When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
Shimon PeresRead
The Middle East is ailing. The malady stems from pervasive violence, shortages of food, water and educational opportunities, discrimination against women and - the most virulent cause of all - the absence of freedom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the multiple crises facing the Middle East, emphasizing the root causes of these issues as a lack of freedom and basic needs.
Shimon Peres outlines the complexities of the problems in the Middle East, asserting that the region suffers from numerous interrelated issues such as violence and scarcity of essential resources. However, he places particular emphasis on the lack of freedom as the overarching problem that exacerbates other distressing conditions, suggesting that solving the freedom deficit could lead to improvement in various aspects of life in the region.
Themes
Middle EastFreedomViolenceResourcesDiscrimination
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing the humanitarian aid effort in the Middle East, one could use this quote to emphasize the underlying issues that need to be resolved.
More from Shimon Peres
All quotes →I didn't plan to be a politician. The founder of our country, David Ben-Gurion, called me from the kibbutz to serve in the underground. We were short of manpower, short of arms. I was 24 years old. I was supposed to serve my country for one or two years. I am 89 years old this year, and I keep going.
Shimon PeresRead
The United States is the only power in history that became great by giving and not by taking. I think the crisis was when the United States had more money than ideas. Money doesn't produce money. Ideas produce money.
Shimon PeresRead
The problem of the Middle East is poverty more than politics.
Shimon PeresRead
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing, the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
Shimon PeresRead
Early in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital.
Shimon PeresRead
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