled by Hamas, an organization committed to vehement anti-Semitism, the glorification of terror, and the total destruction of Israel.

Stopping all the violent and hostile actions means ending the smuggling of arms into the Gaza territory.

Politicians are strong to the extent that they are ready to take serious decisions and fight for it.

The dreadful terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian terrorist organizations has affected thousands of Israeli citizens, has destroyed families, and has tried to disrupt the lives of the citizens of Israel.

The United States provides Israel with crucial security and economic aid and invaluable political backing in the international arena.

I want to make one thing clear: I am proud to be a citizen of a country in which a prime minister can be investigated like any other citizen.

Look, miracles in the Middle East are a reality.

I’m not in power, but my ideas are in power. And my ideas will prevail.

If the Gaza ceasefire proves stable, Israel will not remain in the Strip.

What’s the logic of investing millions in agriculture if it will not pay off?

Palestinians want Israel to return back into boundaries, the width of which is 12 km., that can be cut into pieces within minutes.

There is no doubt that there is a very strange phenomenon called the ‘State Comptroller.’

I always admired the tolerance of my family – you know, that they tolerated my dissension for the family consensus.

Peace is important for Israel.

When armed people from Hamas and armed people from Fatah are standing opposite each other, there is more likely to be a confrontation amongst them.

I always wake up early Saturday morning, and I have a little bit more time, so I go to the gym.

There is no need to get caught up in any apocalyptic prophecies that have no basis in reality.

Israel has said many times – and I also said this to German television in an interview – that we will not be the first country that introduces nuclear weapons to the Middle East.

The State of Israel, in partnership with Project Better Place and Renault-Nissan, is set to become the first country in the world to initiate the mass deployment of electric vehicles.

There is nothing that I’d love to do more than negotiate with Palestinians. This is my desire. This is my dream. This is my mission.

I am focused on what needs to be done for the people of Israel. Period. I do not pity myself and I do not pat myself on the shoulder. I get up in the morning full of energy to fulfill my mission.

The Palestinians are facing a historic junction at which they will have to decide whether they want to remain stuck in a corner of extreme fundamentalism, which will cut them off from the entire world, or whether they are ready to take the necessary steps. My role is to assist in building this process.

There were certain people who were out to get me. I know who those people were. They exist, believe me. They know that I know. They spent millions of dollars in order to try to get rid of me. I’m happy they lost most of their money.

For me to propose a division of Jerusalem was really terrible. I did it because I reached a conclusion that without which there will not be peace.

As long as there are no negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel is and will continue to be in a difficult situation.

Political leaders can help change the psychological climate which affects the quality of relationships among people.

Terrorist groups and their extremist state sponsors cannot be fought with kid gloves and flowery words of persuasion. As the U.S. has displayed in Afghanistan and in Iraq, only a vigilant and determined campaign of confrontation can deter and obstruct them.

In Israel, we are sorry for the loss of life of Turkish citizens in May 2010, when Israel confronted a provocative flotilla of ships bound for Gaza. I am sure that the proper way to express these sentiments to the Turkish government and the Turkish people can be found.

Barack Obama’s journey to the White House has impressed and inspired the entire world.

When you fight for the impossible, sometimes you lose everything.

There is nowhere I encounter greater understanding for Israel’s existential issues than in the Oval Office.

Iran is a major threat to the well-being of Europe and America just as much as it is for the state of Israel.

Abu Mazen told me he does not want to change the demographics of Israel.

Already at the time of Israel’s birth, Ben-Gurion extended his hand in peace to the Arab nations. His hand was rejected, but it remains extended.

I know I’m unpopular.

As one of the participants in the Aqaba summit, I can testify that Israel fully expected the Palestinian Authority’s newly reorganized and trained security agencies to take harsh action against the rejectionists who sought to wreck the peace process.

I don’t expect to be coddled, but I’m also a human being.

Assad is the president of Syria. He enjoys fairly effective control over his country.

I think the attempt to draw a comparison between Iran and Syria is false, misleading and dangerous.

A bloc of states is emerging that understands that they may have been wrong to think that Israel is the world’s greatest problem.

Yasser Arafat never wanted to make peace with Israel.

Palestinian violence is not a response to the capture of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian nationalism’s roots are not so shallow.

As mayor of Jerusalem, I wanted the government to invest the necessary funds in order to unite the city in an effective manner with full rights for the Palestinians living in Jerusalem, so the world would say, ‘Okay, it can work.’