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Ehud Olmert [1945-0] Israeli

Rank: 101
Politician, Former Prime Minister of Israel

Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006.

Courage

Quote	Tags	Rank
I'm not in power, but my ideas are in power. And my ideas will prevail.		101
Promoting tolerance and human dignity is one of mankind's unfinished challenges.		102
Political leaders can help change the psychological climate which affects the quality of relationships among people.		103
The military operation in Lebanon was the most successful military operation in recent Israeli history. Many in Israel don't recognise that.		104
When the President of Iran talks about removing Israel from the face of the Earth and is building nuclear bombs with a range of 3000km, you have to be worried.		105
There is a Western world. There is America. There is Great Britain and Germany and France and Russia and China and other nations. I doubt that there is one country amongst those I mentioned which has a desire to see Iran, with its fundamentalist, Islamic, extremist government, possessing nuclear weapons.		106
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.		107
Look, miracles in the Middle East are a reality.		108
I was not born to be prime minister, and I'm not going to stay here until the end of my life. I'm too young for that.		109
How are fears born? They are born because of differences in tradition and history; they are born because of differences in emotional, political and national circumstances. Because of such differences, people fear they cannot live together.		110
Every prime minister ... has the responsibility to provide security for his people.		111
Growing up in Israel, how can I not be an optimist? When you remember what Israel was 50 years ago and you see Israel now, one of the most successful countries in the world, stable, democratic, with an enormously stable economy despite everything that has happened in the global economy in the last few years, how can I not be an optimist?		112
It is important that democracy in Lebanon is protected and that Hezbollah will not be supported by outside forces like Syria and Iran.		113
In Israel we tend to be carried away by our emotions.		114
A prime minister must not promise things that can't be fulfilled.		115
A prime minister has to keep a certain balance when dealing with sensitive issues.		116
I think the attempt to draw a comparison between Iran and Syria is false, misleading and dangerous.		117
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.		118
Israel always has to be in a position to defend itself against any adversary and against any threat of any kind.		119
Iran is an anti-Semitic, terrorist government.		120
When you fight for the impossible, sometimes you lose everything.		121
I know I'm unpopular.		122
Iran is a major threat to the well-being of Europe and America just as much as it is for the state of Israel.		123
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.		124
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.		125
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.		126
I love my country more than anything else.		201
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.		202
My doctors say I am very healthy.		203
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.		204
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?		205
Peace is important for Israel.		206
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.		207
I have to think about the possible ramifications of an early retirement.		208
I sometimes feel tired. But there are so many reasons for being tired.		209
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.		210
I know the war in Iraq is controversial in the States, but for us in the Middle East it has made a great and significant impact.		211
Merkel is an amazing woman, very experienced in international politics.		212
Politicians are strong to the extent that they are ready to take serious decisions and fight for it.		213
A bloc of states is emerging that understands that they may have been wrong to think that Israel is the world's greatest problem.		214
Saudi Arabia is the country that in the end will determine the ability of the Arabs to reach a compromise with Israel.		215
There is no doubt that there is a very strange phenomenon called the 'State Comptroller.'		216
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.		217
It's a problem sometimes when you speak to journalists. They quote you, and then they read what they wrote, and then they even explain it. It's dangerous.		218
I want to separate from the Palestinians. I want them to have their independent, separate state on a contiguous territory, and I want Israel to exist, of course, as a Jewish state in its own territory, as an independent state in its own territory. The Palestinian state, the Israeli state, separate. This is my dream.		219
The days that Israel was separated from Europe are gone.		220
For me, Arik Sharon - I remember his courage and inspiration. I want to remember him the way he really was, not as an aging 80-year-old man living in bed helpless and unconscious.	Courage	221
The fundamental interest - long-range strategic interest - of the state of Israel is that we will have the international bodies and primarily the United Nations recognize the two-state solution, so that there will never be any doubt as to the right of Israel to have its own Jewish independent state.		222
I don't understand this pathetic need for luxuries.		223
I don't expect to be coddled, but I'm also a human being.		224
The newspapers are always reminding the public that I am an unpopular prime minister.		225
What do you prefer? A prime minister obsessed with being popular, or a prime minister who does the job?		226
Israel has the power to protect itself and its citizens.		301
There is no need to get caught up in any apocalyptic prophecies that have no basis in reality.		302
I always wake up early Saturday morning, and I have a little bit more time, so I go to the gym.		303
There is always a human being behind the titles and the status.		304
I've been mayor of the city of Jerusalem, which is perhaps, in some ways, more complex and more difficult than a ministerial position.		305
We are the greatest experts in the world in criticizing our country, but no one loves his country more than the Israelis. No one.		306
Arafat is the greatest instigator of terror.		307
The situation of any leader in the Middle East is not easy.		308
Abu Mazen has got to do only one thing: to fight terror. That's what he needs to do.		309
Maaele Adumim is part of Israel. Gush Etzion is part of Israel.		310
I'm not saying it was wrong to intervene in Kosovo.		311
I can tell you that if I'd had an opportunity to meet with King Abdullah of the Saudis - which I have not - he would be very surprised to hear what I have to say.		312
I'm not in the most comfortable position, but I think my government is very stable, perhaps more stable than any government in modern Israeli history.		313
I trust the integrity of the British government and the British soldiers.		314
Israel is prepared for a compromise. The majority of Israelis understand this compromise will be serious, will be meaningful, and will be painful.		315
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.		316
I was not interested in being minister of defense or minister of foreign affairs.		317
The Goldstone Committee was formed in April of 2009, after I was not prime minister. So it was a new political situation.		318
Before I became prime minister, as mayor of Jerusalem, I became world-renowned because of my fight for the unity of Jerusalem.		319
