It is not in our hands to prevent the murder of workers… and families… but it is in our hands to fix a high price for our blood, so high that the Arab community and the Arab military forces will not be willing to pay it.
Moshe DayanRead
Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because these geography books no longer exist; not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahalal arose in the place of Mahalul, Gevat - in the place of Jibta, Sarid - in the place of Haneifs and Kefar Yehoshua - in the place of Tell Shaman. There is no one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the displacement of Arab villages in favor of Jewish settlements, emphasizing the loss of historical identity.
Moshe Dayan's quote reveals the historical context of land appropriation in Israel, pointing out that many current Jewish settlements were established where Arab villages once thrived. He suggests a collective oblivion to this history, as the legacy of these Arab communities has been erased from geography and memory, underscoring the complexities of narratives surrounding land, identity, and belonging in the region.
Themes
HistoryDisplacementIdentityLandMemory
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about modern Middle Eastern politics.
More from Moshe Dayan
All quotes →We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house.
Moshe DayanRead
Our American friends offer us money, arms, and advice. We take the money, we take the arms, and we decline the advice.
Moshe DayanRead
We came here to a country that was populated by Arabs and we are building here a Hebrew, a Jewish state; instead of the Arab villages, Jewish villages were established. You even do not know the names of those villages, and I do not blame you because these villages no longer exist. There is not a single Jewish settlement that was not established in the place of a former Arab Village.
Moshe DayanRead
We could not guard every water pipeline from being blown up and every tree from being uprooted. We could not prevent every murder of a worker in an orchard or a family in their beds. But it was in our power to set high price for our blood, a price too high for the Arab community, the Arab army, or the Arab governments to think it worth paying... It was in our power to cause the Arab governments to renounce 'the policy of strength' toward Israel by turning it into a demonstration of weakness.
Moshe DayanRead
We should demand his blood not from the Arabs of Gaza but from ourselves... Let us make our reckoning today.
Moshe DayanRead
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