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“Ik, sultan Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, erken en geef duizendmaal aan dhr. Percy Cox, de ambassadeur van Groot-Brittannië, toe dat ik er geen enkel bezwaar tegen heb om Palestina den armen Joden of anderen over te dragen, indien Groot-Brittannië zulks nodig acht, waarin ik niet van mening verschil en dit tot aan het einde der tijden.”
– Abdulaziz ibn Saud, koning van Saoedi-Arabië. 1875 – 1953 n. Chr.
Bin Habtoor, A.S. (2019): Yemen in the Face of the Storm of Storm V2. Page 39. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Naar mijn idee is de Jood de natuurlijke brug tussen het Oosten en het Westen... De welvaart der oude bewoners, de Arabieren, hangt van de welvaart van Palestina als geheel af, en daartoe hebben de nieuwkomers nobel bijgedragen... Het zionisme was nooit zo belangrijk als op dit ogenblik... In deze dagen, waarin de meeste landen jaloers hun immigratie beperken, is Palestina de enige overgebleven toevluchtsstad voor de vervolgden. (...) De Joden vergaten nooit Jeruzalem, maar tot een paar jaar geleden was hun Heilige Land slechts een inspiratie en een droom. Nu is het een realiteit geworden. Misschien is dit des te aangrijpender voor een Schot, daar wij Schotten gelijk de Joden altijd een ver rondzwervend ras geweest zijn, verspreid over de hele aardbodem. Maar in onze omzwerving hadden we altijd Schotland achter ons, ons moederland, het heiligdom van onze emoties en herinneringen. Zou het niet juist en passend zijn indien de Jood, na lange omzwervingen, zijn thuisland terugvinden zou?”
– John Buchan, Schotse/Britse gouverneur-generaal van Canada (Unionist). 1875 – 1940 n. Chr.
The Daily Colonist (1936-06-28). [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Denk aan de mensen die Israël heeft voortgebracht. Mozes, de grootste der staatsmannen; Jozua, de grootste der aanvoerders; David, de grootste der dichters; Elia, de grootste der profeten; Jesaja, de grootste der geïnspireerde politici. (...) Israël is uniek in de geschiedenis. De schoonheid en elegantie der Atheense natie, de immense kracht en macht der Romeinse, ja zelfs de indrukwekkende wetenschappelijke kennis van ons eigen hedendaagse Europa, verbleken bij Israëls ontzagwekkende ontdekking van één God, absoluut en eeuwig, onzichtbaar en toch aanwezig, den God die mensen in rechtvaardigheid onderwijst.”
– Arthur Mee, Engelse auteur, onderwijzer en journalist. 1875 – 1943 n. Chr.
Mee, A. (1910): The Children's Encyclopedia, Volume 4. Page 2306. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De Jodenschappen van Oost-Europa waren de hoorders en behouders en onuitputtelijke bron der cultuur, des geloofs, der volksgebruiken van het authentieke Israël. (…) Ik zie in het zionisme een groots historisch proces der wedergeboorte van één der oudste en cultureel ontwikkeldste volkeren ter wereld. Palestina, dat terecht als wieg der moderne mensheid beschouwd wordt, zou tot Joods nationaal thuis worden moeten, opdat het Joodse volk vrij en onbegrensd leven en voor zichzelf en de ganse wereld grote culturele en menselijke waarden scheppen kan. Ik zie in het zionisme een culturele factor van groot humanitair belang. De hele wereld wordt door twee tendensen bepaald: universalisme en nationalisme. De Joden hebben tot nu veel voor het universalisme gedaan en het wordt tijd dat ze ook hun eigen nationalisme koesteren, want alleen daardoor, door hare eigen nationale vormen, kan het Joodse genie het universalisme dienen. De wereldcultuur is een mozaïek waarbinnen ieder volk zijn eigen kleur hebben moet. (…) Men kan het feit noch ontkennen noch doen verdwijnen dat het Jodendom, later bijgetreden door het Hellenisme, de fundering der westerse moraliteit vormt.”
– Thomas Mann, Holsteinse/Duitse auteur. 1875 – 1955 n. Chr.
Raviv, A. (2007) Was the Real Thomas Mann an Antisemite? Volume 2. Page 12-14. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Toen de Joden door een machtige vijand overwonnen werden, meer dan 2000 jaar geleden, en hun land verwoest en het merendeel van hen in gevangenschap gedreven werd, en er maar een kleine, hulpeloze en verarmde minderheid achterbleef, hadden hunne profeten nog altijd vertrouwen in de toekomst. De geschiedenis vertelt vaak over volkeren zoals de Joden, die vernietigd lijken, maar wier de ziel nog levend en vrij is, doordat het door een grote erfenis van idealen verenigd wordt.”
– Cyril Garbett, Engelse anglicaanse aartsbisschop van York. 1875 – 1955 n. Chr.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (1943): Vilna Ghetto Reported Liquidated. Jewish Resistance to Nazis in Ghettos Continues. May 4 1943. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De gemeenschappelijke arbeid aldaar en het gemeenschappelijke bezit in de industrie, in de techniek, in de bouw, in de plantages tonen aan dat in Palestina het ware socialistische idee tot actie wordt omgezet. Wederom zijn de Joden de pionieren ener nieuwe, ener positieve, ener vruchtbare beweging. Met de grootste belangstelling en de diepste sympathie volgen wij deze werkzaamheden. Tegenover zovele opruiingen moeten wij des te meer in alle openheid en zonder nijd erkennen dat de Joden ons op zovele vlakken der geestelijke cultuur zeer veel gegeven hebben en dat wij nu hopen kunnen dat zij ons aldaar in Palestina ook een nieuwe weg wijzen zullen voor het herstel des economische levens der wereld.”
– Paul Löbe, Silezische voorzitter van de Duitse Rijksdag (SPD). 1875 – 1967 n. Chr.
Ein deutscher Staatsmann über Palästina. In: Aufbau Vol. 1. 15/05/1924. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
"Die goede Joden die naar de Arabische moslims kwamen met vrede en beschaving en die over het land Palestina goud en positief welzijn verspreidden, hebben op niemand een teken van schade [achtergelaten] en hebben niks met geweld ingenomen."
– Ali Sulayman al-Assad, Syrische alawietenleider . 1875 – 1963 n. Chr.
Seale, P. (1990): Asad. The Struggle for the Middle East. Page 20. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De lotgevallen des ongelukkige Joodse volks herinneren mij aan het arme Armeense volk, dat onderdrukt wordt. Terwijl de Armeniërs echter hun thuislanden in Turkije verlaten, is onder de Joden een machtige beweging naar hun oude thuisland ontstaan, om door bestendige en eerlijke arbeid het opbloeien van dit thuisland teweeg te brengen. De succesverzekering dezer beweging levert het corporatieve principe dat als grondslag dezer arbeid dient.”
– Vahan Totomiantz, Armeense econoom. 1875 – 1964 n. Chr.
Russische Schriftsteller über den Zionismus. In: Die Welt. Nummer 35. Jahrgang 6. 29. August 1902. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“U weet met welke welwillende belangstelling de Franse regering de vooruitgang der zionistische idee vervolgd heeft. De Franse regering heeft sinds lente 1916 bewijzen dezer beangstelling geleverd. Als er ooit een natie geweest is, dat van nature geneigd is, om de zaak der Joden en des Joodse ideaals te begrijpen, dan is dat zonder twijfel de Franse natie.”
– André Tardieu, premier van de Franse Republiek (CR). 1876 – 1945 n. Chr.
Sokolow, N. (1919): History of Zionism. 1600-1918. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Het Israëlische volk heeft een lang verleden en het is bijna een wonder dat het nu weer als volk opgeroepen wordt, om in de kring der volkeren zijne stem te verheffen. Ik geloof dat de wereld niet aan zichzelf overgelaten is, maar dat wij allen in Gods hand zijn, en dat het een daad der voorzienigheid is dat het Israëlische volk zich opnieuw heeft kunnen verheffen, zo sterk en krachtig, zoals de bezoeker uws lands met verbijstering en bewondering ziet. (…) Het bevruchtende samenleven der volkeren en in het bijzonder dat van het Duitse volk met het Joodse heeft den Duitsen naam slechts eer en erkenning over de hele wereld gebracht. De verdrijving van de Joodse intellectuele wereld uit Duitsland heeft een nog niet afgedekt gat achtergelaten."
– Konrad Adenauer, bondskanselier van West-Duitsland (CDU). 1876 – 1967 AD
Adenauer, K. (1966): Tischrede während seines Besuches bei David Ben Gurion in Sdeh Boker am 9.5.1966; Druck: Rolf Vogel, a. a. O., S. 202. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
Adenauer, K. (1966): Beitrag unter der Überschrift "Mein Verhältnis zum jüdischen Volk" für die israelische Zeitschrift "Heatid", zitiert nach Manuskript, signiert am 8.12.1966, S. 2f., StBKAH 02.37. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Wij beschouwen het Joodse volk niet als een vijand, wiens wens het is om ons te verbrijzelen. In tegendeel. Wij beschouwen de Joden als een broederlijk volk, dat onze vreugden en moeilijkheden deelt en ons bij het opbouwen van een gemeenschappelijk land ondersteunt. We zijn er zeker van dat er zonder Joodse immigratie en financiële steun in de toekomst geen ontwikkeling onzes lands plaatsvinden zal, zoals kan worden afgelezen uit het feit dat de steden die deels door Joden bewoond zijn, zoals Jeruzalem, Jaffa, Haifa, en Tiberias een gestage vooruitgang boeken, terwijl Nablus, Akko, en Nazareth, waar geen Joden woonachtig zijn, gestaag achteruit gaan.”
– Hasan Bey Shukri, Osmaans-Turkse burgemeester van Haifa. 1876 – 1940 AD
Cohen, H. (2008): Army of Shadows. Page 15. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De Joden hebben een eigen land nodig. (…) We veroordelen elk beroep op kracht en geweld, waar dit ook vandaan komen mag, zoals wij ook meerdere malen in het verleden de vervolging veroordeelden, die het fanatieke antisemitisme tegen het Joodse volk ontketend heeft.”
– Pius XII (Eugene Pacelli), Italiaanse paus van de rooms-katholieke kerk. 1876 – 1958 AD
Zenith: Documents. Pius XII Favored a Jewish Homeland in Palestine. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (1946): Pope Pius Condemns Palestine Terrorism in Message to Arab Delegation. April 15 1946. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De socialisten overal ter wereld moeten zich voor de idee eens Joods-nationale thuizes in Palestina inzetten, ten eerste omdat dar aan het primitiefste gerechtigheidsgevoel voldoet en ten tweede omdat een door andere volkeren onderdrukt volk zelf geen klassenstrijd te voeren vermag. Als een kleinzoon van Karl Marx heb ik Joods bloed in mijne aderen; ik koester een bijzondere sympathie voor de Joods-nationale vrijheidsbeweging en breng voor haar tendensen een bijzonder begrip op. Ik ben er zeker van dat het volk der profeten en der grote vrijheidsstrijders Palestina tot een modelstaat van der vrijheid opbouwen zal. Alleen de rijke Arabische grondbezitters en de Franse jingo’s intrigeren tegen een Joods thuis in Palestina. Voor de Arabische bevolking kan de Joodse immigratie alleen maar voordelen met zich meebrengen.”
– Jean Longuet, Franse socialist. 1876 – 1938 n. Chr.
Jean Longue und der Zionismus. In: Jüdische Rundschau. Heft 6 (19.1.1923). [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Het zionisme sticht op de berg Scopus een geestelijk centrum dat alle Joden te verenigen dient, een trotsen tempel voor de nakomelingen van Benjamin Cremieux, voor de moedige leerlingen van Bernard Lazare, voor de zusters van Rachel. Miljoenen Joden beleven opnieuw den ouden droom van de verenigende gedachte, die in de ethiek van Spinoza en in de leer van Karl Marx uitgedrukt is. Vanuit de Hebreeuwse Universiteit zal de gedachte uitgaan, die de Joden in de Diaspora beheersen zal.”
– Anatole de Monzie, Franse minister van financiën (PRS). 1876 – 1947 n. Chr.
Der französische Finanzminister über die hebräische Universität. In: Das jüdische Echo Vol. 12 (17/04/1925). Heft 16. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Het is een onbetwistbaar historisch feit dat Palestina het thuisland des Joods en der eerste christenen was. (…) Het Palestina van 1918 verschijnt voor ons als een onvruchtbaar, arm land, vrij van grondstoffen, het minst ontwikkelde aller Turkse vilayets. De islamitisch-Arabische kolonie aldaar leefde op de grens van armoede. De Joodse immigratie ving aan, koloniën werden gevormd en opgericht en in minder dan twintig jaar tijd was het land getransformeerd: de landbouw bloeide op, grote industrieën werden gesticht, rijkdom trad het land binnen. De aanwezigheid ener zo ontwikkelde en vlijtige natie pal naast Libanon kan alleen maar voordelig zijn voor de welvaart van eenieder: de Jood is een man van praktisch uitvoerend vermogen, de Libanees is zeer aanpasbaar, en daarom kan hun nabuurschap slechts de verbetering van leefomstandigheden voor de bewoners dienen.”
– Ignace Moubarak, Libanese maronitische aartsbisschop. 1876 – 1958 AD
Rabil, R.G. (2011): Christianity is in Danger in the Middle East. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De situatie van de Joden in Rusland [is] ondraaglijk geworden… we mogen met platonische protesten geen genoegen meer nemen, we moeten een oplossing voortbrengen. Daar de assimilatie in Rusland etc. onmogelijk is, mag men de aspiraties van het zionisme niet systematisch verwerpen. Indien wij nog de eerste natie zijn zouden, zo zou het aan het Frankrijk der Droits de l’homme zijn om dit initiatief te nemen. In onze koloniën, bijvoorbeeld in Madagaskar, zouden wij de slachtoffers der Russische intolerantie moeten herbergen. Het zionisme is een politieke en volkomen noemenswaardige beweging.”
– Maurice Le Blond, Franse auteur en journalist. 1877 – 1944 n. Chr.
Hoppe, H. (1904): Hervorragende Nichtjuden über den Zionismus. Eine Sammlung von Urteilen hervorragender Persönlichkeiten aller Länder. Page 56. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
"Gij oud volk! Gij wonderlijk volk! Ziet toch hoe sterk uw bloed is, zelfs in de slechtsten onder u, en ziet hoe het wederoprijzen zal, ondanks uwen wil… Hoe lief heb ik u, gij oud volk des lijdens! Hoe sterk is uw hart en hoe jong is het gebleven! Neen, gij zalt niet in de verwarring der vreemde volkeren verloren gaan. In uwe afwijkendheid ligt uwe ganse schoonheid, alle tevredenheid en vreugde der aarde zal u blijven toebehoren… Hoe lief heb ik u, volk aller volkeren, hoe zeer zegen ik u!"
– Paula Buber geb. Winkler (Georg Munk), Beierse/Duitse schrijfster. 1877 – 1958 n. Chr.
Rudavsky, T. (1995): Gender and Judaism. The Transformation of Tradition. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
(Opgelet: Jozef Stalin vervolgde de Joden gedurende het Dokterscomplot van 1951-1953)
“Het antisemitisme is een extreme uitdrukkingsvorm van het racistische chauvinisme en is dus het gevaarlijkste relikwie van het kannibalisme. Het antisemitisme is voor de uitbuiters van nut als een bliksemafleider, die de klappen der arbeiders gericht tegen het kapitalisme helpen afleiden. Het antisemitisme is gevaarlijk voor de arbeiders omdat het een vals pad is, dat ze van den juisten weg afbrengt en ze in het oerwoud leidt. Daarom kunnen de communisten als consequente internationalisten niet anders dan onverzoenlijke en gezworen vijanden van het antisemitisme zijn.”
– Jozef Stalin, Geoorgische voorzitter van de Sovjet-Unie. 1878 – 1953 n. Chr.
Stalin, J. (1934): Anti-Semitism. In: Reply to an Inquiry of the Jewish News Agency in the United States. In: Works. Volume 13. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Ik geloof dat Joden vele belangrijke verdiensten hebben. Ze zijn intelligent, scherp, behendig, nijverig, energiek en spaarzaam. De Joden zullen daadwerkelijk een model voor andere inwoners des rijks zijn kunnen en het staat buiten kijf dat zij veel zullen betekenen voor het rijk en diens burgers, waar zij zich ook vestigen zullen. (...) De Joden zijn een vlijtige, intelligente en productieve natie. Ze zijn bovenal progressief in de landbouw en het handwerk. Het is onbetwistbaar dat zowel zij als de plaatselijke bevolking van het district Jeruzalem geprofiteerd hebben van de door [Joden] gecreëerde en opgerichte wetenschappelijke, landbouwkundige en industriële ambten. (…) De vestiging van individuen, of families, zelfs tientallen en honderden... ik zie geen enkele reden om dit niet te willen en Turkije moet de Joden die niet massaal immigreren zonder uitzondering in het gehele rijk toelaten.”
– Sa’id al-Husseini, Syrische minister BuZa. 1878 - 1945 AD
Gribetz, J.M.: Arab–Zionist Conversations in Late Ottoman Jerusalem. In: Ordinary Jerusalem, 1840-1940. Page 305-329. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“[In de Jisjoev] ving een associatie [tussen Joden en Australiërs] aan, die vaak door genegenheid gekenmerkt wordt en slechts door het einde van de oorlog verbroken werd… De [Australiërs van de Eerste Lichte Paardenbrigade] hebben altijd vol dankbaarheid teruggedacht aan die plezante Joodse nederzettingen met hunne gaarden vol grote gouden sinaasappels, hunne wijnverzorging en hunne warmhartige bewoners.”
– Sir Henry Gullett, Australische minister BuZa (UAP). 1878 – 1940 n. Chr.
Rubinstein, C. & Fleischer, T. (2008): Essay. A Distant Affinity. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De Volkerenbond zal niet volledig zijn, indien daarbinnen het eeuwenlang onderdrukte Joodse volk niet zijne plaats krijgt. (…) [Het Joodse volk verkondigde] wellicht als eerste de vruchtbaarste gedachte der sociale moraliteit (…) en [strooide] een diepdringenden zaaier, zijnen grootsen droom, zijnen zegerijken wil de wereld in. (…) De beschaving der Joden werd in een wereld des lijdens geboren. Haar leven ontstond uit de tegenstelling en de haat der rassen en in de strijd werd zij voltooid.”
– Albert Thomas, Franse minister voor bewapening (PSF). 1878 – 1932 n. Chr.
Jüdische Zeitung Vol. 12 (06/12/1918) Heft 49. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Ten eerste beschouw ik de positie der Joden in het wereldmozaïek der volkeren als hoogst onbevredigend. Dat een groot volk als dat der Joden geen eigen huis bezitten mag is een monsterlijke onrechtvaardigheid. Ze zouden niet alleen een thuis hebben moeten, het zou zelfs hun eigen thuis zijn moeten, waarin zij soevereine rechten uitoefenen kunnen. Ten tweede zou de aanwezigheid van een tevreden en welvarend Joods volk in Palestina den Britse Rijk in het Midden-Oosten van veel macht voorzien."
– Richard Meinertzhagen, Engelse officier en spion. 1878 – 1967 n. Chr.
Meinertzhagen, R. (1959): Middle East Diary 1917-1956. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
"Wie de Joodse geschiedenis kent, weet dat al het lijden en sommige nationale zwakten des Joodse volks uit zijne thuisloosheid ontstaan zijn. (...) De ervaringen met de landbouwkundige kolonieën hebben in ieder geval aangetoond dat de Jood, ook al wordt dit immer door de vijanden van het zionisme bestreden, een voortreffelijke boer zijn kan. En dat is van principieel belang. De landbouwactiviteiten gedurende een aantal generaties zijn mijns inziens in de eerste plaats in staat om de verschijnselen van lichamelijk verval der Oost-Europese Joden in de loop van tijd weer op te heffen. Daarmee wordt een lichamelijke vernieuwing des rassen ingeleid, die voor de toekomstplannen der zionisten van groot belang zijn."
