Abba Eban

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

Tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.

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.

A nation writes its history in the image of its ideal.

It is our experience that political leaders do not always mean the opposite of what they say.

A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.

Consensus is what many people say in chorus but do not believe as individuals.

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.

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.

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.