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.'		320
There is nowhere I encounter greater understanding for Israel's existential issues than in the Oval Office.		321
There is an alliance between Israel and the United States, and it has never been stronger than at the time of George W. Bush.		322
Abu Mazen has deprived himself of all the practical authorities of government.		323
Abu Mazen told me he does not want to change the demographics of Israel.		324
I have to make sure that I am doing the right thing. I can't afford to make any mistake.		325
Palestinians want Israel to return back into boundaries, the width of which is 12 km., that can be cut into pieces within minutes.		326
Everything that can strengthen Abu Mazen is favourable.		401
Don't fall in love with everything that you may have read and everything that you may have heard from any political leader, including myself.		402
Mofaz was elected to head Kadima since the party had been shattered.		403
As long as there are no negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel is and will continue to be in a difficult situation.		404
If the Gaza ceasefire proves stable, Israel will not remain in the Strip.		405
Barack Obama's journey to the White House has impressed and inspired the entire world.		406
The values of democracy, brotherhood, and freedom that constitute the building blocks of American society are also shared by Israeli society, together with the faith in man's power and ability to change and influence his surroundings.		407
Emerging from embattled and humble beginnings, the Jewish state has exceeded all expectations for its success and prosperity.		408
The history of the Zionist enterprise is well-known: surrounded and outnumbered by hostile neighbours, the nascent Israel was forced to defend itself against invasion and certain destruction.		409
Israel stands proudly at the forefront of international achievement. The world's leading corporations - Google, Intel and Motorola, to name but a few - maintain research and development facilities here, and our technology start-ups continue to be acquired by the likes of AOL, eBay and IBM.		410
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.		411
Turkey is not an enemy of Israel. I have worked closely with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.		412
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.		413
When I addressed international forums as prime minister, the Israeli people expected me to present bold political initiatives that would bring peace - not arguments outlining why achieving peace now is not possible.		414
Assad is the president of Syria. He enjoys fairly effective control over his country.		415
I don't like this terminology that you have no choice. You always have a choice.		416
Stopping all the violent and hostile actions means ending the smuggling of arms into the Gaza territory.		417
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.		418
Many Palestinians have been living for decades in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew up, wallowing in poverty, in neglect, alienation, bitterness, and a deep, unrelenting sense of humiliation.		419
The enemies of peace have not disappeared.		420
I believe that there is no path other than the path of peace.		421
International economic and political sanctions on Iran, as crucial as they may be, are only an initial step, and must be dramatically increased.		422
The United States is a superpower whose influence reaches across oceans and beyond borders.		423
Israel is grateful that America believes in us.		424
It is impossible to think of a world in which America was not there in the honorable service of humanity.		425
The Palestinian Authority is ruled by Hamas, an organization committed to vehement anti-Semitism, the glorification of terror, and the total destruction of Israel.		426
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.		501
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.		502
I understand the importance which the Palestinian society attributes to the issue of prisoners.		503
Dictates are futile, and mutual accusations are nothing but useless word games.		504
Historic scores cannot be settled, and scars cannot be obliterated.		505
I want to lead. I want to change. And I'm going to do it.		506
I always admired the tolerance of my family - you know, that they tolerated my dissension for the family consensus.		507
I have reached a conclusion that when we have to make a choice between greater Israel or a Jewish democratic state - and we have to make this choice, it is inevitable - then my choice is a Jewish democratic country.		508
Yasser Arafat never wanted to make peace with Israel.		509
I'm entirely free of any suspicions or complaints about the Obama administration. I think the Obama administration is very friendly to Israel. I know a lot of the people in the administration, and they are committed to Israel.		510
From the end of 2006 until the end of 2008 I think I met with Abu Mazen more often than any Israeli leader has ever met any Arab leader. I met him more than 35 times. They were intense, serious negotiations.		511
I would never agree to an exclusive Muslim sovereignty over areas that are religiously important to Jews and Christians.		512
Nobody stands above the law.		513
I never took a bribe. This is the truth, and there is no other.		514
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.		515
Palestinian violence is not a response to the capture of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian nationalism's roots are not so shallow.		516
As a young politician, I voted against the return of Sinai and peace with Egypt. I was mistaken.		517
The legacies of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, of Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein, stand as an inspiration for all who work for peace.		518
The United States provides Israel with crucial security and economic aid and invaluable political backing in the international arena.		519
Throughout the second intifada, America provided unprecedented support for Israel's struggle against Palestinian terrorism and Israel's construction of the security barrier.		520
Every word I wrote in my book is documented, certified, true, and correct. The truth wins, and that is my picture.		521
When public figures write memoirs, there is always some indecision regarding how much they want to write of things as they were and how much they want to cut corners to avoid riling up others. I decided to write my memoirs exactly as they were, and I will not digress - not when things are ill at ease and not when they are comfortable.		522
I have found myself under a wave of investigation and criticism from the moment I was elected. Since my first days in the Prime Minister's Office I have had to fight against evil attacks while I have been busy making decisions on crucial matters related to Israel's security and existence.		523
As a citizen of a democratic state, I have always believed that when a prime minister is elected in Israel, even those who voted against him at the polls are obligated to desire his success.		524
In my position as prime minister, I bear the highest responsibility for decisions.		525
Have I made mistakes in my many years of political activity? Of course! I am sorry and regret them.		526
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.		601
What's the logic of investing millions in agriculture if it will not pay off?		602
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.		603
Terrorist organizations such as Hamas must be shut down.		604
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.		605

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