– Franz Carl Endres, Beierse/Duitse officier, historicus en vrijmetselaar. 1878 – 1954 n. Chr.
Zionismus und Weltpolitik. In: Jüdische Rundschau. Heft 9 (1.3.1918). [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De verwezenlijking dezes Joodse nationale thuizes is een heilige aangelegenheid der gehele mensheid en het is ook de plicht van Roemenië als lid van de Volkenbond om hieraan mee te werken. We hebben er dan ook niets tegen in te brengen, dat de Joodse staatsburgers van Roemenië aan de met grote offers en krachtinspanning verbondene opbouw van Palestina deelnemen.”
– Ion G. Duca, premier van Roemenië. 1879 – 1933 n. Chr.
Die Botschaft Ducas an Sokolow. In: Wiener Morgenzeitung. Heft 2114 (8.1.1925) [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Ik wil dat het morgenland aan de morgenlanders toebehoort, en ik beschouw de Joden als zulken.”
– Aziz Ali al-Misri, Osmaanse en Egyptische officier van Tsjerkassische komaf. 1879 – 1965 n. Chr.
Mayer, T. (1982): Egypt and the Palestine Question. Page 11. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Is de tijd niet aangebroken dat de Joden, die aan de opvatting der vrijheid zo loyaal geweest zijn, hun eigen leger zouden hebben?”
– Oliver Locker-Lampson, Engelse/Britse parlementariër (Conservative) en marineofficier. 1880 – 1954 n. Chr.
UK Parliament (1944): Parliamentary Debates. House of Commons. Page 757. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Stelt u zich voor dat het uwe bestemming zijn zijn om een brug te vormen tussen Azië en Europa, om de geestelijkheid van Azië naar Europa en de levenskracht van Europa naar Azië te brengen. Dat is naar mijn vaste overtuiging de missie van het zionisme. Ik zie hier iets groters dan een dromerij of een volkenbond. Het is een bond van werelddelen, een bond van rassen en uiteindelijk een bond van idealen – een overweldigende visie. (…) Ik geloof dat u Palestina als een groot, ideëel centrum zien zult, waarvan de invloeden op alle landen ter wereld, waarin uw volk woonachtig is, uitstralen zullen.”
– Mark Sykes, Engelse/Britse parlementariër, officier en diplomaat. 1879 - 1919 n. Chr.
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 439. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Het Palestina-mandaat is een der weinige historische aanwinsten die ten gunste van de vredesverdragen en de door de wereldoorlog veroorzaakte machtsverschuivingen te boeken is. Een duizendjarig onrecht werd door dit besluit der grootmachten met een volk goedgemaakt, waaraan de gehele mensheid aanzienlijk wat harer leidende idealen te danken heeft. (…) Het mandaat voldoet alleen dán aan diens hoge historische bestemming, wanneer het Engelse protectoraat in Palestina niet een nieuw veld van uitbuiting, maar een vrij, mensenwaardig thuis voor het Joodse proletariaat vormen zal.”
– Walter Ayles, Engelse/Britse parlementariër (Labour). 1879 – 1953 n. Chr.
Friedensverträge und Palästina-Mandat. In: Wiener Morgenzeitung. Heft 1277 (20.8.1922). [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Historisch gezien zijn de Joden geweldig. Ze zwierven over de hele wereld en vermengden hun bloed met dat anderer volkeren. (…) In elk land brachten zij buitengewone individuen voort en deze buitengewone individuen zijn meestal goed getrouwd, het zij binnen of buiten hun religie. Streng selectieve voortplanting heeft zodoende individuen voortgebracht die op bijna ieder gebied van inspanningen gevierd worden.”
– Edward Murray East, Amerikaanse geneticus. 1879 – 1938 n. Chr.
Grundmann, R. & Stehr, N. (2012): The Power of Scientific Knowledge. From Research to Public Policy. Page 108. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Niemand kan de Joodse bijdragen aan het westerse leven en denken, of het oeroude verlangen der Joden naar een herstel hunner aanwezigheid in hun oude thuisland, ontkennen. (…) Jeruzalem moet het hart en middelpunt der onderneming zijn. Palestina zou zonder Jeruzalem, zonder Zion, helemaal niets zijn. Men meende dat aldaar een grote universiteit opgericht worden kon, waar grote Joodse denkers en wetenschappers van over de hele wereld zich scharen konden, mannen zoals Einstein en Bergson. Men ging ervan uit dat daar een onderzoekscentrum zou komen die de hele Midden-Oosterse wereld zoude helpen kunnen.”
– Edward Grigg, Anglo-Indiase / Britse Gouverneur van Kenia (Conservative). 1879 – 1955 n. Chr.
UK Parliament: Lords Chamber. Volume 154: debated on Wednesday 7 April 1948. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De oerzin des Jodendoms is het ethische principe, welke zijne uitdrukking in de Bijbel gevonden heeft, waarvanuit zich de ganse zogenaamde West-Europese cultuur gevormd heeft. (…) De momenteel plaatsvindende Joodse emigratie naar Palestina is vanuit een sociologisch-ethisch perspectief hoogst interessant. Alles hangt af van de morele waarde van die elementen, die thans in Palestina hunne blijvende woonplaats vinden. Zijn het opofferingsgezinde, moreel gezuiverde pioniers, dan zal er een bijzonder goedaardige, mooie, gezonde Joodse stam op den nieuwen bodem ontstaan. Denk aan de puriteinen, die, voor de vervolgingen in hun thuisland naar Amerika gevlucht, een nieuw, specifiek Amerikaans volk gevormd hebben. Hetzelfde geldt voor de Franse kolonisten in Canada."
– Hermann Graf von Keyserling, Baltisch-Duitse filosoof. 1880 – 1946 n. Chr.
Die Wahrheit. Heft 22 (5.6.1925). Page 10. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Onder deze Poolse burgers, die zich vandaag de dag onder het barbaarse juk van het nazi-regime bevinden, voelt geen enkele groep de vernedering van hunne positie zo erg als de Joodse gemeenschap. Het is dan ook niet meer dan terecht en natuurlijk dat hunne situatie zowel de woede als de sympathie van de ganse wereld heeft gewekt.”
– Władysław Sikorski, premier van Polen. 1881 – 1943 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 525. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Toen ik in de eerste dagen der revolutie minister van justitie was, kondigde ik de volledige emancipatie van de Joden af en voorzag hun zodoende van dezelfde rechten als alle andere burgers. Negenennegentig procent van de Russische Joden zijn tegen de bolsjewieken en gedurende de gehele revolutie waren de Joodse intellectuelen en de Joodse massa van alle niet-Russische rassen de trouwste ondersteuners der revolutie, waarmee zij nauw verbonden waren alsook met de algemene belangen des lands. (…) Tijdens de revolutie werkten de Joden overal samen met de partijen die zich verenigd hadden om de Voorlopige Regering te organiseren en te ondersteunen. De Joodse bankiers, firma’s, vakbonden, zij waren allen voorstanders der nationale defensie en ener samenwerking met de gematigde ‘bourgeois’-elementen in den opbouw des nieuwe staats.”
– Alexander Kerensky, premier van de Russische Republiek. 1881 – 1970 n. Chr.
Kerensky, A. (1918): Are Bolsheviks mainly Jewish?. Page 32. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“De Joden hebben, daar zij hunne loyaliteit aan deze natie en dit vaderland bewezen hebben, tot nu
toe een comfortabel bestaan geleid en zullen in de toekomst succesvol en gelukkig leven blijven.”
– Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, president van Turkije. 1881 – 1938 n. Chr.
Gould, A. (1997): What did they think of the Jews?. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Weet gij waarin het eigenlijke gevaar bestaat? Niet in een overspoeling des lands door Joodse immigratie, door Joods kapitaal, door invloedname op het beheer des lands. Neen! Juist van tegenovergestelde aard is aldaar het gevaar. Namelijk dat de over de wereld verspreide invloedrijke mannen des Joodse geloofs niet genoeg interesse voor het Palestijnse probleem opbrengen en het tot zijn lot overlaten. Want wat Palestina nodig heeft is: kapitaal, ondernemingsgeest en opofferenden gemeenschapszin. Indien Europese vertegenwoordigers des Jodendoms aan het kolonisatiewerk in Palestina enige activiteit toewijden zullen, dan zal dat niet alleen voor de Joden aldaar, maar evenzeer voor de mohammedanen en voor de christenen van ongekend voordeel zijn. Zo ligt de eigenlijke beslissing over het slagen ener vergaande culturele, economische en beschavingsherinrichting van Palestina niet bij de Arabieren, maar enkel en alleen bij de financiële en morele bevordering der aldaar met intensiefste vlijt en organisatorische kracht bouwende Joden; dus in de handen des Europese Joodse kapitaals.”
– Ethel Snowden née Annakin, Engelse socialistische en feministische politica. 1881 – 1951 n. Chr.
Jüdische Rundschau. Volume XXVIII. Heft 49 (19.6.1923). [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
"In de idee des Jodendoms verschijnt historisch gezien het ontzag voor de geestelijke macht. Het Bijbelwoord ‘Sjoloum’ – Vrede – dat thans tot woord van begroeting op den alouden, door de mensheid geheiligden bodem geworden is, het is de oorsprong voor die politieke idee des Jodendoms!"
– Alfons Paquet, Hessische/Duitse auteur en journalist. 1881 – 1944 n. Chr.
Jüdische Rundschau. Heft 37 (12.5.1925). Page 344. [Vanuit het Duits vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Laat [de Britse regering] Palestina onafhankelijkheid geven opdat Arabieren en Joden, Semitische broeders, in een geest van harmonie en samenwerking leven en de welvaart des lands opbouwen kunnen, om zo een veilig en gelukkig thuis te creëren, waar Joden uit alle landen altijd welkom [geheten] worden.”
– William Gallacher, Schotse/Britse parlementariër (Communist). 1881 – 1965 n. Chr.
UK Parliament (1946): Palestine. Debated on Wednesday 31 July 1946. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
"Het Amerikaanse volk, immer ijverig in de zaak der menselijke vrijheid, aanschouwde vol sympathieke belangstelling de inspanning der Joden ter hernieuwing hunner banden met het oude thuisland en ter herstel der Joodse cultuur op de plaats waar deze eeuwenlang gebloeid heeft en waarvandaan het naar de verre hoeken der wereld gedragen werd. Dit jaar viert men het twintigste jubileum der Balfour-verklaring, des hoeksteens der hedendaagse wederopbouwactiviteiten in het Joodse thuisland. Die twee decennia zijn van een opmerkelijke getuigenis der vitaliteit en visie der Joodse pioniers in Palestina getuige geweest. Het zou een bron van trots moeten zijn voor Joodse burgers der Verenigde Staten dat zij ook een aandeel hebben in dit geweldige werk van herleving en herstelling."
– Franklin D. Roosevelt, president van de Verenigde Staten. 1882 – 1945 n. Chr.
United States Congress (1953): Congressional Record. Volume 99. A3476. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Het patriottische optreden der Griekse Israëlieten tijdens deze laatste grote beproeving des Griekse volks en hun onbeperkte deelname aan den totalen oorlog van Griekenland tegen den overweldigenden aanval door de gecombineerde krachten der asmogendheden heeft opnieuw bewijs geleverd van de deugd des Joodse rassen en de diepe verbondenheid der Joden van Griekenland met hun adoptieland.”
– Emmanouil Tsouderos, premier van Griekenland. 1882 – 1956 n. Chr.
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 520. [Vanuit het Engels vertaald door C. Nooij].
“Whilst the Arab leaders continue to say they will never agree to the State of Israel holding a foot of land in Palestine, Israel has a natural right to make its defensive lines as strong as possible. (…) I personally believe that the science and engineering skill of Israel will be able to restore, not only to Palestine, but to the whole vast area of the Middle East, some of that great agricultural prosperity they possessed in the ancient world. (…) I think the Zionist movement is one of the great achievements of our time. I believe it is for the good of the world that it should come about, and I do not think that people living in the 10th century should be allowed to stop it.”
– Frederick Cocks, English/British Labour MP. 1882 – 1953 AD
House of Commons: Foreign Affairs. HC Deb 09 December 1948 vol 459 cc566-693.
“The Jews are not only a people, but a people endowed with a mystery which pertains to the very order of the redemption of mankind. The Jews form, analogically, a kind of Mystical Body. (…) The return of a portion of the Jewish people and its regroupment in the Holy Land: this is the reaccomplishment, under our eyes, of the divine promise which is without repentance. (…) To Israel is assigned (…) the work of the earthly leavening of the world. Israel is here (…) to irritate the world, to prod it, to move it. It teaches the world to be dissatisfied and restless so long as it has not God, so long as it has not justice on earth. [Israel’s] indestructible hope stimulates the life forces of history. (…) This Israel is to be found at the very heart of the world’s structure, stimulating it, exasperating it, moving it. Like an alien body, like an activating ferment injected into the mass, it gives the world no peace, it bars slumber, it teaches the world to be discontented and restless as long as the world has not God, it stimulates the movement of history.”
– Jacques Maritain, French philosopher. 1882 – 1973 AD
Maritain, J. (1970): On the Church of Christ.
“Only if you have some knowledge of the human sacrifices, the vicious temple rites, the degrading
superstitions and customs that were practiced (...) can you realize how much the modern world owes
to the Hebrew prophets, whose monotheism and moral teachings entered into Christianity and Islam.”
– Carlton Hayes, American historian and diplomat. 1882 – 1964 AD
Hayes, C.J.H. & Moon, P.T. (1943): An Ancient and Medieval History.
"The Nationalist government is in full sympathy with the Jewish people in their desire to establish a country for themselves. I have no doubt that the Zionist movement will meet with success."
– Wang Jingwei, Premier of the Republic of China. 1883 – 1944 AD
The Advocate (1928). Volume 76. Page 125.
(BEWARE: Benito Mussolini adopted and carried out Nazi anti-Jewish legislature)
"For Zionism to succeed you need to have a Jewish state, with a Jewish flag and a Jewish language.”
– Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy. 1883 – 1945 AD
Journal of Palestine Studies. Volume 13. Page 79.
“I probably need not emphasize in particular the fact that almost all civilized nations have the fullest of sympathies with the efforts of the Zionists to rebuild Palestine as the national home of the Jewish race, to lead the scattered sons of Israel back into the land promised unto them, and to revive that culture which made and even today makes them so famous.”
– Prince Arthur of Connaught, English/British Governor-General of South Africa. 1883 – 1938 AD
Prinz Conaughts Botschaft an die Zionisten. In: Wiener Morgenzeitung. 1. Jahrgang. Nr. 1118. 10. März 1922. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“The Jews have the duty to maintain the Jewish nationality. (…) So far as Jewish life goes, the national idea and religion are so closely interwoven that they are inseparable. We should not overlook the fact that in Judaism the religion was a natural development of the life of the nation and was not superimposed upon an already existing national culture as was the case with the Christian nations. An opportunity for the Jewish people to live a wholly Jewish life will be a tremendous thing for the world to observe and emulate. (...) The Jews have made the soil of Palestine arable, revived the Hebrew language and endeavoured to achieve successes in every way, be it in agriculture, in industry, in commerce and all other areas. It is a nice mission for every Jew to settle in Palestine. (…) Zionism must be realized, because the Jews should have a place in the world where they can live for their culture and raise the Jewish children in a Jewish atmosphere. That is the mission of the world’s Jews, for the National Home is for all 15 million Jews and not for those few who are lucky enough to live in Palestine.”
– Sir Wyndham Deedes, English/British officer and politician. 1883 – 1956 AD
Jüdische Rundschau (1924): Heft 60 (29.7.1924). Seite 434. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"I am glad to note that the overwhelming majority of the leading nations in the world have recognised the claim of the Jewish people to establish an independent Jewish state in Palestine and should have promised armed assistance to see it realised. After centuries of sufferings, sacrifices and struggle the Jews will soon recover their national Home in Palestine which has undoubtedly been their fatherland. (...) Even a tiny state like Israel has sensibly started developing fish field and sand fruits and because of that they are able to meet the needs of the countless immigrants who would have otherwise half-starved. The Jews are a brave and intelligent people. And although their state looks like a child before our great state of Bharat we must emulate its example."
– Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Marathi/Indian revolutionary and politician. 1883 – 1966 AD
Vaidya, Prem. (1996): Savarkar, a Lifelong Crusader. Page 65.
Keer, D. (1950): Savarkar and His Times. Page 444.
“Hitler had been murdering Jews right and left. I saw it, and I dream about it even to this day. The Jews needed some place where they could go. It is my attitude that the American government couldn't stand idly by while the victims [of] Hitler's madness are not allowed to build new lives. (...) I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it, not just as another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”
– Harry S. Truman, American President of the United States. 1884 – 1972 AD
Adler, J. (2013): Soulmates from the Pages of History. Page 329.
“It is known among broader audiences and the Committee of the Jewish delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris knows all too well, that I appreciate the Zionist ideas and I am very well-disposed towards the national Jewish movement.”
– Edvard Beneš, Bohemian President and Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia. 1884 – 1948 AD
Minister Benesch für die nationaljüdische Bewegung. In: Wiener Morgenzeitung. Jahrgang 1. Heft 257 (7.10.1919). Page 2. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"To be a Jew (...) is to be strong with a strength that has outlived persecutions. It is to be wise against ignorance, honest against piracy, harmless against evil, kind against cruelty."
– Phyllis F. Dennis née Bottome, English novelist. 1884 – 1963 AD
Baron, J.L. (1996): A Treasury of Jewish Quotations.
"One could not help having a great pride in the achievements of the Jewish people; they are the great names in so many nations, and yet rage and pity filled one's heart for they have suffered in [the Second World War] in so many nations. (…) The Jews in their own country are doing marvels and should, once the refugee problem is settled, help all the Arab countries. (…) The people within the country are indomitable in the way they meet every situation no matter how difficult. (…) [Israel] will become a great nation, not only helping their own people but the people in the other developing nations of the world. (…) Israel is a secular state, a democracy. (…) Israel aroused the admiration of freedom-loving people everywhere. Americans have been stirred by the courage and faith that has gone into the building of a new democracy in the face of great hardships."
– Eleanor Roosevelt, Dutch-American First Lady of the United States. 1884 – 1962 AD
Lash, J.P. (1985): Eleanor. The Years Alone. Page 108.
“The Jewish people must not relax their duties to their country and must go ahead with their great task. I myself am a great believer in the revival of the Jewish national spirit. (…) I am fully aware of the great role which the Jews have played in world history and what we owe to them. Great men like Einstein and others are products of Jewish genius.”
– Yotaro Sugimura, Japanese Ambassador to France and Italy. 1884 – 1939 AD
Shillony, B. (1992): The Jews & The Japanese.
“The Jews have shown, in the development of their territory there [in Palestine], how much can be done with a little. It is indeed a most remarkable thing to see, as you can there, not only the intense agricultural development but research work perhaps second to none in the world, and practice following on the research. (…) I honestly believe that they will have a much greater opportunity of carrying that development forward, that they will sustain, and sustain with peace and good will, a larger Jewish population in the Jewish State which may be small in territory—after all England is not a very big country but it supports a great many people—that they will do better that which they desire to do in a State they are able to govern themselves.”
– Philip Cunliffe-Lister, English/British Conservative MP. 1884-1972 AD
House of Lords (1937): Grants For Bracken-Cutting In Scotland. Debated on Wednesday 21 July 1937.
