The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.
David Ben-GurionRead
No city in the world, not even Athens or Rome, ever played as great a role in the life of a nation for so long a time, as Jerusalem has done in the life of the Jewish people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Jerusalem has significantly impacted the identity and history of the Jewish people more than any other city.
David Ben-Gurion emphasizes the profound connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, noting that no other city has had such a lasting influence on their national identity and history. He highlights the central role of Jerusalem as a cultural, spiritual, and historical epicenter for the Jewish people throughout the ages, indicating that this relationship is unparalleled when compared to other ancient cities like Athens or Rome.
Themes
JerusalemJewish IdentityHistoryNationCulture
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about cultural heritage, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of Jerusalem.
More from David Ben-Gurion
All quotes →We offer peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Hebrew nation for the common good of all.
David Ben-GurionRead
Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence.
David Ben-GurionRead
Anyone who believes you can't change history has never tried to write his memoirs.
David Ben-GurionRead
Those who today murdered our people in an ambush not only plotted to murder some Jews but intended to provoke us... The Arabs stand to gain from such a development. They want the country to be in a state of perpetual pogrom.... Any further bloodshed [by the Jews] will only bring political advantage to the Arabs and harm us... Our strength is in the defense... and this strength will give us political victory if England and the world will know that we are defending ourselves rather than attacking.
David Ben-GurionRead
After eighty, there are no enemies, only survivors.
David Ben-GurionRead
Similar quotes
History never looks like history when you are living through it.
John W. GardnerRead
Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. We will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Some of the most moving experiences I've had are just in black churches in the South, during the Civil Rights Movement, where people were getting beaten, killed, really struggling for the most elementary rights.
Noam ChomskyRead
Watergate is an immensely complicated scandal with a cast of characters as varied as a Tolstoy novel.
Bob WoodwardRead
When I started giving talks about women's history, one of the things that bothered me was the tendency to say, 'Well, everybody was totally oppressed and suddenly in 1964 we rose up, got our freedom, and here we are.' It dismisses the women who fought for rights for several hundred years of our history up to that point.
Gail CollinsRead
All historical writing, even the most honest, is unconsciously subjective, since every age is bound, in spite of itself, to make the dead perform whatever tricks it finds necessary for its own peace of mind.
Carl L. BeckerRead