“The claim of the Jews to a National Home in Palestine—within the limits of what is practicable—which an Englishman wishes to see generously interpreted, rests with us not on any literalist interpretation of Old Testament prophecy but on the Balfour Declaration. [Anti-Semitism] is a spirit and a temper and an attitude towards the Jewish race which is in itself utterly out of keeping with our traditions and with what we like to hold to be true of our national character.”
– Alfred Rawlinson, English Anglican bishop of Derby. 1884 – 1960 AD
House of Lords (1947): Prayers. Ventilation of the House. Debated on Wednesday 13 August 1947.
“Jews have occupied the highest positions in law and on the Bench, and we are under a deep debt of gratitude to them for all they have done in art, culture, and science, and for what they have contributed to the well-being of the world.”
– Clement Davies, Welsh barrister and politician. 1884 – 1962 AD
UK Parliament (1946): Palestine. Debated on Wednesday 31 July 1946.
“The spirit of methodical hard work is something to be acquired. What Ishmael has not recognized yet Israel accepted a long time ago...; each day young men from the Hara or Mellah [i.e. Jewish ghettoes in the Arab world] go out into the world; like their distant ancestors they are called Cohen or Levy; they cross the sea, and humbly take places on the back benches of classrooms in French schools... by the third generation they are able to take positions of authority anywhere in the metropolis. They demonstrate wonderfully that western knowledge is not a kind of magic, and that it can be mastered. Has Israel's example no lesson for its brother Ishmael?”
– Georges Duhamel, French author. 1884 – 1966 AD
Sisters of Our Lady of Sion: Jewish-Christian Dialogue. SIDIC Periodical.
“We believe that true Zionism is a move of God and that those who are true Zionists with a love of land God has given them will feel the urge to aid actively in Israel the rebuilding of Zion.”
– Ivan Rand, Canadian justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. 1884 – 1969 AD
Jewish Frontier. Volume 21. 1954. Page 55.
“The very best that is in the Jewish blood: a faculty for pure disinterestedness,
and warm, physically warm love, that seems to make the corpuscles of the blood glow.”
– D. H. Lawrence, English author, playwright, poet and painter. 1885 – 1930 AD
Lawrence, D.H. (1923): Kangaroo. Page 110.
"We will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home. I look forward, and my people with me look forward, to a future in which we will help you and you will help us, so that the countries in which we are mutually interested may once again take their places in the community of the civilised peoples of the world.”
– Faisal ibn Hussein al-Hashimi, Arab King of Iraq. 1885 – 1933 AD
U.S. Congress (1944): The Jewish National Home in Palestine. Page 37.
“Nowhere have the Jews more clearly shown their great qualities as ‘the representatives of the oldest surviving civilization’ than here in Canada. I would particularly commend the great humanitarian work of the Jewish women in this country. It is carried on without fear or prejudice.”
– Alice of Battenberg, Anglo-German Princess of Greece and Denmark. 1885 – 1969 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 501.
“The government of Australia believes that the new nation of Israel will be a force of special value in the world community. (...) When the application of Israel comes before the General Assembly Australia will warmly support the admission of Israel to the United Nations."
– Ben Chifley, Irish-Australian Prime Minister of Australia. 1885 – 1951 AD
Australia Israel Labour Dialogue. 7 February 1949.
“Would you see with your own eyes the transformation wrought throughout Palestine by the enterprise of these [Jewish] immigrants? (...) Alongside the individual Arab peasant tilling the earth primitively with camel and plough rise the Jewish co-operative farms, uniting to finance new methods, new machinery, agricultural experiment stations, and agricultural schools. (...) Add to this the hospitals and dispensaries, the schools and the university which the immigrants have brought to Palestine with unforgivable initiative. The Jews are too brilliant to remain content with farming; their active minds demand commerce, industry and urban variety as a vital need. They organized labor, and won shorter hours and higher wages for Jewish and Arab workers alike. They found a country without reliable water to drink, with typhoid, dysentery, malaria, and eye-diseases rampant; they drained the swamps, cleared and extended the water-supply, brought malaria and trachoma under control, established public sanitation, and opened these services to all."
– Will Durant, Quebecoise-American historian, and philosopher. 1885 – 1981 AD
Durant, W.J. (1931): Adventures in Genius.
I always thought that the only chance for Palestine to become prosperous and go ahead was to attract Jewish capital, Jewish brains, Jewish labour, and Jewish energy to restore actually the very soil of the country. (…) Palestine is inseparably bound up with their religious ideas and religious sentiment. It is essentially connected with the idea that the Bible was written by Palestinian Jews; that the greatest productions of the Hebrew race and their contributions to humanity came from Palestine; that the Psalms came from Palestine, and if they are going to write Psalms again they are going to be written in Palestine by Jews. (…) There is either going to be a split between Asia and Africa, on the one hand, and Europe on the other, or a bridge built. I am not at all sure that that bridge cannot and will not be built in Palestine. It is quite possible, from a Jewish university in Jerusalem, that West can be explained to East and East to West, and that you will be able to revivify what the West wants from the Eastern ethical and spiritual ideal, as similarly you will give to the East some of the practical, social and political ideals that have been worked out in the West.”
– William Ormsby-Gore, English/British Secretary of State for the Colonies. 1885 – 1964 AD
House of Commons (1921): Middle Eastern Services. HC Deb 14 June 1921 vol 143 cc265-334.
“In Sweden, we have watched with respect and admiration while the Jews have created a modern socialist and democratic state, which has been able to give work and new courage to millions of Jewish refugees. It is obvious to us that Israel has justified its existence.”
– Östen Undén, Swedish Foreign Minister. 1886 – 1974 AD
Eriksson, J. (2015): Small-State Mediation in International Conflicts: Diplomacy and Negotiation. Page 53.
“There are highly cultured, subtle and extraordinarily noble-minded Jews, there are competent, honorable merchants, skillful and artistically talented artisans among them, and so on. (…) [Jews are] justifiably proud of their race and its typical merits.”
– Werner Otto von Hentig, Prussian/German officer and diplomat. 1886 – 1984 AD
Berliner Morgenpost (2014): Der Anti-Kriegsfilm und die Sache mit den Mäusen. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Israel’s existence is directly related to the unity of the world’s nations. Therefore it is the international people par excellence. When the peoples of the world get together and unite, Jerusalem flourishes. It is the city which is patterned after world peace. On the other hand, if Israel is on the decline, the whole organism of humanity is in upheaval, and world peace languishes.”
– Willem ten Boom, Dutch resistance fighter. 1886 – 1946 AD
Alan Snyder, K. (1998): Corrie ten Boom. A Protestant Evangelical Response to the Nazi Persecution of Jews. Page 19.
“I like Jews, for their perversity is one of revolt, crime, and sin; idealism begins with the first rebellion of the angels, mankind with the creation of hell, life with the murder of Cain, and poetry with the discovery of Satan.”
– Janko Polić Kamov, Croato-Slavonian author and poet. 1886 – 1910 AD
Kamov, J.P. (1996): From Freedom. In: Grand Street, No. 58. Page 207-220.
“The committee [for Justice and Peace] ignores the miracle of re-creation which the Jews have worked in Palestine under the [British] mandate and the beneficent effect of that re-creation upon the welfare and the feelings of the masses of the Arabs in the country. That the Arab worker and peasant are not unaware of the benefits of Jewish enterprise, modern techniques, and devotion to the land is evidenced by the fact that in the recent outbreaks of violence the masses of the Palestinian Arabs have had little or no part. (...) The educated Israeli, the government official for the most part, will speak five or six or seven or eight languages. They’re not illiterate linguistically, as we are. For instance, the other day I met a young child in Jerusalem and I said: ‘What languages do you speak?’ She was ten. She said: ‘I speak Arabic and Hebrew, and French, and German, and Italian. And I’m learning Spanish.’ (…) I’m confident that [Israel] will be a civilizing and modernizing and democratizing influence on the whole region.”
– James G. McDonald, Scots-Irish American Ambassador to Israel. 1886 – 1964 AD
Peace in the Holy Land - Mr. M'Donald dissents from the Gildersleeve Report to the New York Herald Tribune. March 3 1948.
Columbia Broadcasting System (1951): James G. McDonald. In Chronoscope.
“Zionism is connected to the great ideas of the present day. The Jews who don’t want to or cannot stay in their birth countries, don’t select Palestine only out of naked interest as a new home. The United States or Argentina may offer greater security and more material benefits. Palestine is, however, the natural Jewish home by virtue of historical facts.”
– Joseph Kenworthy, English/British Labour MP. 1886 – 1953 AD
Englang hat sein Wort verpfändet. In: Jüdische Rundschau. Heft 53 (4.7.1924). [Translated by C. Nooij].
“The Jew, by reason of the fact that he himself has no ‘fatherland’, is compelled to sink his roots and his interests deep in the land of his adoption. He associates his own interests intimately and directly with the interests and advantages and with the development of the national forces of the land where he has been given shelter.”
– Diego Rivera, Mexican painter. 1886 - 1957
Gould, A. (1997): What did they think of the Jews?. Page 452.
(BEWARE: Fritz Lenz was a racist who considered non-Nordic races inferior)
“The Jews' outspoken sense of family is not undermining, nor their strong sense of tribal interdependence, their readiness to render mutual aid, and their feeling for humanity at large. Next to the Teutonic, the Jewish spirit is the chief motive force of modern Western civilization. (...) While there were less than a million Jews in the ancient Jewish State, their number is nowadays about 15 million. The promise bestowed, according to Jewish tradition, upon Patriarch Abraham, that his progeny would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, has been fulfilled. (…) We do not consider it impossible that the Zionist movement, which desires to turn the ancestral and blood community of all Jews across all language and state borders into a community of shared destiny, will bring Jewry its salvation.”
– Fritz Lenz, Pomeranian/German geneticist. 1887 – 1976 AD
Patai, R. (1996): The Jewish Mind. Page 329.
Baur, E. & Fischer, E. & Lenz, F. (1921): Grundriß der menschlichen Erblichkeitslehre und Rassenhygiene. Page 104. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“It is against their own insoluble problem of being human that the dull and base in humanity are in revolt in anti-Semitism. Judaism, nevertheless, together with Hellenism and Christianity is an inalienable component of our Christian Western civilization, the eternal “call to Sinai” against which humanity again and again rebels.”
– Hermann Rauschning, Prussian/German Senate President of the Free City of Danzig. 1887 – 1982 AD
Rauschning, H. (1941): The Beast From the Abyss. Page 155-156.
“There is surely neither hope nor meaning in a ‘Jewish National Home’, unless we are prepared to let Jews, if they wish, enter this tiny land in such numbers as to become a majority. There was a strong case for this before the War. There is an irresistible case now, after the unspeakable atrocities of the cold and calculated German Nazi plan to kill all Jews in Europe. Here, too, in Palestine surely is a case, on human grounds and to promote a stable settlement, for transfer of population. (...) The Arabs have many wide territories of their own; they must not claim to exclude the Jews from this small area of Palestine, less than the size of Wales.”
– Hugh Dalton, Welsh/British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Labour). 1887 – 1962 AD
Labor Party Resolution adopted in December, 1944 at the 43d annual conference, drafted by Hugh Dalton.
"The Jewish experiment [in Palestine] is a conscious effort, on the part of the least European people in Europe, to make head against the drift of the ages, and return once more to the Orient from which they came. (…) The colonists will take back with them to the land which they occupied for some centuries before the Christian era samples of all the knowledge and technique of Europe. (…) The success of their scheme will involve inevitably the raising of the present Arab population to their own material level (…) and the consequences might be of the highest importance for the future of the Arab world. It might well prove a source of technical supply rendering them independent of industrial Europe, and in that case the new confederation might become a formidable element of world power. (…) Speaking entirely as a non-Jew, I look on the Jews as the natural importers of Western leaven so necessary for countries of the Near East. (…) The sooner the Jews farm [Palestine] all the better: Their colonies are bright spots in a desert.”
– T. E. Lawrence, Welsh author, officer, diplomat and archaeologist.. 1888 – 1935 AD
Gilbert, M. (2013): Lawrence of Judaea?.
“The Jews were responsible for everything. They came into the country and by their economic development of it, by their capital, their enterprise, their vigour and their social work, they made it possible for a much larger number of Arabs as well as Jews to exist in Palestine. Indeed, the growth of the Arab population since Jewish immigration began is, I gathered, much greater than it has ever been in history.”
– Herbert Morrison, English/British Foreign Secretary. 1888 – 1965 AD
UK Parliament (1938): Palestine. Debated on Thursday 24 November 1938.
“Obviously we should not follow Germany’s example. (…) We should protect them [the Jews] and let them enjoy the benefits of our imperial prestige. (…) I do not see any reason why we should have them as an enemy…”
– Yasue Norihiro, Japanese colonel. 1888 – 1970 AD
Reynders Ristaino, M. (2001): Port of Last Resort. The Diaspora Communities of Shanghai. Page 151.
"All great geniuses have Jewish blood in them. No, I am not Jewish... but I am sure there must be some somewhere in me. I hope so."
– Charlie Chaplin, English comedian, actor, playwright and componist. 1889 – 1977 AD
Robinson, D. (2014): Chaplin. His Life and Art.
“Along with the records of decay in the Holy Land we found a thoroughgoing effort to restore the ancient fertility of the long-neglected soil. This effort is the most remarkable we have seen while studying land use in twenty-four countries. It is being made by Jewish settlers who fled to Palestine from the hatreds and persecutions of Europe. We were astonished to find about three hundred colonies defying great hardships and applying the principles of cooperation and soil conservation to the old Land of Israel. They have demonstrated the finest reclamation of old lands that I have seen in three continents. They have done this by the application of science, industry and devotion to the problems of reclaiming lands, draining swamps, improving agriculture and livestock and creating new industries. (…) Here in one corner of the vast Near East, thoroughgoing work is in progress to rebuild the fertility of land instead of condemning it by neglect to further destruction and decay.”
– Walter C. Lowdermilk, German-American soil conservationist. 1888 – 1974 AD
Tal, A. (2002): Pollution in a Promised Land. Page 55.
“I have a profound admiration for what the Jewish race have done in Israel, for the amazing way in which they have turned deserts into towns and swamps into fruitful agricultural areas. (…) The quite wonderful way in which desert has been converted into fields and towns, in which swamps have been converted into fishing lakes and fertility, has been almost a miracle. (…) I think that intellectually and artistically – perhaps specially in music – [the Jewish race] has given us more than any other race.”
– Fenner Brockway, Anglo-Indian / British Independent Labour MP. 1888 – 1988 AD
House of Lords (1968): Address in Reply to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech. HL Deb 05 November 1968 vol 297 cc125-218.
“I have faith in Jewish nationalism and in harmony and good will between Jews and China. (...) China has the greatest regard for the Jews and sympathizes with their aims and aspirations. Zionism aims to emancipate your oppressed and weak nation which had struggled for two millennia for independence. I hope that the Jewish national status would be a recognized fact in the not distant future, and I want to assure you that China would readily join hands and create a Sino-Judean entente cordiale.”
– Quo Tai-chi, Chinese diplomat. 1888 – 1952 AD
Gao, B. (2013): Shanghai Sanctuary.
"It is one of the wonders of history how the Jews, without a home or a refuge, harassed and persecuted beyond measure, and often done to death, have preserved their identity and held together for over 2000 years. (…) Palestine is a holy land for the Jews... and, to some extent, even [for] the Muslims. (…) Every one must have sympathy for the Jews in the terrible trials they are passing through in Europe... [and] one can understand them being attracted to Palestine. (…) I know that the Jews have done a wonderful piece of work in Palestine and have raised the standards of the people there.”
– Jawaharlar Nehru, Kashmiri Prime Minister of India. 1889 – 1964 AD
Nehru, J. (1945): Glimpses of World History. Page 85.
For the Zionists, Jewry is a nation, and [in order] to become like other nations it needs a motherland. In the Jewish colonies in Palestine they see not merely a successful social enterprise, but the visible symbol of a body politic. (...) Their greatest achievement has been the revival of Hebrew as a living language. (…) More than twenty-three centuries have passed since the original Hebrew vernacular was supplanted by Aramaic in Palestine itself. (…) In the course of a single generation, this 'dead language' has been brought out of the synagogue and has been converted into a vehicle for conveying the modern Western culture (…) in the schools and the homes of the Jewish community in Palestine where the children of Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Europe and English-speaking immigrants from America and Arabic-speaking immigrants from the Yaman and Persian-speaking immigrants from Bukhara are all growing up together to speak, as their common language, a tongue which, in Palestine, has not been heard on children's lips since the days of Nehemiah.”
– Arnold Toynbee, English historian. 1889 – 1975 AD
Toynbee, A. (1917): Turkey. A Past and a Future.
“Look clearly at this persecution of Jews, especially in the over-cautious countries. It is but an aspect of the European hatred of the Asiatic. (…) The very talented and the clever (…) do not want to consider, or else they know it well and keep it to themselves, that if they start to European thought, the great matron will soon be naked before them. Europe suckled from the Greek lioness, whose tendons were Asiatic, and from the Roman wolf, that noble hybrid begotten of the first. Later she ate heartily of a broad Christianity, oriental food if there be any such and which, if it were deorientalized, would be left without any mysticism, mere dry bone, moralistic lime, of the police type.”
– Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. 1889 – 1957 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 320.
“I am a warm friend of the Jews and the Jewish labour in Palestine. I am convinced that only the Jewish labour, the Jewish money, the Jewish talent and the Jewish interest can rebuild Palestine. The spiritual values created by the Jews in Palestine contribute to the enrichment of the world.”
– Gaudenzio Orfali, Italian Franciscan and archaeologist. 1889 – 1926 AD
Das jüdische Echo. Vol. 12 (23/01/1925) Heft 4. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“The whole history of Palestine in the last 20 years has consisted of the process by which the Jews have reclaimed desert or marshy land, by which they have introduced intensive cultivation, and by which they have increased the productivity of the soil by modern methods and thereby added to the population which it can support. On any true understanding of the facts the Jews have not decreased the land available to Arabs. They have increased it in a notable degree. They have expanded Palestine for Arabs and Jews alike.”
– Philip Noel-Baker, English/British Minister of Fuel and Power. 1889 – 1982 AD
House of Commons (1940): Palestine. Debated on Thursday 6 March 1940. HC Deb 06 March 1940 vol 358 cc411-529.
(BEWARE: The same speech by Charles de Gaulle contained anti-Semitic language)
“In spite of the ebbing and flowing stream of malevolences they aroused in certain countries and certain times, a considerable capital of interest, and even sympathy, had accrued in their favour, especially it must be said in Christian countries: a capital issued from the immense memory of the Bible, fed by the sources of a magnificent liturgy, kept alive by the commiseration inspired by their ancient misfortune, poeticised here by the myth of the Wandering Jew, heightened by the abominable persecutions perpetuated during the Second World War and maginified, after they had again found a homeland, by their constructive works and the courage of their soldiers. That is why many countries – France amongst them – had seen with satisfaction the establishment of their state on the territory acknowledged as theirs by the major powers, while wishing for them to reach, by using some modesty, a peaceful ‘modus vivendi’ with their neighbours.”
– Charles de Gaulle, President of the French Republic. 1890 – 1970 AD
Dangoor, E. (1967): De Gaulle's opinion of Israel. Press conference held at the Elysée Palace on 27 November 1967.
“Our forces saved the remnant of the Jewish people of Europe for a new life and a new hope
in the reborn land of Israel. Along with all men of good will, I salute the young state and wish it well.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower, German-American President of the United States. 1890 – 1969 AD
Voss, C.H. (1953): The Palestine Problem Today: Israel and Its Neighbors. Page 11.
“No matter what the modern cannibals, the fascist anti-Semites, may say, our feelings of fraternity toward the Jewish people are determined by the fact that it produced that brilliant creator of the idea of the communist emancipation of mankind, the man who scientifically mastered the highest achievements of German culture and the culture of other nations – Karl Marx. They are determined by the fact that the Jewish people, like the most developed nations, has produced a large number of the greatest representatives of science, technology and art, has produced many glorious heroes of the revolutionary struggle against the oppressors of the toilers and, in our country, has brought to the front, and is bringing to the front today, larger and larger numbers of remarkable and gifted leaders and organizers in all branches of construction and in the defense of the cause of socialism. All this determines our attitude toward the anti-Semitic outrages no matter where they may be perpetrated.”
– Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian Premier and Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union. 1890 – 1986 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 176.
“I have had the privilege of visiting Israel and I have come back, as we must all have come back, deeply impressed by the magnificent way in which they are building a home for their tortured people and, while building a home for their people, creating a new, democratic society which in so many ways is a pattern to the world. I have come back deeply conscious, too, of the fact that they have been carrying on this magnificent work under great strain and tension, with a spade in one hand and a gun in the other. Like all of us, I am anxious that we should do all that we can to ensure the future well-being and prosperity of Israel.”
– James Griffiths, Welsh Secretary of State and British Labour MP. 1890 – 1975 AD
UK Parliament (1956): Egypt And Israel. Debated on Thursday 1 November 1956.
“[In] this country and the United States of America, there is a large volume of agreement that the achievements of Zionism in Palestine have greatly raised the reputation of the Jewish people. They have proved that they are capable of building up a civilisation from the ground floor – that it is not true that they are only bankers and middlemen and office workers, but that they can build up a civilisation from the soil. They have proved it to the admiration of the world.”
– Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Scotland (Liberal). 1890 – 1970 AD
UK Parliament (1938): Palestine. Debated on Thursday 24 November 1938.
“The Jews who have been wandering all over the world for two thousand years are Orientals and they have preserved the essence of their Oriental culture. (…) Following their expulsion from Europe, they will have no choice but to live in the land of their forefathers (…) under guidance of Japan.”
– Koreshige Inuzuka, Japanese naval major. 1890 – 1965 AD
Shillony, B. (1992): The Jews & The Japanese. Page 187.
“We love the Jews because we can thank them for the two greatest treasures. First of all, a Book written by the Jews. It is the Bible and we must thank Israel for it. It is the Book which is almost bursting with good news and glorious promises. All its writers were Jews, except Luke, but he was converted through a Jew.”
– Nollie van Woerden, Dutch resistance fighter. 1890 – 1953 AD
Brog, D. (2016): Standing With Israel. Why Christians Support Israel. Page 231.
“The emigration of the Jews to Palestine signifies an elevation of the life
standard of the Arab labourers and a growth of the markets for Arab farmers.”
– Cecil L’Estrange Malone, English/British Communist MP. 1890 – 1965 AD
Jüdische Rundschau. Vol. XXVII. Heft 82 (17.10.1922). [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Competent authorities estimate that Jews have brought about $450,000,000 of capital into the country. They have built up 250 agricultural settlements with a population of 97,000 who make their living from the soil. Jews have again become farmers as in biblical days and have made the soil of the Holy Land produce crops where only a generation ago were bare sand dunes and desert. Even more impressive has been the urban development. Tel Aviv, from a small suburb of Jaffa, has grown in 20 years to an all-Jewish city of 150,000, with all the modern comforts of a western city. Haifa, from an unimportant port, has become the busiest shipping center of the Mediterranean. (...) Even at high prices, Jews usually got poor land - swamp or sand dunes. Most of this area became good land as a result of intelligent work and effort.”
– John W. McCormack, Irish-American Senator and Representative from Massachussetts. 1891 – 1980 AD
McCormack, J.W. (1939): The Jewish Homeland and the Palestine Mandate. In: The Jewish Veteran. Volume 7-9. Page 8-9.
(BEWARE: Hans Günther was a racist who considered non-Nordic races inferior)
“Zionism [seeks] the separation of Jews from the Occidental peoples, first their detachment from the nationhood and spiritual life of these people in order to nurture their own nationhood and a pure, unique spiritual life, and then, if at all possible, the vernacular divorce of Jews and Gentiles through the establishment of a Jewish body politic. (…) The non-Zionist sections of Jewry would by all accounts fall into gradual extinction due to child poverty and childlessness. (…) The racial biological future of Jewry could therefore be summarized by the catchphrase: Either Zionism or demise.”
– Hans F. K. Günther, Badenian/German eugenicist. 1891 – 1968 AD
Günther, H.F.K. (1930): Rassenkunde des Jüdischen Volkes.
(BEWARE: Xavier Vallat was also a notorious Jew-hater)
"I think we need (...) a place that is a kind of Vatican City (...) that allows the assignment of Jewish citizenship to 9 or 10 million Jews scattered across the world and is headquartered in Tel Aviv or Haifa, or wherever, without however being obliged to conduct the emigration of all Jews to Palestine.”
– Xavier Vallat, Vichy-French Commissioner-General for Jewish Questions. 1891 – 1971 AD
Rodinson, M. (1968): Israël et le refus arabe 75 ans d’histoire. Page 42. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“If I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.”
– J. R. R. Tolkien, English/British author. 1892 - 1973
Chance, J. (2003): Tolkien the Medievalist.
“To the Jews: in any one of you, Christ speaks more strongly than in Mark, Matthew,
John and Luke. With the last of your sons, o Israel, in truth we will have buried Christ.”
– Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet. 1892 – 1941 AD
Tsvetaeva, M. (1916): To the Jews.
“The state of Israel is, whatever its limitations, a heartening adventure in nationhood. (...) Whatever our political or religious positions may be, it is not possible to withhold admiration, sympathy and respect for such an achievement. (...) Americans should support the Zionist program as correct in principle, however much it may have to be qualified in application. (...) Zionism on its own merits is a marvelous, admirable thing which is accountable to no one and nothing, mainly because it corresponds so completely with Western ideas about society and man. (...) Zionism is the expression of a national will to live that transcends the traditional orthodox religion of the Jews.”
– Reinhold Niebuhr, German-American theologian from Missouri. 1892 – 1971 AD
Goldman, S. (2019): Reinhold Niebuhr’s Zionism. In: Tablet. January 23, 2019.
“I want to thank you, the Jews, for this Book. For the Bible (…) got me acquainted with my greatest Friend. He was a Jew. On His divine side He was the Son of God, but on His human side He was a Jew. And this Friend is my Saviour. (…) What a joy it has been for me to be in Jerusalem, the reunited city, now entirely in Israeli hands.”
– Corrie ten Boom, Dutch resistance fighter. 1892 – 1983 AD
Brog, D. (2016): Standing With Israel. Why Christians Support Israel. Page 231.
“The story of the barbarous and worse than medieval persecution of the Jews, a race that has done so much to improve the culture of these countries and our own, is the most tragic in human history.”
– Wendell Willkie, German-American politician from Indiana. 1892 – 1944 AD
Willkie, W. (1940): Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination in Elwood, Indiana.
“No one can refer to the history of Belgian civilization without paying due regard to the important part played by the Jews, not only in times of prosperity but also in times of trial and suffering.”
– Robert Silvercruys, Belgian Ambassador to Canada and the US. 1893 – 1971 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 514.
“It is an interesting thing that Hebrew, which has not been used as the vernacular speech in Palestine since the Israelites were carried into captivity, is today heard all over Palestine in the Zionist settlements. The revival of a liturgical language for every-day use is a remarkable thing and, to me, more wonderful than any of the materialistic achievements of the Zionists. To hear a couple of Jews from Roumania talking Hebrew is as remarkable as it would be to hear two Italians gossiping in Latin. (…) Palestine, or, more strictly, a portion of it, is now the Jewish Republic of Israel, a small state that is working out its destiny in a dangerous and threatening world. (…) The new state was encircled by Moslem foes, and for the first time since the Roman age a Jewish army fought in Palestine.”
– H. V. Morton, English journalist and travel writer. 1892 – 1979 AD
Morton, H.V. (1934): In the Steps of the Master. Page 204.
“[Israel] is one of the few fine and hopeful places in this grim world of ours and what has been accomplished in the last 15 - no, 17 - years is almost unbelievable. (...) Wherever Arabs are employed in Israel they have the same conditions as Jewish workers, and the same pay. Almost the first act of the Israeli government was a measure equalizing wages."
– Freda Kirchwey, German-American liberal journalist. 1893 – 1976 AD
Alpern, S. (1987): Freda Kirchwey. A Woman of the Nation.
“I never have been a Zionist but I have never been a Jew hater, and I believe that there is an element of Jew hatred which is being stirred up, inadvertently perhaps, but stirred up definitely. (…) I think it is a very cruel thing that the Israelis, in this hour of their tribulation [i.e. during the Suez War], in this hour when every hand is turned against them, should find that many of the [British] voices to which they have been used to listen have been silent, or that those same voices have been heard in condemnation of their own country.”
– Charles Waterhouse, English/British Minister of Labour (Conservative). 1893 – 1975 AD
UK Parliament (1956): Egypt And Israel. Debated on Thursday 1 November 1956.
“The Zionist movement, is nothing more than an attempt to secure the right for Jews to migrate and colonize in order to establish a center for Jewish national culture. [Zionists are] a stateless population that suffered from discrimination and oppression in their original living space and moved to Palestine with a pioneering spirit. (…) [These are] the examples of population migration as a result of people’s efforts to survive. (…) Free movement of populations [is] a system that makes a maximum development possible.”
– Tadao Yanaihara, Japanese economist. 1893 – 1961 AD
Tadao, Y. (1965): Yanaihara Tadao Zenshū, Vol. 4, 184. [Translated on Wikipedia].
“The brave men and women of the resistance movement in Palestine are no more extremists than the American colonists who staged the Boston Tea Party or the Irish rebels of the 1920s. These militants are the heroes of tomorrow’s history. Moreover they are doing more than anyone else to eradicate anti-Semitism by portraying the Jew to the Christian world as a fighter for national freedom. We respectfully submit that the resistance against British tyranny in Palestine be continued with the same spirit – and in greater strength – in the difficult days that lie ahead. We believe that Americans, as decedents of the heroic colonists of 1776, will rally to the support of the Jewish patriots in Palestine at this critical time.”
– Dean Alfange, Greek-American politician and lawyer. 1893 – 1989 AD
Barr, J. (2011): A Line in the Sand.
“The Chinese could learn much from the stateless Jews. Although the Jews do not have their own nation and are discriminated against by other peoples, they struggle heroically to restore their homeland, and they never lost hope."
– Yu Songhua, Chinese journalist. 1893 – 1947 AD
Gao, B. (2013): Shanghai Sanctuary. Page 11.
"You represent a new nation and yet an ancient one, in a new country that is yet an ancient one. Tradition and religion are clearly a basis for your actions. There are not many nations, perhaps none, that have been exiled from their country numerous times and for extended periods of time, and there is probably no nation that could have preserved its nationality for such a long time, in the special conditions it was in, and that eventually succeeded in founding its state in its destined ancient land. It is surely not an easy task to work a deserted land and create a nation from its exiled parts, each having different languages and traditions. It is for this reason easy to see what a great task it is to gather these parts into one nation and one language. Much has been told about the great things that have been done throughout the years since the Jewish nation began returning to its ancient land. If there is a way for people to gain their land, it is through cultivation. The crusaders could not accomplish such a thing and therefore did not settle in this land."
– Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, President of Iceland. 1894 - 1972 AD
Asgeirsson, A. (1966): Speech in the Israeli Knesset on March 30, 1966.
“Through unspeakable persecutions, Christian Europe has been trying for a millenium to exterminate the Jewish nation. The result was that all Jews who were weak-minded, unscrupulous, opportunistic or sceptical, had themselves baptized, so as to escape the agonies of endless persecution. On the other hand, under these in many ways complicated living conditions, all Jews who weren’t skilled, clever and inventive enough to endure the struggle for existence in this most difficult form, perished. And so, a tiny community eventually emerged from all these persecutions, toughened by a heroically endured martyrhood for the idea and purified from all weak-minded and intellectually poor elements. Instead of destroying Jewry, Europe, against its own will, has through this artificial selection process refined and educated this people into a future leader-nation. No wonder that this people, that escaped the Ghetto-Prison, developed into a spiritual nobility of Europe.”
– Richard Graf von Coudenhove-Kalergi, Austrian politician and philosopher. 1894 – 1972 AD
Coudenhove-Kalergi, R.N. (1922): Adel. Page 19-39.
“I toured Jewish Palestine several times, from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The new towns and villages of Palestine are the work of the Jews. This is not just a new Palestine but a staggeringly new Palestine. (...) In the old Palestine, the Arab village is a heap of earth, the gardens ruined, the people naked, the eyes diseased. In Jewish Palestine the towns are filled with the scent of oranges, and the well-maintained roads are lined with prickly pears. Women in low-cut dresses in February are waiting for the end of the war in rich hotel lounges decorated with strongly perfumed roses and ripe oranges.”
– Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist, author and politician. 1894 – 1971 AD
Kedar, B.J. (1999): The Changing Land. Page 74.
“Israel means for the Jews something different and something more than Frisia for the Frisians and Amsterdam for the Amsterdammers. Jews, even coming from hell, can find healing there. [I know more than one] rich girl from Amsterdam who trades a nice and easy life for the kibbutz.”
– Inne de Jong, Dutch/Frisian poet. 1894 – 1975 AD
Jong, I. de (1965): Israël. In: De Tsjerne. Jaargang 20. Page 160. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"I seek to ensure that the new State of Israel, whose people had in the past done so much for humanity, would be welcomed, not merely formally but with good heart and good conscience."
– Dr H.V. Evatt, Irish-Australian Minister for External Affairs and judge of the High Court. 1894 – 1965 AD
Australian Parliament (2008): Parliamentary Debates. Page 1475.
“The Jewish State is a living, solidly entrenched and vigorous reality. (…) In establishing their state within a semi-circle of gunfire, the Jews have given a convincing demonstration of their skill and tenacity.”
– Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat. 1895 – 1948 AD
Progress Report Of The UN Mediator On Palestine. September 16, 1948.
“Israel is bastion of freedom in the Middle East. (...) Israel’s accomplishments are there for all to see. (...) Small states everywhere, poor in resources but rich in spirit, can learn much from the Jewish people, who, undaunted, have brought into being a State politically strong, socially helpful to the needy, and economically ever stronger.”
– John Diefenbaker, German-Canadian Prime Minister of Canada. 1895 – 1979 AD
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (1962): Diefenbaker Lauds Israel to Canadian Zionists. November 7 1962.
“The history of the state of Israel is a great inspiration to the emergent nations of the world. (...) Your leaders and people have already achieved one of the greatest miracles of modern times by creating out of diversity a people who basically believe in the guidance of the greatest of all books.”
– William Tubman, Americo-Liberian President of Liberia. 1895 – 1971 AD
Liberian Studies Association (1989): Liberian Studies Journal. Volume XIV. Number 1. Page 40.
“The Zionists had made clinics available for the healing of the Arabs' diseases, (...) the Jewish laboratories had prepared serums for the improvement of the miserable breed of native cattle, (...) their agricultural experimental stations had heightened the quality of Arabic wheat and barley and citrus fruit, (...) the Jews had supplanted the straggling goat-paths of the past with a system of modern roads, (...) hydroelectric stations had been installed by Jewish capital and initiative for the comfort and betterment of all, (...) the swamps which annually claimed thousands of Arab lives had been cleaned up at an immense cost of money and of young Jewish lives, (...) innumerable wells had been dug by Jews in that land which had become parched and barren through centuries of Arab neglect and suicidal deforestation. (...) Humbly and patiently the Jewish pioneers have set about to make the Land of Israel, the hope and prayer of their people for two thousand years, a habitable place not only for the weary wanderers still in Europe, but first of all for the destitute and disease-ridden masses of Arabs.”
– Pierre van Paassen, Dutch-Canadian journalist und author. 1895 – 1968 AD
“Israel is a nation once more, and not a sentimental show-piece either, a mock-antique, but a strong, proud, energetic, well-disciplined nation—one that continues to welcome homeless Jewish immigrants into an already crowded country, and establish them as useful citizens. (...) My sense of awe has been heightened by the realization that Hebrew is again a living spoken language—the same Hebrew from which our vernacular Old Testament was translated at third hand, through Latin and Greek. And the blood-curdling life-histories of those who came here as ragged refugees, and can now hold their heads high again, seem to me a sufficient guarantee that the New Israel will endure.”
– Robert Graves, English poet of Irish descent. 1895 – 1985 AD
Graves, R. (1959): What It Feels Like To Be a Goy. A Poet's Talk in Tel Aviv. In: Commentary. May 1959.
“The Jew lends himself easily to Communism because it enables him to devote himself to
a high cause, involving all of humanity, characteristics which are natural to him as a Jew.”
– Edmund Wilson, American author. 1895 – 1972 AD
Gould, A. (1997): What did they think of the Jews?. Page 337.
“We consider that the solution recommended, where-by the Jewish people will be given a territory of their own, constitutes a victory over all the acts of racial discrimination by which an attempt was made to create a superior race based upon the subjection, persecution and slavery of others. (…) Why is it necessary that there should be a Jewish State? Precisely to put an end to that form of discrimination and alienation, that persecution of a section of humanity. And what a burden of suffering they have borne! No one in our day has endured such a burden.”
– Enrique Rodríguez Fabregat, Uruguayan author and politician. 1895 – 1976 AD
The Partition Plan: United Nations Debate on Partition. November 26, 1947.
“Israel will give us, as it has always given the world, the treasure of its millennial wisdom always renewed in the wishes of perpetual enrichment; the marvelous things of its soul, flourishing in the purest essence of the arts and literature; the genius of a technical knowledge which has risen to heights of undreamed of perfection; its splendid will to live, reaffirmed in the incomparable triumphs after centuries of silent suffering.”
– Alfonso Francisco Ramírez Baños, Mexican lawyer, author and politician. 1896 – 1979 AD
Kaufman, E. (2023): Israeli-Latin American Relations. Page 140.
“I recall with pride the close association of my distinguished predecessor as Leader of the Australian Labor Party, the late Dr. H. V. Evatt, with the events leading to the establishment of the State of Israel, under the auspices of the United Nations. I share his deep conviction that this was no less than an act of international justice to the Jewish people, and I have watched with admiration the splendid achievements of the new state.”
– Arthur Calwell, Irish-Australian Minister for Immigration (Labor). 1896 – 1979 AD
Australia Israel Labor Dialogue.
“I, who hoped all my life to be one of the helpers of this rebirth of the Jewish people, am fortunate to have this privilege."
– Lewis Yelland Andrews, Australian colonial official in Palestine. 1896 – 1937 AD
Israel haYom (2013): Lewis Yelland Andrews, the Jews' forgotten friend. 15/4/2013. 13:45.
“Both Jews and the British have one thing in common—a faith that their problems will be solved. And that faith has kindled in our hearts a flame no enemy will be able to extinguish. On the treatment of Jews, and of all small minorities, depends the future of mankind. (...) Although the war has held up our program as far as Palestine is concerned, in God's good time the Jewish State will be established and it will contribute as much happiness and prosperity to the Arab as to the Jew. (...) Deliverance of the Jews from persecution is as important an issue as any for which we are fighting. The Jewish problem will never be solved anywhere until a national home in Palestine is established. (...) I believe that every unprejudiced Englishman could and should be grateful for the opportunity which his country has been given to fulfill the Scriptures and re-establish the Jewish State in the Holy Land. (...) I would gladly give my life for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, as I am ready to give my life for the preservation of the British Empire. (...) Whatever happens, the Jews must have a permanent home”
– Victor Cazelet, English/British Conservative MP. 1896 – 1943 AD
Cazelet. V. (1941): American Aid Called Essential. In: Los Angeles Times. May 17 1941. Page 7.
Cazelet. V. (1941): Palestine Is Held Example of Unity. In: New York Times. April 29 1941.
Cazelet. V. (1941): War Seen Holding Up Jewish State Plan. In: New York Times. April 17 1941. Page 7.
Robert Rhodes, J. (1976): Victor Cazalet. A portrait. Page 286.
“The new Jewish state will bring a large measure of relief to those elements of world Jewry which have suffered so terribly. (…) It seems imperative after the annihilation of six million Jews in various countries in Europe, that arrangements should be made in at least one country in the world for the Jewish people to be definitely freed from the limitations and the fears imposed by minority status. The malevolence of Hitler’s racial policies (…) had made clear the imperative need for a Jewish state.”
– Lester Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada. 1897 – 1972 AD
Tauber, E. (2002): Personal Policy Making.
“It is natural that Uruguay supported Israel in its political struggle. What this people suffered in Europe during the war was followed with fear, when after the Holocaust, the Jewish people rose to fight its struggle for liberation, then the heart of our people was with them. The struggle of Israel is a struggle for justice, and honesty and justice are the only guarantees for the existence of small countries in this complex world of today.”
– Luis Batlle Berres, Catalan-descended President of Uruguay. 1897 – 1964 AD
Kaufman, E. (2023): Israeli-Latin American Relations. Page 138.
“The question at issue is not merely one which concerns political and economic development of a small country for whose administration we are responsible. It is a matter raising moral and spiritual issues of the highest importance. It is no wonder, therefore, that opinions upon it cut across all political parties. To me, this is a matter of conscience, where conscience alone must direct. We have all been declaring where we stand, and for my part, speaking entirely for myself, I confess that I stand on the side of the Zionists.”
– James Henderson-Stewart, Scottish banker and British National Liberal MP. 1897 – 1961 AD
House of Commons (1946): Palestine. Debated on 1 August 1946. HC Deb 01 August 1946 vol 426 cc1232-317.
“Israel’s development as a “priceless contribution to progress. (...) Israel is a fully grown modern state comparable with any other in the world.”
– Aneurin Bevan, Welsh Minister of Health (Labour). 1897 – 1960 AD
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (1954): British Labor Leader Calls for Support of Israel’s Development. June 17 1954.
“Finally, in 1948-49, the dream which some thought dead, became a reality, in the form of the State of Israel – the independent, sovereign State of Israel. Even then I never thought it would be possible for me to be here, to put my feet on the sacred soil of this country. (…) When you came here, this place was a desert with rocks all over, but you removed them. You brought soil from far away, and what was once a desert, you turned into a fertile field in which you grow many different kinds of crops which are said to be grown only in the tropics like in our Malawi.”
– Hastings Kamuzu Banda, President and Prime Minister of Malawi. 1898 – 1997 AD
Banda, H. (1968): Address to the Knesset on May 27 1968.
““I have been with you with all my soul, deeply and anxiously, in the course of the latest events, and I triumph now, saluting the marvelous victory of Israel. (...) I fervently favor total friendship between America and Israel and am emotionally inclined to take Israel’s side in all political matters. (...) [I have there] many old and dear friends; that’s why Israel is the only country where I would like to give a reading. (...) I don't have to tell you what ardent sympathy marks my feeling toward Israel and her twenty fifth anniversary. (...) I can only extend my heartfeld congratulations to your young ancient great little country.”
– Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-American author and poet. 1899 – 1977 AD
Zavyalov-Leving (1997): Samuel Izrailevich. Page 16.
Leving, Y. (2012): Nabokov’s Jewish Family. In: Tablet. December 17, 2012.
Shapiro, G. (2019): THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF JEWS IN VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S LIFE AND CAREER.
Letter to Ambassador Levavi dated 9 October 1973.
“I feared that in Israel there might be lurking, sweetly and insidiously, the nostalgia gathered like some sad treasure during the centuries of dispersion in cities of the unbeliever, in ghettoes, in the sunset of the steppes, in dreams, the nostalgia of those who longed for you, Jerusalem, beside the waters of Babylon. What else were you, Israel, but that wistfulness, that will to save amid the shifting shapes of time your old magical book, your ceremonies, your loneliness with God? (…) You have not tempted men with gardens or gold, and the emptiness of gold but with the hard work, beleaguered land. Without words Israel has told them: Forget who you are, forget who you have been, forget the man you were in those countries, which gave you their mornings and evenings and to which you must not look back in yearning. You will forget your father’s tongue and learn the tongue of Paradise. You shall be an Israeli, a soldier, you shall build a country on wasteland, making it rise out of deserts. Your brother, whose face you've never seen, will work by your side.”
– Jorge Luis Borges, Hispano-Argentine poet and essayist. 1899 – 1986 AD
Borges, J.L. (1974): In Praise of Darkness.
“[The Jews] command about eighty per cent of the Iraq trade. On Saturday, for instance, the official holiday of the Jews, the Iraqi markets resemble a cemetery, for the majority of the shops and commercial houses run by the Jews as they are, are closed. The Jews are the best race for preserving strictly their official holiday as sacred. (…) The Jews are clever and laborious and one can hardly see an idle Jew. (…) Palestine, their National Home, [is] the only place where they can live in peace in the future.”
– Yusuf Malek, Assyrian-Iraqi politician. 1899 – 1959 AD
Malek, Y. (1932): The British Betrayal of the Assyrians. Chapter IX. Page 56 & 67.
“Like the Jews, the Chinese have a cultural heritage of thousands of years. Like the children of Israel, my countrymen are scattered over the four corners of the earth. Like your people, my people know the meaning of hardship, and, for this reason, they are able to carry on a prolonged war of resistance without the material things that are considered essential in other parts of the world. I feel sure that the 450 million people of China wholeheartedly condemn the cruel and systematic oppression of the Jews in Europe, who have suffered the same fate as millions of my own countrymen who, for eleven years, have experienced the most inhumane torture and silently borne the lashes of Japanese tyranny in the occupied regions.”
– Liu Shishun, Chinese Ambassador to Canada. 1900 – 1996 AD
Baron, J. L. (1943): Stars and Sand. Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables. Page 516.
"The nations of the world cannot deliberately condemn to extermination a hard-working, honest community, which has established a culture of its own in the land of its fathers, and which is inspired by a deep and indomitable national spirit. (...) The creation of a Jewish State is a reparation owed by humanity to an innocent and defenceless people which has suffered humiliation, and martyrdom for two thousand years."
– Jorge Garcia Granados, Guatemalan diplomat. 1900 – 1961 AD
Document 6: Speech by Dr. Jorge Garcia Granados to the UN General Assembly. In: Jacon Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (2008): The 1947 United Nations Decision to Partition Palestine.
“I wish I could belong to you and live in this wonderful city [of Jerusalem]. (...) The most beautiful thing in your country is the eyes of the Israeli children. I have been in many countries, nowhere did I find such pretty childrens' eyes.”
– Marlene Dietrich, Prussian/German-American actress and singer. 1901 – 1992 AD
Buckard, C. (2008): Von Kopf bis Fuß auf Zion eingestellt. [Translated by C. Nooij].
(BEWARE: MacDonald forbid migration to Palestine, condemning European Jews to death)
“If not a single Jew had come to Palestine after 1918, I believe that the Arab population of Palestine today [in 1938] would still have been around the 600,000 figure, at which it had been stable under Turkish rule. It is because the Jews who have come to Palestine bring modern health services and other advantages that Arab men and women would be dead are alive today, that Arab children who would never have drawn breath have been born and grow strong. It is not only the Jews who have benefited from the Balfour Declaration. They can deny it as much as they like, but materially the Arabs have benefited very greatly from the Balfour Declaration.”
– Malcolm MacDonald, Scottish/British Governor-General of Kenya and Minister of Health. 1901 – 1981 AD
UK Parliament (1938): Palestine. Debated on Thursday 24 November 1938.
"The American people, ever zealous in the cause of human freedom, watched with sympathetic interest and helped with tangible aid, the effort of the Jews to renew the ties of their ancient homeland and to reestablish Jewish culture in the place where for centuries it flourished and whence it was carried to the far corners of the world. (...) It was then that the great Jewish people received the rank they deserve, persisting as they did, through the ages, though dispersed, pursued, and persecuted. The creation of Israel introduced into the Middle East for the first time the dynamic elements of freedom and democracy. It provided the will and the fortitude to overthrow the yoke of primitive servitude. (...) From it arises a new nation, dedicated to the biblical faith of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. The Republic of Israel is the bloodstream of life. Like red corpuscles fighting the diseases which beset this troubled world, it effectively plays its part in overcoming the passions of men. It represents the idea of tomorrow in a world of yesterday."
– Richard H. Balch, American businessman and politician (Dem) from NY. 1901 – 1981 AD
Richard H. Balch at the Dinner Session of the Department of New York Jewish War Veterans' Convention. South Pallsburg, N.Y., June 5, 1953.
“Most of the present Arab countries were given their freedom after the 1914-18 War, or after the 1939-45 War. Yet to listen to Arab spokesmen one might think that they had been cheated… because they have not also got Israel. Israel is only .2 per cent of the land where Arab States have been established. Surely no fair-minded man can begrudge the Jews their own promised land when it is remembered that for every 2 acres that went to make up Israel, 1,000 acres became Arab.... Why is there an Arab refugee problem? The oil-rich countries have the money. There is no shortage of land, and the Israelis have the technical knowledge to show how it could be developed and made fertile. Bring those things together and the problem could be solved.”
– Sir Robert Balfour, Scottish peer. 1902 – 1968 AD
“The nation of Israel is unique in its suffering. It is unique in its achievements, in its return and reconstruction of its land (…) It will be unique in its future, and this future – and this is a specific feature of Christian belief—will be closely bound to the future of the Church.”
– Kurt Scharf, Prussian/German bishop. 1902 – 1990 AD
Gronauer, G. (2013): Attitudes in West German Protestantism towards the State of Israel 1948-1967.
“Long before the term 'Zionism' was in use, there lived a secret certainty within the Jewish world: one day, Israel would be resurrected as a state. The unworthy condition would come to an end, which Heine, full of irony, sketched in a few words: 'the fatherland of the Jews consists of the other Jews'. (...) It takes us effort to see the 'miracle-Israel', perhaps because we scarcely believe in miracles. The first reclamation work by a handful of pioneers, the further influx of immigrants, the development of many community forms meant to carry the future statehood, the opening up of new agricultural areas, the establishment of great cities, a large-scale cultural policy, the formation of a powerful army, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and the pushing back of all attackers - all this was achieved by a people of one-and-a-half million, or half thereof, in the first years of independence. In the international arena, have gotten used to enormous dimensions of territorial power complexes, to million-man armies and weapons arsenals of unknown scale. One-and-a-half million people on barren land, without the backing of mineral reserves or modern large-scale industry, theoretically do not carry a lot of weight. But suddenly, their half-baked state turned into a core of power, a decisive factor in the balance of powers in the Middle East, a node of 'great politics'. A somewhat unusual situation that recalls memories of the cartoons in which Mickey Mouse wanders like a dwarf around giants, braving dangers and each time escaping at just the right moment. Reality is not inferior to a cartoon. A tiny nation of one-and-a-half million, without any great resources, turned out to possess sufficient energy and idealism to fill up a vacuum of two thousand years”
– Pieter Jan Bouman, Dutch author and sociologist. 1902 – 1977 AD
Bouman, P.J. (1959): Vijfstromenland. Balans der werelddelen. Page 264-267. [Translated by C. Nooij].
(BEWARE: Mildenstein visited Jewish Palestine as a Nazi Party and SS member)
"Here [in Tel Aviv] live only Jews, work only Jews, trade only Jews, bathe and dance only Jews. (...) The stocky figure of [Palestinian Jew] Gurion stands before us in the moonlight. He suits this soil. The soil has reformed him and his companions. These new Jews are a new people."
– Leopold von Mildenstein, Austrian writer and SS officer. 1902 – 1968 AD
Meier, A. (2014): Die Artikelserie "Ein Nazi fährt nach Palästina". [Translated by C. Nooij].
“I thought about the Jewish problem and came to the conclusion that the only solution is the Zionist solution. Long before I reached Palestine I knew what the Jews were seeking, understood what they needed, sympathised with their aims, and knew they were right. (…) I count it as my privilege to help you fight your battle. To that purpose I want to devote my life. I believe that the very existence of mankind is justified when it is based on the moral foundation of the Bible. Whoever dares lift a hand against you and your enterprise here should be fought against. (...) I shall fight with you against any of these influences. But remember that it is your battle. My part, which I say I feel to be a privilege, is only to help you.”
– Orde Wingate, English/British commander of the Special Night Squads. 1903 – 1944 AD
Israel My Glory: Charles Orde Wingate. December 1992/January 1993.
"We have followed with pride the great constructive work of the Jewish community in Palestine, for we know that a major part of this community consists of Jews who came from Poland and once were citizens of the Polish Republic. (...) We know that a large proportion of the Jewish people consider Palestine as their national home, where they wish to establish their own national life. In view of our own close historic association with the Jewish people, we cannot help sympathizing with these aspirations. (...) The reestablishment of a Jewish state more than two thousand years after its extinction is a fact of such historic import that it should receive worldwide attention. My delegation and my government welcome it, and are fully conscious of the great historic significance of the act."
– Oskar R. Lange, German-Polish economist and diplomat. 1904 – 1965 AD
Future government of Palestine – GA debate – Verbatim record. Held in the General Assembly Hall at Flushing Meadow, New York, on Wednesday, 26 November 1947, at 3 p.m.
"Indeed it is difficult for all other nations of the world to live in the presence of Jews. It is irritating and most uncomfortable. The Jews embarrass the world as they have done things which are beyond the imaginable. (...) They violate the rules of history by staying alive, totwally at odds of common sense, and historical evidence. They outlived all their former enemies, including vast empires such as the Romans and Greeks. They angered the world with their return to their homeland after 2000 years of exile and after the murder of six million of their brothers and sisters. They aggravated manking by building, in the wink of an eye, a democratic State which others were not able to create in even hundreds of years. (...) (...) They have had their hands in every progressive human endeavor, whether in science, medicine, psuchology, or any other discipline, while totally out of proportions to their actual numbers. (...) So the nations of the world decided once again to go out of 'their way' in order to stick it to the Jews. The goal: to prove that Jews are as immoral and guilty of massacre and genocide as some of they themselves are. (...) All of this in order to hide and justify their own failure to even protest when six million Jews were brought to the slaughterhouse of Auschwitz and Dachau; so as to wipe out the moral consequences of which the Jews remind them, and they found a stick. (...) If there is any honor in all the world that I should like, it would be to be an honorary Jewish citizen."
– A.L Rowse, Cornish historian and author. 1903 – 1997 AD
Steinberg, D. (2008): Reflexions. Page 26-28.
(BEWARE: Lucien Rebatet was also a notorious Jew-hater)
"The cause of Israel is that of all Westerners. One would have astonished me if they had prophesied to me in 1939 that I would one day wish for the victory of a Zionist army. But this is the solution that I find reasonable today. (…) I savor the historical paradox that led the Jews of Israel to defend all patriotic, moral, military values that they had most violently fought against for a century in their adoptive countries.”
– Lucien Rebatet, French author and journalist. 1903 – 1972 AD
Bloch, M. (2010): Mémoire. L'extrême-Droite Française Face À La Question Israélienne. Page 33. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“I feel certain that, up to date, the Jews with modern ideas and modern machinery can be of far more use to us than a country slightly backward, to say the least of it. (…) Do not let us forget that the Jews become increasingly useful, because they are the great inventors and scientists, and they have been of the very greatest help to us during the war. (…) I have felt for 25 years that they ought to have a home. As the persecution of the Jews has gone on, I have remained convinced that Palestine is the main centre where they ought to be. (…) Anybody must see that the Jews cannot feel really happy or safe in Palestine unless they have some certainty that we would always back them, and back them with fairness. Since the Jews have been in Palestine, the Arabs are in many ways better off than they ever were. Hundreds of thousands more Arabs have gone into Palestine because they find more work there, they find greater comforts and usually greater opportunities for themselves in the future.”
– William Teeling, Irish/British MP (Conservative). 1903 – 1975 AD
UK Parliament (1946): Palestine. Volume 419. Debated on Thursday 21 February 1946.
“An integral part of the racial history of Mediterranean peoples is that of the Jews, who have spread widely throughout the world, and whose cultural position within the ranks of the white race is unique. (…) The Children of Israel, who formed the basic stock of the present-day Jews, lived continuously and exclusively in Palestine from about 1200 B.C. (…) The original Children of Israel must have been brunet Mediterraneans, like most Arabs and Mesopotamians. (…) Since the ethnic solidarity of the Jews is remarkable for its strength and constancy, so the Jewish look seemsto be one of the most noticeable and most easily distinguished of characteristic facial expressions found within the racial family of white people.”
– Carleton S. Coon, American anthropologist. 1904 – 1981 AD
Carleton, S.C. (1939): The Races of Europe. Page 432.
“We as Christians are to hold in high esteem this people who bears such a close resemblance to Jesus. The sight of Jews as an oppressed and afflicted people crossing the face of the earth, despised and rejected, should make us think of those words of Jesus about the destitute and the needy: 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me' (Matthew 25:40).”
– Basilea Schlink, Hessian/German Lutheran nun. 1904 – 1981 AD
Brown, M.L. (1992): Our Hands Are Stained with Blood.
“Israel is developing the very model of a socialist society to which we in our French party aspire. (…) We know the people of Israel well. We know of its courage and its resolution, the courage with which the Israelis, day in day out, attach themselves to the enhancement of a tough soil, the courage with which, surrounded by hostile populations, they maintain the integrity of their territory. We know of their attachment to human rights and the fundamental principles of democracy, principles of which they, more than anyone else, know the true value.”
– Guy Mollet, Prime Minister of the French Republic. 1905 – 1975 AD
Turner, B. (2012): Suez 1956. The Inside Story of the First Oil War.
US Department of State (1949): Near and Middle Eastern Series. Page 140.
“I have always wanted the Jewish problem to find a definitive solution within the framework of humanity, and still do, but since no social evolution can avoid the stage of national independence, we must rejoice that an autonomous Israeli state has legitimated the hopes and combats of Jews throughout the world. (…) For the Jews, it is the crowning of their sufferings and their heroic struggle; for all of us it signifies a concrete progress towards a humanity where man will be the future of man.”
– Jean Paul Sartre, Alsatian/French philosopher. 1905 – 1980 AD
Contat, M. & Rybalka, M. (197): Les Écrits de Sartre.
“Because Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah of the Israelite-Jewish people, the line of our forebears reaches back before the appearance of Jesus Christ into the people of Israel. Western history is by God’s will inextricably bound up with the people of Israel, not only genetically but in an honest, unceasing encounter. (…) Driving out the Jews from the West must result in driving out Christ with them, for Jesus Christ was a Jew.”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Silesian/German anti-Nazi pastor. 1906 – 1945 AD
Neuhaus, R.J. (2006): Bonhoeffer Today. In: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life. Page 65.
“The Jews have waited for more than thirty years [for a Jewish State] and it is wrong to make them wait any longer. The Jewish people has suffered many hardships throughout their history, culminating in the Holocaust. It is right for them to have a homeland of their own. It is important in a region as strategically vital as the Middle East for there to be a nation committed to democratic government. (…) [Imagine] a nation committed to the democratic system. The new Jewish state can be such a place, we should strengthen it in its infancy by prompt recognition.”
– Clark Clifford, American Secretary of Defense. 1906 – 1998 AD
Acacia, J. (2009): Clark Clifford. The Wise Man of Washington.
'It may well be Israel, not the United States, that provides the best hope for building a jurisprudence that can protect civil liberties against the demands of national security. For it is Israel that has been facing real and serious threats to its security for the last 40 years and seems destined to continue facing such threats in the forseeable future. The nations of the world, faced with sudden threats to their own security, will look to Israel's experience in handling its continuing security crisis, and may well find in that experience the expertise to reject the security claims that Israel has exposed as baseless and the courage to preserve the civil liberties that Israel has preserved without detriment to its security.”
– Justice William J. Brennan, Irish-American judge. 1906 – 1997 AD
Dershowitz, A. (2008): Israel's Gift to the World.
“In order to confer their lost nationality upon exiled Jews , the British with the help of the League of Nations began to rehabilitate the old Hebrew country, Palestine, with its long lost children. The Jews had maintained their race, religion, culture and language; and all they wanted was their natural territory to complete their nationality. The reconstruction of the Hebrew nation on Palestine is just an affirmation of the fact that country, race, religion, culture and language must exist unequivocally together to form the nation idea.”
– Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, Marathi/Indian nationalist. 1906 – 1973 AD
Elst, K. (2001): The Saffron Swastika. Page 159-160.
“To allow anti-Semitism to run rampant in the UN would be to pave the way for another Hitlerian era in world history. We can make an act of contrition for Christian sins against the Jews in the past but we Christians would do better than that by trying our best to prevent the Holocaust, the murder of the six million Jews, from ever happening again.”
– John B. Sheerin, Irish-American Catholic editor and columnist. 1907 – 1992 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 12.
“We have one moral responsibility in the Middle East, and that is Israel. We must make it absolutely clear that if we withdraw militarily from the Middle East we are committed to the defence of Israel against invasion. I should like that laid down from the very start of all we do.”
– Richard Crossman, English/British Minister of Housing and Local Government (Labour). 1907 – 1974 AD
UK Parliament (1958): Middle East. Volume 591. Debated on Wednesday 16 July 1958.
“The Jewish nation has the right to the land from which it was expelled. (...) Poland had an historical interest in the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine."
– Ksawery Pruszyński, Polish diplomat. 1907 – 1950 AD
Kozłowski, M. (2004): Polska - Izrael: Przeszłość, Dzień Dzisiejszy, Perspektywy. Zeszyty Akademii. Page 7. [Translated by Irena Kalhousová].
Szaynok, B. (2009): “Israel” in the Events of March 1968’, in 1968: Forty Years After. (Polin Vol. 21). Page 18.
“(BEWARE: Tixier-Vignancour held a ministerial position within the collaborationist Vichy government)
The creation of Israel is truly the return of a dispersed people... nothing is more normal. (...) Never would the Jewish State have manifested the slightest act, the slightest sentiment of imperialism if, between 1948 and 1968, no shots had been fired on its frontiers."
– Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour, French lawyer and politician. 1907 – 1989 AD
Wajsman, P. & Teissedre, R.F. (1969): Nos politiciens face au conflit israélo-arabe. Page 63-64. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"My countrymen greatly admire the progress made by your people. You have met and mastered monumental problems of economic survival. You have shown all the world how to use science and technology to improve man's life on the planet. Today, Israel is a vital, prosperous land, a symbol of the courage and the strength of her people."
– Lyndon B. Johnson, Scots-Irish American President of the United States. 1908 – 1973 AD
Johnson, L.B. (1964): Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Minister Eshkol of Israel. June 1, 1964. In: United States President (1965): Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States - Volume 1. Page 377.
"The Jewish people had been closely linked with Palestine for a considerable period in history. (...) During the last war, the Jewish people underwent exceptional sorrow and suffering. Without any exaggeration, this sorrow and suffering are indescribable. It is difficult to express them in dry statistics on the Jewish victims of the fascist aggressors. The Jews in the territories where the Hitlerites held sway, were subjected to almost complete physical annihilation. (...) The fact that no western European State has been able to ensure the defence of the elementary rights of the Jewish people (...) explains the aspirations of the Jews to establish their own state. It would be unjust not to take this into consideration and to deny the right of the Jewish people to realize this aspiration. It would be unjustifiable to deny this right to the Jewish people."
– Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union. 1909 – 1989 AD
Document 8. In: Jacon Blaustein Institute (2008): The 1947 United Nations Decision to Partition Palestine.
Wistrich, R.S. (1990): Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism in the Contemporary World. Page 20.
Israeli Foreign Ministry (1975):Speech to the United Nations General Assembly, by Ambassador Chaim Herzog, November 10, 1975.
"In view of the greatest tragedy which has befallen the Jewish people, help should be extended to those Jews who are trying to realize their national aspirations in Palestine."
– Edward Osóbka-Morawski, Prime Minister of the Polish People's Republic. 1909 – 1997 AD
UN General Assembly (1947): Official Records of the Special Session of the General Assembly. Volume 3. Page 244.
“Jews are the only people who authentically believe in morality in politics. (…) The moderate reactions of the [world’s] moral conscience are despicable to me.”
– Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright. 1909 – 1994 AD
Ionescu, E. (1967). In: Combat. 1967-06-02. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“The question is no longer whether the United States should contribute to assuring Israel’s
survival and prosperity; that goes without saying. Not only must Americans admire Israel, there
can be no doubt that we have an interest in, and special responsibility for, that valiant nation.”
– George Ball, American diplomat and banker from Iowa. 1909 – 1994 AD
Reich, B. (1984): The United States and Israel. Page 179.
"Our military convoy is heading from Iraq to Egypt [to fight Rommel's forces]. We pass through Jordan and Cisjordan. I see these nice and clean, well-maintained Jewish farms. Jewish men and women come to the roadside and wave at us full of smiles. The women seem like mermaids and fairies. Then we drive through Arab areas that look pretty shabby. Arab children surround us, begging for cigarettes. Our convoy stops near Haifa. In the evening my fellow British officers and I went to visit the Jewish city of Haifa. The bars here serve the best orange juice I have ever tasted. Someone tells me that the oranges used are grown at the local Jewish farms."
– Muhammad Khan, Punjab/Pakistani officer and author. 1910 – 1999 AD
Khan, M. (???): Bejang Amud. [Translated by FaujHistorian on Pakistan Defence Forums].
“Zionism is no different than the other twentieth century struggles for the recognition of a national identity and self-determination by a people in other countries, we call it nationalism and praise it as patriotic, but when it comes to Israel it is branded as racism. The resolution is another one of a long list of attempts to destroy the State of Israel by the very organization which helped bring it into being. As Americans we should urge our representatives in Congress to take steps to withhold financial support. The withholding of funds is not a form of blackmail. It would rather be a refusal to support financially an immoral act. (…) Israel, the fruit of Zionism, has demonstrated by an even-handed treatment of its racial, cultural and religious minorities that its basic philosophy is completely non-racist."
– Arnold T. Olson, Danish-American evangelic pastor. 1910 – 2003 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 40.
"Israel was the birthplace of the Bible, and the homeland of our Redeemer. Without Israel we could have neither salvation nor redemption. In fulfillment of the Bible's prophecy, Jerusalem was restored after 2000 years. But now new forces are rising to destroy this prophecy. What is at stake is the vision of God's redemption. We must not allow Israel to become an orphan of nations. Israel cannot, indeed must not, be forsaken in her time of need."
– Abraham Ikuro Teshima, Japanese Christian businessman. 1910 – 1973 AD
Jewish Affairs - Volume 30 - 1975 - Page 31.
“I have been accused of being a Zionist—a Christian Zionist—by some of my co-religionists in Israel and in the administered areas. I would like to take this means of thanking them for this compliment... I will stop being a Zionist when I see some evidence anywhere of a willingness to let Jews live in complete peace and security under Gentiles and some evidence of a country or countries willing to absorb all the Jews that other countries will not. Since there is no such evidence and no such country, Zion or Israel has to be the homeland of the Jews.”
– George Douglas Young, Scottish-Canadian Presbyterian scholar and educator. 1910 – 1980 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 49.
"In Israel, free men and women are every day demonstrating the power of courage and faith.
Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, pundits claimed the new country could never survive. Today,
no one questions that. Israel is a land of stability and democracy in a region of tyranny and unrest."
– Ronald Reagan, Irish-American President of the United States (GOP). 1911 – 2004 AD
Reagan, R. (1986): Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Page 345.
“What we all want is for it to be recognised throughout the world that Israel is there to stay, and that Israel is a free and sovereign and independent nation as of right. And we want Israel to be allowed to divert that money that now must be put into defence to be used for the further increase of the miracles it has wrought in the arid land to which it has gone. Sometimes, it almost makes one despair when one thinks of what has been wrung from the desert, when one thinks of the forests which have grown and are growing, where previously erosion held sway, where one sees the factories and industries springing up where previously was nothing but nomadic wandering, where one sees not two but ten blades of grass where only one grew before.”
– John Gorton, Australian Prime Minister of Australia (Liberal). 1911 – 2002 AD
Gorton, J. (1969): Speech at Anniversary of Independence of Israel.
“The charge of racism against Israel is so manifestly absurd, one's first reaction is not even to dignify the charge with substantive response. But recent discussions and inquiries make it clear that there is much ignorance and confusion about the nature of Israeli society: the result of massive propaganda efforts designed by Israel's adversaries to support their absurd charges.”
– Hubert Humphrey, Vice President of the United States (Dem). 1911 – 1978 AD
Humphrey, H. (1975): Senate Speech on December 3 1975.
“Today is a time when cultures and peoples all over the world are involved, some militantly, in the struggle for identity and self-determination. Israel is one of many nations so engaged. Her distinctive characteristic is not of race, but of religion. Should any people or nation be permitted to suffer discrimination and exclusion because of its faith or heritage, then no one is free and each of us is in danger.”
– Philip McNairy, Irish-American Bishop of Minnesota. 1911 – 1989AD
“It is the task of our generation to stand firmly alongside Israel, even if it in harms our politics elsewhere. The Israeli nation struggles for the existence of its small state wrested from the desert sand, fights under scorching heat for its right to life – behind it the sea and around it the hatred of its enemies. And us?”
– Axel Springer, Hamburgian/German founder of Axel Springer SE. 1912 – 1985 AD
Springer, A. (1973). In: Die Welt, 7. Mai 1973. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Without the contribution of the Jews, neither could our Central European culture have emerged, nor the Christian West as a whole. Especially we, as Christians, owe the Jews very much. The Old Testament, also a substantial part of our Holy Scripture, is the foundation upon which we stand. The Christian faith has its roots in the history of the people of Israel. (…) Israel, too, is a successor state to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. (…) The Israels [find] themselves in a very dangerous situation. In the entire Middle Eastern area, they have no friends. They only have the support of the Americans, that’s all. (…) Israel is not located in Luxembourg, but rather in the Middle East. The Jews have very few children in comparance. People who have a deep interest, like me, in Israel being saved, realize that the only option is Israel’s integration into the Middle East.”
– Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen, Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 1912 – 2011 AD
Voß, D.H. (2012): Otto von Habsburg. Sein Auftrag Paneuropa. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"Both Jews and blacks respect and have a personal stake in the spread of democracy. Surrounded by the autocratic, despotic countries of the Middle East, Israel alone adheres to the democratic principles that are a precondition to freedom. Israel, as a progressive and democratic nation, is the ultimate reflection of traditions which run throughout Jewish history and culture. Wherever Jews are, they stand firm for the extension of human rights for all. (...) Six million Jews were annihilated during World War II for no other reason than they were Jews. And yet this painful, tragic lesson has not been sufficient to convince mankind of the stupidity of racial and religious hatred. Today anti-Semitism persists in the hearts of many men and many countries, awaiting the opportunity to rise to the surface disguised as anti-Zionism. Blacks well understand that where anti-Semitism exists, racial prejudice ultimately follows. Those who have historically felt hatred, contempt and superiority towards Jews, have looked on Negroes with hatred, contempt and superiority."
– Bayard Rustin, African-American activist. 1912 – 1987 AD
Rustin, B. (1973): The Importance of Israel's Survival. In: The Miami Times. (1973-10-26)
“As soon as the Israeli army entered Lebanon, all of Lebanon should've risen to fight along their side. If I had a military formation I'd fight right now alongside the Israeli army. Today in my newspaper, I was thanking the Israeli army. (…) This army is saving us and the world, and stamping out the snake’s head that head called terrorism, but I’m also sad because we’re not the ones saving Lebanon alongside the Israelians from that filth called bloody Palestinian racism. (…) In the name of Lebanon, I’ll tell you this is the only salvation army.”
– Said Akl, Lebanese Maronite poet, author and philosopher. 1912 AD
“It is perfectly correct that, for years, I have unequivocally expressed my admiration and my
support for the State of Israel and my adherence as a non-Jew to the cause of Zionism.”
– Jacques Soustelle, French Governor-General of Algeria. 1912 – 1990 AD
Soustelle, J. (1964): Sur une route nouvelle.
"It is a grievous thought that a people who, in our lifetime, have been victims of the most terrifying form of racism the world has ever seen, should now be unjustly accused of racism themselves. (…) A long history of suffering has made Jews particularly apprehensive of the threat of horrible things to come. We ought to share that apprehension and fight the slightest sign of hatred or of contempt for Jews on the part of others and most of all on the part of ourselves.”
– Peter Leo Gerety, Irish-American Archbishop of Newark. 1912 AD
The Reporter. 1974. Page 3.
“[Zionism is] that immemorial longing of the Jewish people for a homeland which runs like a golden thread through the Jewish scriptures and liturgy. To label this longing 'racist’, is a political ploy that perverts the clear meaning of Zionism and insults our common humanity."
– Edward Flannery, Irish-American Catholic priest. 1912 – 1998 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 3.
"Americans admire a people who can scratch a desert and produce a garden. The Israelis have shown qualities that Americans identify with: guts, patriotism, idealism, a passion for freedom. I have seen it. I know. I believe that."
– Richard Nixon, American President of the United States. 1913 – 1994 AD
Burns, A.F. (1978): Reflections of an Economic Policy Maker. Page 19.
"We have often made commitments that we consider Israel a necessary state in the Middle East, both as to integrity of territory and its existence. (...) The United States (…) has been proud of its association with the State of Israel. We shall continue to stand with Israel. We are committed to Israel's survival and security. The United States for a quarter of a century has had an excellent relationship with the State of Israel. Americans and Israelis have both been inspired by moral aims. Indeed, my commitment to the security and to the future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage."
– Gerald Ford, American President of the United States. 1913 – 2006 AD
Time (1975): The Nation: Gerald Ford: They Will See Something Is Being Done. January 20 1975.
Ford, G. Remarks of Welcome to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. September 10, 1974. In: United States President (1974): Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Page 113.
"I [turn] to the relationship of my countrymen with that young, brave state which has rebuilt itself from blood and tears in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. I am particularly pleased to inform you that again the young German generation in particular faces the State of Israel with a deep respect and an interest that is given to only few other countries. The admiration for the pioneering labor, for the determinedness of self-assertion, but also the insight that Israel is in the same camp of the global political confrontation as we are, all these factors play a role in the sympathy for this young state, whereas the fact that it is a Jewish state is not even the critical factor."
– Willy Brandt, Lübeckian Federal Chancellor of West Germany (SPD). 1913 – 1992 AD
Brandt, W. (1961): Rede des Regierenden Bürgermeisters von Berlin vor dem Herzl-Institut in New York am 19. März 1961. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"We never had hostile intentions towards the Jewish people. (…) Jews like other nations have the right to have an independent state. I feel that our attitude towards history, to all that we endured in common, constitutes the best proof of, and attests to our attitude towards the Jewish people."
– Edward Gierek, First Secretary of the Polish People's Republic. 1914 – 1993 AD
Govrin, Y. (2011): Israel's Relations with the East European States. Page 190.
“France and Israel now face similar challenges and similar foes, and we should co-operate openly – and quickly. We should work together and we can. (…) The policies of France and Israel are closely connected. That this will continue to be so is guaranteed by public opinion in both countries. The citizens of both France and Israel understand the importance of this close relationship between them. “
– Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury, Prime Minister of the French Republic. 1914 – 1993 AD
Kroenig, M. (2011): Exporting the Bomb. Page 100.
“Asked to make a list of the men who have most dominated the thinking of the modern world, many educated people would name Freud, Einstein, Marx and Darwin. Of these four, only Darwin was not Jewish. In a world where Jews are only a tiny percentage of the population, what is the secret of the disproportionate importance the Jews have had in the history of Western culture?”
– Ernest van den Haag, Dutch-American sociologist. 1914 – 2002 AD
Source unknown.
“[I was] introduced to true Socialism by a wonderful old Jewish landlady in Liverpool. She could not quite teach me Yiddish, but I learned a great many other things. I owe a great debt to the Jewish people.”
– Michael Foot, English/British Labour MP. 1914 – 2010 AD
The Jewish Chronicle (2010): Michael Foot. 'I owe a great debt to Jews'.
“The young people of Israel will help shape the coming half century, and I for one wanna see them attain the know-how and the skills they need. (…) Many visitors from newly emerging nations of Africa and Asia come to study the society of Israel. It will help them solve similar problems back home. (…) The figure of this country hits you the minute you see its uniformed men and women: hard as steel in combat… (…) Only yesterday they were on the run, fleeing Nazis and other enemies, and now they stand firmly rooted in the soil they revived through their sweat and blood. Today they hold open the gate for the oppressed Jews of many lands and to adventurous spirits from the Free World who wish to join in the task half-finished. With one hand, the people of Israel protect their hearts and homes, and with the other, they build a better society. Only 14 years old on this independence day, Israel has a long way to go. In the spirit of human brotherhood we Americans salute the pioneers of Israel steadfast and strong."
– Frank Sinatra, Italian-American singer. 1915 – 1998 AD
Sinatra, F. (1962): Israel’s 14th Independence Day in 1962.
“Israel’s name refers in due time to the sons of Isaac, his offspring, a people, a kingdom, a modern republic, a collective being, a moral person, the Jewish soul, trembling, stubborn, sorrowful, invincible, which was the first interlocutor of God on this earth, it is four thousand years old and has, since then, found no one to converse with. (…) You, the insoluble nation, cross the world’s history without merging with it, just as the Rhone passes through Lake Geneva without their waters mingling: it enters from the east, and it is reborn in the west without losing its name along the way; storms have not dispersed it, the liquid mass hasn’t stopped its course; as such, the river-swimmer jumping into the lake remains, as it is, unchanged, when he left; and same for you, Israel, you do not change.”
– André Frossard, French journalist and essayist. 1915 – 1995 AD
Frossard, A. (2014): Ecoute Israël. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“The Jews of Palestine are a microcosm of the civilizations of the world. Seventy-five per cent of them have concentrated in the plains, of which the greatest stretches from 118 miles down the coast from Lebanon to Gaza. Here they bought sand dunes and swamps from the Arabs (who thought them fools) and transformed them into productive farms. Here they built Tel Aviv, a modern brick and cement city of more then 200,000 and the greatest all-Jewish city in the world. It became the center of Jewish manufacturing, commerce and finance and of an ebullient cultural renaissance in the graphic arts, music and the theatre. (…) The standard of living of the Palestine Arabs has in fact been raised above that of other Arab countries. Sharing in the benefits of Zionist enterprise and inflated wartime food prices, the Arab peasant has paid off his debts [to Arab landowners] for the first time in centuries. But as his misery has eased, the Arab peasant has had more leisure to indulge in political sentiments and has become more anti-Zionist than ever.”
– Dana A. Schmidt, German-American NY Times reporter. 1915 – 1994 AD
Schmidt, D.A. (1948): The Two Worlds of Palestine.
“Every spiritual blessing I’ve ever enjoyed I owe to one people, the Jewish people: without them, no patriarchs, no apostles, no Bible and no Saviour. (...)The nations who show mercy to the Jews will receive mercy from God; the nations who deny mercy to the Jews will be denied mercy from God. (...) For example, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Spain was the dominant nation of Europe, with a high level of culture, a powerful army and navy, and an empire that spanned both hemispheres. But within a century of expelling all Jews from her territories, Spain declined to a struggling, second-rate power. (...) Britain emerged victorious from two World Wars, retaining intact an empire that was perhaps the most extensive in human history. But in 1947–8, as the mandatory power over Palestine, Britain opposed and attempted to thwart the rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation with her own state. (...) Today, less than a generation later, Britain—like Spain—is a struggling, second-rate power.”
– Derek Prince, Anglo-Indian Bible teacher. 1915 – 2003 AD
Mitchell, C. (2013): Dateline Jerusalem. Page 114.
Prince, D. (2013): The Key to the Middle East.
“Yes, the French people is the friend of the people of Israel. Still marked by the memory of the black years and the cruel trials of the Jewish communities, the French people's single heart vibrated at the establishment of the State of Israel. The Holocaust is in its mind inseparable from your rebirth. It has not stopped since then to admire the labors that also been the sign of your vitality, of your faith in the future. Henceforth, Israel lives and we, France, will not spare any more efforts than yesterday in order to ensure that its right of existence is universally and unequivocally accepted and thus, at the same time, that the right to hold the means of this very existence is recognized. I say, for the sake of balance, that we owe France, Europe, Western civilization, which we claim as our own and which we have formed, to the wide track of the Jewish people through three millennia."
– François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic. 1916 – 1996 AD
Discours de M. François Mitterrand, Président de la République, à la Knesset, Jérusalem, jeudi 4 mars 1982. [Translated by C. Nooij].
he characteristic of this situation is the declared aim of one side not to win concessions from the other. Their demand is that Israel should cease to exist - indeed has never existed. (…) What had to be sought was not merely how to avoid war but to create the conditions of peace. One condition of a lasting peace must be the recognition that Israel has a right to live. Israel had been for nearly 20 years a member of the United Nations entitled to the respect and protection of the United Nations."
– Harold Wilson, English Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 1916 – 1995 AD
The Times June 1st 1967.
“We are not neutral on the question of the sovereignty of Israel. The rights of Jews to a national homeland and to live there in peace are not to be denied. The right of Israel to defend her borders and preserve intact the great democracy which flourishes there is not a matter on which any Australian Government has been neutral.”
– Gough Whitlam, Australian Prime Minister of Australia. 1916 AD
Australia Israel Labor Dialogue: Hon. E G Whitlam, Prime Minister of Australia, 6 May 1973.
“[We may not] abandon Israel in its hour of dire need. (…) It was because of our lack of foresight between 1933 and 1939 that hundreds of thousands of European Jews had to flee the continent. Our task is not ended with Israel’s creation. We cannot now condemn to death a state which we ourselves have created.”
- Diomède Catroux, French politician. 1916 – 2008 AD
“The European man does not live in Europe, where the peoples are not awake. He lives – this is a paradox and a scandal – in Israel. The creation of the state of Israel is the only payoff, the only positive result of the Second World War.”
– Pierre Boutang, French philosopher, poet and journalist. 1916 – 1998 AD
Mammone, A. & Godin, E. & Jenkins, B. (...): Varieties of Right-Wing Extremism in Europe. Page 126.
"Israel was not created in order to disappear — Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom."
– John F. Kennedy, Irish-American President of the United States. 1917 – 1963 AD
Speech by Senator John F. Kennedy, Zionists of America Convention, Statler Hilton Hotel, New York, NY.
"What is peace for Israel? It means that Israel lives in the region with her Arab neighbours, in security and safety. To such logic, I say yes. It means that Israel lives within her borders, secure against any aggression. To such logic, I say yes. It means that Israel obtains all kinds of guarantees that ensure those two factors. To this demand, I say yes."
– Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt. 1918 – 1981 AD
Sadat, A. (1977): Statement to the Knesset by President Sadat, 20 November 1977
(BEWARE: Mandela supported the Palestinian narrative, falsely accusing Israel of 'apartheid')
"We recognize the legitimacy of Zionism as a Jewish nationalism. We insist on the right of the state of Israel to exist within secure borders. (...) In my experience I have found Jews to be more broadminded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice."
– Nelson Mandela, Xhosa President of South Africa. 1918 – 2013 AD
Ahren, R. (2013): Nelson Mandela was close to Jews, resolutely loyal to Palestinians. In: Times of Israel.
"There is a striking point that runs through Jewish history as a whole. Western civilization was born in the Middle East, and the Jews were at its crossroads. In the heyday of Rome, the Jews were close to the Empire’s center. When power shifted eastward, the Jewish center was in Babylon; when it skipped to Spain, there again were the Jews. When in the Middle Ages the center of civilization moved into Central Europe, the Jews were waiting for it in Germany and Poland. The rise of the United States to the leading world power found Judaism focused there. And now, today, when the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward the Old World and the East rises to renewed importance, there again are the Jews in Israel…"
– Huston Smith, American professor of religious studies. 1919 – 2016 AD
Smith, H. (1958): The Religions of Man.
"The new state [is] one of the many miracles of this century. (...) Israel is a country of freedom and goodwill, but it is also a country where one earns his bread in the literal sweat of his face."
– Aya Zikken, Dutch author. 1919 – 2016 AD
Zikken, A. (1967): Wees nieuwsgierig en leef langer. Page 69, 84. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“I like the Jews, they are talented and have a strong will to survive. (…) We are
also a weak Asian nation, dedicated to peace but living in a dangerous world.”
– Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress. 1920 – 2014 AD
Caryl, C. (2008): An Asian Star Is Born. In: ChinaFile.
“The Knesset serves as a loyal reflection of Israeli society. The large percentage of new immigrants serves as proof and testament of dynamism. The presence of minorities, mainly the Arab minority, serves as proof of ethnic and cultural pluralism that is worthy of admiration. (…) Italy and Israel have many things in common: A history that goes back thousands of years and which feeds the cultures, religions and civil values of society in our countries; a more recent past which drew inspiration from the ideal of national independence; a present characterized by a democratic and pluralistic state that is based on law; economic and social advancement and, ultimately, the aspiration to establish a future of peace in the world. We can and must work together since we belong to the same region of the world and because we want to promote the Mediterranean Basin as an economic and cultural center, as was the case throughout history.”
– Carlo Ciampi, Prime Minister and President of Italy. 1920 AD
Address of the President of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to the Israeli Knesset on October 12 1999.
“Jews ardently love [Jerusalem] and in every age venerate her memory, abundant as she is in many remains and monuments from the time of David who chose her as the capital, and of Solomon who built the Temple there. Therefore they turn their minds to her daily, one may say, and point to her as the symbol of their nation. (...) May our Jewish brothers and sisters, who have been led 'out from among the peoples and gathered from the foreign lands' and brought back 'to their own country', to the land of their ancestors, be able to live there in peace and security on the 'mountains of Israel', guarded by the protection of God, their true shepherd. (...) For the Jewish people who live in the State of Israel and who preserve in that land such precious testimonies to their history and their faith, we must ask for the desired security and the due tranquillity that is the prerogative of every nation and condition of life and of progress for every society.”
– Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła), Polish Pope of the Catholic Church. 1920 – 2005 AD
Pope John Paul II (1984): Redemptionis Anno.
D'Costa, G. (2019): The New Catholic Zionism. In: Mosaic. September 9 2019.
Kalhousová, I. (2019): Our Jews, Our Israel!. Page 122.
"This nation [of Israel] suffered inhuman suffering that has brought them on the verge of complete annihilation. And how can one believe that the only democratically ruled country in the Middle East wishes to continue armed conflict? (…) It must be stated once more; Israel has never started any war with its Arab neighbors. Israel has never annexed any land from the Palestinians. They never incorporated anything from the West Bank - as it is now called - into the Israeli state.”
– Kåre Kristiansen, Norwegian MP and Minister of Petroleum and Energy. 1920 – 2005 AD
“It is clear that Israel has the right to live and it is clear, that the Palestinians deny them this – that’s the tragedy we are facing.”
– Gidske Anderson, Norwegian politician. 1921 – 1993 AD
“I have always admired the Jews enormously, and often used to wish that I were Jewish in the course of my acting career. ”
– Peter Sallis, English actor. 1921 – 2017 AD
Sallis, P. (2008): Fading Into The Limelight.
“I believe that the Jews have made a contribution to the human condition out of all proportion to their numbers: I believe them to be an immense people. Not only have they supplied the world with two leaders of the stature of Jesus Christ and Karl Marx, but they have even indulged in the luxury of following neither one nor the other.”
- Sir Peter Freiherr von Ustinov, German-English author, filmmaker, actor and comedian. 1921 – 2004 AD
Sampark (1999): Journal of Global Understanding - Volume 1. 1999. Page 148.
“I could not have procured the intelligence [I got from Israel] with five CIAs. The ability of the U.S. Air Force in particular, and the Army in general, to defend whatever position it has in NATO owes more to the Israeli intelligence input than it does to any other single source of intelligence, be it satellite reconnaissance, be it technology intercept, or what have you.”
- George Keegan, American air force general. 1921 – 1993 AD
Grose, P. (1986): BETTER THAN 5 C.I.A.'S. In: New York Times. March 9 1986.
“Israel is the only country in the region that possesses a stable and civilized political system, wherein democracy, human rights and liberty are maintained. Not perfect of course, with countless breaches, but principally it is a civilized country. There's no better proof than the fact that the Palestinians in Jerusalem can openly and unhinderedly take a pro-PLO position. Every Arab spokesman within the range of Israeli authorities, who sues the Israeli government for violating human rights, provides arguments arguing against his own case. In Israel, there is freedom of religion and of expression; the Arab citizens of Israel enjoy pretty much the same rights as the Jews do. (...) Arabs are exempted from military conscription, a form of positive discrimination. The country is full of mosques and the clergy is paid by the Jewish State. Were you even aware of this? (...) Israel knows a broad spectre of political parties with extremists on both sides. In the Knesset, there are Arabs. The strongest point is in my opinion that all these fundamental rights have been maintained despite the circumstances. That is, in defiance of the state of war proclaimed by the Arabs with their invasion in 1948 and has only been resversed by Egypt. The political and religious liberty is maintained in spite of the Palestinians and in spite of the Intifada.”
- Jan Pen, Dutch economist, professor and columnist. 1921 – 2010 AD
Pen, J. (1991): Een oorlog voor Israël. In: Hollands Maandblad. Jaargang 1991. Pagina 518-529. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“We must reject anti-Semitism just as much when clothed with seeming legality at the United Nations as when crudely exhibited on a neighborhood street corner.”
– Terrence James Cooke, Irish-American cardinal. 1921 – 1983 AD
Sabel, R. (2009): The Campaign to Delegitimize Israel with the False Charge of Apartheid. Page 5.
"The Jews deserve a state of their own after wandering around homeless for thousands of years. I just want to offer my help."
– George Beurling, Swedish-Canadian fighter pilot. 1921 – 1948 AD
Schmidt, D.W. (2011): Partners Together in this Great Enterprise. Page 313.
“Zionism has historically been a movement concerned with the liberation of the Jewish people from oppression, including racial oppression." Further, he defined Zionism as "a complex historical process, expressing many different aspirations of the Jewish people over the years, and (…) subject to many misunderstandings and interpretations. None of these could appropriately be used to condemn Zionism as racism."
– Philip A. Potter, Dominica Methodist church pastor. 1921 – 2015 AD
Nicholls, W. (1995): Christian Antisemitism. A History of Hate. Page 375.
"I haven't come here to defend the policy of Israel. I've come here to defend the right of Israel to exist and to defend the seven million Jews inhabiting the State of Israel from the threat of destruction. Because that is the real presumption of legitimization to which they are continually subjected, which becomes all intolerable when international organizations such as the Committee of Inquiry of the United Nations uses double standards where Israel's misdeeds are concerned, or those of its enemy Hamas and Hezbollah."
– Raffaele la Capria, Italian author. 1922 – 2022 AD
Per la verità, per Israele. Manifestazione i Roma. 7 Ottobro 2010. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Ben-Gurion is no less than Enoch, and Moshe Dayan no less than Joab: these new guardians, each one with his own prophecies or – at least – clear vision, built a guardianship-state in the land of Palestine and called to it all the Children of Israel, of whom two million live in New York and the other eight million in the rest of the world. And the most important aspect of the miracle is this: the guardianship-state of Israel, with its two million and some inhabitants in that long and narrow land, like it or not, now governs and acts in the name of all the 12 million Jews scattered around the world.”
– Jalal Al-e Ahmad, Iranian thinker. 1923 – 1969 AD
Al-e Ahmad, J. (1963): The Israeli Republic. [Translated by Samuel Thrope].
“I don’t want any doubts to exist on which side the sympathy of our faction (Anti-Revolutionary Party) lies. That’s because of what has happened at present, but also because this cannot be separated from the suffering this nation has been through over the centuries. (...) Since 1948, Israel defends itself against powers that aim at its destruction. Always alone. Evacuation of Gaza was answered with rockets.”
– Willem Aantjes, Dutch member of parliament (ARP / CDA). 1923 – 2015 AD
NRC (2008): We staan, stonden en staan weer achter Israël. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Israel has integrated people from more than 100 countries into a diverse mosaic pattern in a democratic society of tolerance and freedom of expression and religion, not withstanding the still-existing inequalities and differences with Palestinian Arabs. It compares favorably with other democratic nations, scientifically, economically, and culturally with the largest number of art museums per capita of any country in the world.”
– Michael Curtis, British-American professor. 1923 AD
Curtis, M. (2014): Why is the Left so wrong on Israel? In: American Thinker. October 7 2014.
"For more than 40 years, the United States and Israel have enjoyed a friendship built on mutual respect and commitment to democratic principles. Our continuing search for peace in the Middle East begins with a recognition that the ties uniting our two countries can never be broken. Zionism is the idea that led to the creation of a home for the Jewish people. And to equate Zionism with the intolerable sin of racism is to twist history and forget the terrible plight of Jews in World War II and indeed throughout history."
– George H. W. Bush, American President of the United States. 1924 – 2018 AD
President Bush's Address to Members of the Knesset. May 15 2008.
(BEWARE: Carter has falsely accused Israel of segregating people based on religion)
"We have a committment to the preservation of Israel as a nation, to the security of Israel, the right of the Israeli people, who have suffered so much, to live in peace that is absolutely permanent and unshakeable. The ties that bind the people of the United States and the people of Israel together, the ties of blood, kinship, ties of history, ties of common religious beliefs, the dream, centuries old, of the founding of the new nation of Israel have been realized."
– Jimmy Carter, American President of the United States (Dem). 1924 AD
Carter, J. (1978): Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for Israeli PM Begin on 21 March 1978.
"The peoples of Turkey and Israel know very well that freedom and security go hand in hand. We hold dear the most sacred of all rights – the right to live. (…) The Turks of Jewish origin living in Turkey are today a rich part of the social and cultural mosaic of the nation, they are an integral part of our community."
– Süleyman Demirel, President and Prime Minister of Türkiye. 1924 AD
Speech in the Knesset by the President of Turkey Suleyman Demirel. Jerusalem, Tuesday, 12 March 1996.
“India has benefited from Israel's world famous expertise in agricultural technologies. India is now Israel’s second biggest trade partner in Asia, and the largest item of our trade is actually gems and jewellery. Tourism is another area with great potential, as is culture, since both our countries are host to some of mankind's greatest historic and cultural treasures. (…) Our lands have supported the birth of great and ancient religions and civilisations. Jewish communities in India have, over the centuries, painted rich colours into the mosaic of Indian society. (…) The interaction between the people of India and the Jewish diaspora has a long history, dating back to the 1st century A.D. Two communities of the Jewish people in India even trace their roots to the ten 'lost tribes' of Israel. (…) I believe India and Israel should focus on building bilateral relations on the basis of shared perspectives and commonalities between our two democracies.”
– Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Hindi Prime Minister of India. 1924 AD
Primor, A. (2003): Indian PM. Violence Contributes Nothing. In: HaAretz. Sep 9 2003.
“Prior to the inception of the State of Israel, the Jewish people walked along a very long path, which often involved uncertainty and difficulties, and often involved the horrors of violence and persecution. Despite this, the Jewish nation has never lost its identity.”
– Mário Soares, Prime Minister of Portugal. 1924 AD
Address of the President of Portugal, Mário Soares to the Knesset on 1 November 1995.
“Israel has one of the most well developed parliamentary institutions in the world. We will no doubt have occasion to observe and learn from your practice of parliamentary democracy. (…) Kenya has also benefitted immensely from the business activities of the Jewish people and companies, particularly in the area of civil engineering and trade.”
– Daniel arap Moi, Kalenjin President of Kenya. 1924 AD
Speech of Kenyan President Daniel T. arap Moi to the Knesset in January 1994.
“Israel is the largest, most battle-tested and cost-effective US aircraft carrier, which does not require a
single US personnel, cannot be sunk and is located at a most critical area for US national security interests.”
– Alexander Meigs Haig, Irish-American Secretary of State and General. 1924 – 2010 AD
Debusmann, B. (2010): U.S. Aid, Israel and Wishful Thinking. In: Reuters, December 4 2010.
“The political and economic construction of Israel against huge odds and bitter adversaries is one of the heroic sagas of our age. They really made the desert bloom. (…) But perhaps even more impressive than the achievements is the spirit of your people: pioneering, brave, resourceful, determined; an example of how indomitable will can overcome almost any problem. (...) We have to remember that the Jewish people never, ever lost their faith in the face of all the persecution and as a result have come to have their own promised land and to have Jerusalem as a capital city again.”
– Margaret Thatcher, English Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 1925 – 2013 AD
Bermant, A. (2013): An admirer of Israel who backed Peres over Shamir, diplomacy over settlements. In: The Times of Israel. 8 April 2013.
“The Jewish people in Palestine who believe in and have been working toward this national state have become an immensely proud and determined people. It is already a truly great modern example of the birth of a nation with the primary ingredients of dignity and self-respect. (...) From a small village of a few thousand inhabitants, Tel Aviv has grown into a most impressive modern metropolis of over 200,000. (…) The Jews point with pride to the fact that over 500,000 Arabs, in the 12 years between 1932 and 1944, came into Palestine to take advantage of living conditions existing in no other Arab state. This is the only country in the Near and Middle East where an Arab middle class is in existence. (...) The Arab world is made up of many disgruntled factions which would have been at each other’s throats long ago if it had not been for the common war against Zionism. The United States and Great Britain before too long a time might well be looking to a Jewish state to preserve a toehold in that part of the world.”
– Robert F. Kennedy, Irish-American Attorney General. 1925 – 1968 AD
Kennedy, R.F. (1948): Robert Kennedy Reports. In: Boston Post. June 3 1948.
“To this land, this people returned to re-establish its home, after moving among the nations and enriching them through its valued contribution, but also suffering – and I say it with deep sorrow – their rejections and their persecution. In this strip of land, this people has strengthened itself again as a nation, thanks to the blood of its fighters, the sweat of its workers, the audacity of its thinkers, the inspirations of its artists, the creative force of its scientists and the wisdom of its statesmen. From here came a message of freedom and justice to the world, which is this people’s guiding light in creating a prosperous, just and free society. (…) Every time the empires allowed the Jews to rebuild their sovereign state, Jerusalem was the capital of Israel – totaling more than a thousand years of Israeli sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital. There is no record of any other people that was able to show this level of loyalty throughout history to a city as the capital of its sovereign country.”
– Luis Alberto Monge, President of Costa Rica. 1925 AD
Address of the President of Costa Rica, Luís Alberto Monge, to the Knesset on 15 October 1985.
“Like every Jew, my feelings at the Wall were deep and personal. This is my religious home. It’s
great here. A great thrill. It is a kind of oneness I have with Israel and the Jewish people.”
– Sammy Davis Jr., African-American entertainer and Jewish convert. 1925 – 1990 AD
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (1969): Sammy Davis, Jr. Pays Tearful Visit to Israel, Places Note in Western Wall Crevice. July 22 1969.
“The Jews were expelled from their land, persecuted and mistreated all over the world, as the ones who killed God. In my judgment here's what happened to them: reverse selection. What's reverse selection? Over 2,000 years they were subjected to terrible persecution and then to the pogroms. One might have assumed that they would have disappeared; I think their culture and religion kept them together as a nation. The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours. There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust.”
– Fidel Castro, Hispano-Cuban Prime Minister and President of Cuba. 1926 AD
Tiku, N. (2010): Castro Has a Message for Ahmadinejad About the Jews. In: Intelligencer. September 7 2010.
“I think the Holocaust is possible again. I didn’t think so before I came to the UN, but I think so now. (…) Diplomacy regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict at the UN has nothing to do with peace, but is quite simply a continuation of war against Israel by other means. As a result, moral outrage [against Israel] is distributed like violence in a protection racket (…) when 3 million Cambodians died in Pol Pot’s murderous utopia; when a quarter million Ugandans died at the hands of Idi Amin; and when thousand of Soviet citizens are denied equal rights, equal protection of the law, denied the right to think, write, publish, work freely or emigrate. (…) A women’s conference is suddenly transformed into a forum for the denunciation of Israel, because of allegations that the biggest obstacle to the realizations of women’s full enjoyment of equal rights in the world is Zionism… A meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency becomes so absorbed in negotiations and debate over a resolution to expel Israel that it almost forgets to worry about nuclear non proliferation. (…) To defend Israel is to defend America and western civilization itself.”
– Jeane Kirkpatrick née Jordan, American Ambassador to the UN (GOP). 1926 – 2006 AD
Bitton-Jackson, L. (2012): Jeane Kirkpatrick. In: JewishPress.com. July 6 2012.
“That Israel is a supernatural nation is easily seen in the very fact of its existence in the world today. As we learned earlier, no nation in history has ever survived being uprooted from their national homeland for hundreds of years, then become a nation again. All other such nations have sunk beneath the sands of history and today are all but forgotten. Not so the Jewish people! Even though they were banished from the land shortly after Bar Kokhba’s revolt (around AD 135) and scattered all over the world, during the last 150 or so years they have gravitated back into their homeland – just as the Bible predicted. Israel’s existence today defies human nature and Satan’s passion to raise up people like Hitler and the modern Islamists, who have wanted desperately to exterminate the Jewish people. Immediately after Israel became a nation, the surrounding Arab nations tried to destroy her. In the face of far larger ground forces, Israel has survived several wars and many terrorist attacks. That is a miracle in itself.”
– Tim LaHaye, American Christian minister and author. 1926 – 2016 AD
LaHaye, T. (2013): A Quick Look at the Rapture and the Second Coming. Page 44.
“The fight of the Jewish organizations against the British Empire, the adventure of the 'Exodus', all those often bloody episodes, were viewed from Europe with sympathy, and appeared to our uninformed opinions - including mine, of course - as forming part of the international socialist struggle against imperialism. (...) The UN resolution, 'creating' the State of Israel, was widely hailed in Europe, as an act of justice, and a progressive act, which, to a certain extent, attempted, if not to erase, an impossible task, at least to repair a little the horror of the Shoah. (...) The UN, as is well known, had decided to create two states: one, which had never existed, the Palestinian state; and another, Israeli, which already existed, or had existed, since there were two, the kingdom of Judea and that of Israel. But the Arab organizations and states did not accept that, they did not accept either of the two states, neither the Jewish nor the Palestinian and their armies rushed to destroy the weak and newborn state of Israel. The heroic Jewish settlers who recently arrived in Israel, such as the "Sabras", despite their poor weapons, defeated the Arab armies.”
– Carlos Semprún Maura, Spanish author, playwright and journalist. 1926 – 2009 AD
Semprún Maura, C.: ¿Soy judío?. In: La Illustración Liberal.
“The leaders of [Zionism] presented themselves as carriers of a new Jewish messianism, a new prophetic hope for salvation, but also as exponents of the modern superior West and therefore called to upgrade Palestine as an underdeveloped area to the modern Western level of development. And they succeeded in that to a considerable degree. The State of Israel became an outpost of modern Western civilization in the Middle East, with a highly developed economy, an average income that is twenty times higher than that of the surrounding Arab countries and in principle also with a liberal democracy according to the Western model.”
– Wim Couwenberg, Dutch chief editor of philosophical magazine Civis Mundi. 1926 – 2016 AD
Couwenberg, S.W. (1998): Keerzijde van 50 jaar Israël. In: Streven. Jaargang 65. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Throughout the beginning of the 20th Century and in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust, millions of Jews from around the world found a home in Israel. (...) Since its independence, Israel, the ‘keystone in the arch of peace’ in the Middle East, as my father put it, has dealt with its share of crisis and wars. (...) It is imperative the United States continue (…) to foster a close friendship with Israel, as a nation that shares our ideals and values.”
– John Dingell, Polish-American Representative (Dem) from Michigan. 1926 AD
“A state had to emerge for the Jews, who for so long possessed no state of their own – and with such terrible results for them. What was more natural than this state being established in the old homeland of the Jews, where the Jews came from after all? Pioneers had fought for it and performed severe preparatory work for a generation already, during the era of the British Mandate over Palestine.”
– Arnold Hottinger, Swiss journalist and Arabist. 1926 AD
Hottinger, A. (2012): Die israelische und die palästinensische Sicht... In: Journal21.ch. 26. Dezember 2012. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"As a strictly political movement, Zionism was established only in 1897, although there is a clearly legitimate sense in which its origins are indeed ancient. The modern Zionist movement arose in Europe in the context of a general upsurge of national consciousness and aspiration that overtook most other peoples of Central and Eastern Europe after 1848 and that in time spread to all of Africa and Asia. It was to those persons of the Jewish religion a Jewish form of what today is called a national liberation movement. (…) The State of Israel, which in time was the creation of the Zionist movement, has been extraordinary in nothing so much as the range of what I call sometimes ‘racial stocks’ from which it has drawn its citizenry. There are black Jews, brown Jews, white Jews, Jews from the Orient and Jews from the West."
– Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Irish-American Senator (Dem) from New York. 1927 – 2003 AD
Fighting the ‘Zionism is Racism’ Lie. Moynihan’s Historic U.N. Speech. In: UN Watch. November 10 2015.
"The people of Israel have been liberated many times from the hands of their enemies and, in times of anti-Semitism, in the dramatic moments of the Shoah, the hand of the Almighty has supported and guided them. The favor of the God of the covenant has always accompanied them, giving them the strength to overcome trials. To this divine loving attention your Jewish community, present in the city of Rome for more than 2,000 years, can also render testimony."
– Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger), Bavarian/German Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. 1927 – 2022 AD
D'Costa, G. (2019): The New Catholic Zionism. In: Mosaic. September 9 2019.
"The restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel (...) would define our national interests. (...) The Israeli struggle for independence evoked the same feeling and pathos of our history for freedom and the rights of man."
– Ernest Eastman, Liberian Under-Secretary of State. 1927 – 2011 AD
Liberian Studies Association (1989): Liberian Studies Journal. Volume XIV. Number 1. Page 45.
“Nepal believes that Israel should have the legitimate right to exist within internationally recognized boundaries. (…) We appreciate Israeli efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. (…) Israel has traditionally been one of our development partners. Nepal has received Israeli assistance in the fields of agriculture, education, rural development, water resources, tourism, etc. (…) Our female workers, in particular, find the Israeli labor market especially attractive, because it presents them with a variety of opportunities. The open and liberal economy prevalent in Israel, backed by a strong and effective rule of law, provides added inducements to our female workers.”
– Sahana Pradhan, Nepalese Foreign Minister. 1927 – 2014 AD
Pradhan, S. (2007): The Foreign Policy of Nepal in the Changed Political Context.
"Israel is God’s choice, and that’s why I’m on Israel’s side! (…) I love Israel with everything. Yes, even with all the negative things.”
– Friedrich Hänßler, German theologian and publisher. 1927 AD
“One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man who has not learned to think as though he were a Jew can hardly be said to have learned to think at all.”
– William Rees-Mogg, English journalist. 1928 – 2012 AD
Sacks, J. (2000): Radical Then, Radical Now. In: The Times. Page 4.
“Israel is indeed a land of miracles. It is miraculous to see what Israel has achieved in 38 years in the face of great adversities and hostilities. Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are one and the same thing, I have always found. Anti-Zionism, equating Zionism with racism – all this is really a cover for anti-Semitism. It’s an abhorrent, abominable thing. I am deeply inspired by what I saw in Israel. I returned home with increased hope and a realization that people facing adversity can become ingenious beyond all prediction. (...) The words of Ha-Tikvah resonate with me. As long as deep within my heart my soul is warm, my hope for South Africa is not yet lost. We, like Israel, seek 'to be a free people in our own land'. The Israeli Government provided agricultural aid, leadership training and assistance to women-led cooperatives in KwaZulu. We were deeply appreciative of the partnership that developed between the KwaZulu Government and the Government of Israel.”
– Mongosuthu Buthelezi, South African (Zulu) Minister of Home Affairs. 1928 AD
Keynote Address By Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP President Of The Inkatha Freedom Party. Durban Jewish Club: 26 October 2011.
“Once again [in 1973] the armies of the Arab nations are coordinating their military efforts to destroy Israel - whatever they say about wishing merely to regain the lost territories.... If the present Arab offensive had been launched at the pre-1967 frontiers, then the Israelis would indeed have been fighting to avoid annihilation. It seems now that the Israelis were right to maintain the ceasefire lines gained in 1967, and that to do so is the only guarantee of their continued safety.”
– Alan Sillitoe, English author. 1928 – 2010 AD
The Times, 11 October 1973.
“The UN vote [equating Zionism with racism] is another sad chapter in the history of the ongoing oppression of the Jewish people. We must identify with our Jewish brothers and sisters in their continued struggle for survival and equality.”
– Walter F. Sullivan, Irish-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. 1928 – 2012 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 4.
“[The UN resolution equating Zionism with racism] is a facade which cloaks its question of Israel' s right to exist. [It] has created enormous disappointment in free men everywhere.
– John F. X. Irving, American dean of the Seton Hall University Law School. 1928 – 2004 AD
Banki, J.H. (????): The UN's Anti-Zionism Resolution. Christian Responses. Page 8.
“For many people during many centuries, mankind’s history before the coming of Christianity was the history of the Jews and what they recounted of the history of others. Both were written down in the books called the Old Testament, the sacred writings of the Jewish people. (…) They were the first to arrive at an abstract notion of God and to forbid his representation by images. No other people has produced a greater historical impact from such comparatively insignificant origins and resources.”
– John M. Roberts, English historian. 1928 – 2003 AD
Roberts, J.M. (1980): History Of The World.
"Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without Jews it might have been a much emptier place."
– Paul Johnson, English author and historian. 1928 – 2023 AD
Johnson, P. (1987): A History of the Jews. Page 2.
“To understand the situation, one must realise that the Jews are a racial group like any other nation, and, therefore, entitled to preserve their national integrity through all possible means. Their religion has become their personal affair and does not seek expansion through persistent propaganda or persecution. Neither it advocates annihilation of the Gentile on religious grounds nor it seeks abrasive international grouping to create discord, distrust and destruction in the name of God or Moses to promote the Jewish cause.”
– Anwar Shaikh, Pakistani-British (Kashmiri) author. 1928 – 2006 AD
Shaikh, A. (2007): The Arab Imperialism - Clash Of Prophets.
“Israel and Liberia have established and maintain solid diplomatic relations and good economic ties. In spite of your struggle for survival at home, your country sent many scientist and experts to my country to help us improve our own general standard of living, and our scholars, businessmen and diplomats have already greatly benefited from sojourns in your country.”
– Angie Elizabeth Brooks, Liberian diplomat and journalist. 1928 – 2007 AD
Speech of Angie Elizabeth Brooks to the Israeli Knesset.
“The Jewish people have suffered a great deal throughout history, and so have the Aboriginal people. There is a special link between these two nations, and this visit to Israel has taught me that the sense of connection is mutual."
– Alfred Turner / Uncle Boydie, Australian Aboriginal (Jotijota) Elder. 1928 AD
“You should not conclude that there were not overwhelming reasons for the founding of the State of Israel in 1948; and today, the political right of Israel’s existence is, for the best available normative reasons, beyond doubt.”
– Jürgen Habermas, German philosopher. 1929 AD
Limone, N. (2012): Germany's Most Important Living Philosopher Issues an Urgent Call to Restore Democracy.
"Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, as a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality."
– Martin Luther King, African-American activist. 1929 – 1968 AD
Martin Luther King on Peace and Security for Israel (March 25, 1968).
“I find it shameful that the survivors of this nation —survivors who still carry a number on their arm – are denied the right to react, defend themselves, avoid being exterminated again. (…) But I am with Israel, I am with the Jews. I am with them now, as I was with them as a young girl—in other words, from the time when I was in the trenches with them and the Anne Maries were shot to death. I defend their right to exist, to defend themselves, to avoid a second extermination. And disgusted by the anti-Semitism of many Italians, of many Europeans, I am ashamed by this shame that dishonors my country and Europe. In the best of cases, this is not a community of nations but a marsh full of figures like Pontius Pilates. And even if all the inhabitants of this planet think differently, I will continue to think this way and not otherwise.”
– Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and author. 1929 – 2006 AD
Fallaci, O. (2002): Readers' letters on the Middle East. [Translated by David A. Harris].
“Like successive Australian governments, we see moral as well as political imperatives in our commitment to the security of Israel and its right to exist within secure and recognised boundaries. (...) It was apparent throughout my visit to Israel that one of the strongest links between our two countries is formed by Australia's large Jewish community. Its contribution to Australian society at all levels has been incalculable and invaluable, and its close contact with Israel has done more to promote understanding and good will between our countries than any policies, words or deeds by governments could have achieved.”
– Bob Hawke, Australian Prime Minister of Australia. 1929 AD
Australian Foreign Affairs Record - Volume 58 - 1987. Page 66.
“That Israel's most important prize is awarded to international literature is not, to my mind, a matter of chance but of a long tradition. Indeed, exiled from their land of origin and thus lifted above nationalist passions, the great Jewish figures have always shown an exceptional feeling for a supranational Europe - a Europe conceived not as territory but as culture. If the Jews, even after Europe so tragically failed them, nonetheless kept faith with that European cosmopolitanism, Israel, their little homeland finally regained, strikes me as the true heart of Europe - a peculiar heart located outside the body. It is with profound emotion that I receive today the prize that bears the name of Jerusalem and the mark of that great cosmopolitan Jewish spirit.”
– Milan Kundera, Czech-French author. 1929 AD
Robertson, N. (1985): Kundrea Accepts Jerusalem Prize. In: The NY Times. May 10 1985.
“America and Israel have had a sort of ‘big brother, little brother’ relationship. Not only do we have mutual, democratic interests, but Israel is our first line of defense against Islamic terrorism. More importantly, though, because we are a nation founded on Christian principles – no matter what anyone says to the contrary – we are spiritually descended from the Jews. Because of these historical facts, their roots are our roots. That's why Muslim radicals across the world – both terrorists and terrorist states like Iran – call America 'The Great Satan' and Israel 'The Little Satan'. Like it or not, the Muslims recognize America and Israel as being bound together. From a strictly secular and militaristic point of view, if one of us goes down, the other will go down, too.”
– Hal Lindsey, American evangelic author. 1929 AD
“There are some 4,500 Circassians living in Israel. Our homeland is Caucasia. We, the Circassians, have no hope of ever returning to our homeland. For now we live in the State of Israel and we’re very proud to be Israeli. In the Arab countries Circassians are not free to wave the Circassian flag, like we do in the State of Israel.”
– Farok Zinadin, Circassian-Israeli sheikh.
Quoted in: Youtube Video. Muslims for Israel - Circassian Sheikh Farok Zinadin.
"Even though I’m not Jewish, and even though I’m stingy with my bread, Israel is one of the few causes I feel good about supporting. Blacks and Jews are hooked up and bound together by a common history of persecution. If someone besides a black ever sings the real gut bucket blues, it’ll be a Jew. We both know what it’s like to be someone else’s footstool."
– Ray Charles Robinson, African-American musician. 1930 – 2004 AD
Ritz, D. & Charles, R. (2009): Brother Ray. Ray Charles' Own Story.
"If you’re going to the Middle East to look for oil, you can skip Israel. If you’re looking for brains,
look no further. Israel has shown that it has a disproportionate amount of brains and energy."
– Warren Buffett, American business magnate from Nebraska. 1930 AD
Buffett, W. (2017): Treasure in Earthen Vessels. In: Israel Today. May 1 2017.
"Israel has been our friend during the recent war, and you stand by your friends. It’s just that simple. Israel is a beacon in its part of the world in terms of its democratic government. It is a role model to the others there."
– Ross Perot, American business magnate and politician (GOP). 1930 AD
Richman, J. (2019): Remembering Ross Perot’s relationship with Israel and the American Jewish community. In: Jewish News Syndicate. July 10, 2019.
"Israel has earned the right, I believe, to the support of governments of countries such as Australia because of the long history of the Jewish people, because of their courage and determination, because of their absolute right to a homeland behind secure and stable boundaries and because there have been many who have sought to drive them into the sea and to destroy that right."
– Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia. 1930 AD
House of Representatives (1982): Parliamentary Debates. Weekly Hansard. Page 1701.
“Any African who tours Israel cannot fail to be impressed by the achievements made in such a short time from poor soil and with so few natural resources. We all tended to come away most excited and eager to return to our countries and repeat all those experiments. (…) In Israel I have seen youths trained so that they are a source of pride to the nation, and they are readily available for all sorts of national work programmes.”
– Tom Mboya, Kenyan (Luo) Minister of Justice. 1930 – 1969 AD
Curtis, M. & Gitelson, S.A. (1976): Israel in the Third World.
“Yes, the survival of the Jewish people is a miracle of God. The return of the Jewish people to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a miracle of God. The remarkable victories of Jewish armies against overwhelming odds in successive battles in 1948, and 1967, and 1973 are clearly miracles of God. The technological marvels of Israeli industry, the military prowess, the bounty of Israeli agriculture, the fruits and flowers and abundance of the land are a testimony to God's watchful care over this new nation and the genius of this people.”
– Pat Robertson, American media mogul. 1930 AD
Robertson, P. (2021): I Have Walked with the Living God Large Print. Page 341.
“Israel is the only possibility to initiate a democratic revolution throughout the Middle East. Israel may represent 0.2 percent of the entire land area of the Middle East, but Arab states see Israel as a sort of melanoma, when in fact what they fear is its democracy. Israel is the outpost of democracy in the Middle East. The Arab states surrounding it want to surgically remove it, because they are fear it like a democratic cancer.”
– Marco Pannella, Italian member of the European Parliament (TRP). 1930 – 2016 AD
La battaglia di Marco Pannella per portare Israele in Europa (2019). [Translated by C. Nooij].
“[During my 10-day visit to Israel] learnt more in eight days in Israel, than he would have done in two years studying trade unionism in any Britain University. He did not know of any country in which the dignity of labour was so highly respected as in Israel."
– John Kofi Barku Tettegah, Ghanaian trade union leader. 1930 – 2009 AD
Fraser, R.: The TUC and the Histadrut, 1945-1982. Page 122.
"Under the hard working hands and the sweat of the Jewish people, the bleak desert started to bloom and within years of its existence the State of Israel became an economically developed country which attracted immigrants from all over the world."
– Charles B. Rangel, African-American Representative (Dem) from New York. 1930 AD
April 27, 2004 - Issue: Vol. 150, No. 55 — Daily Edition 108th Congress (2003 - 2004) - 2nd Session.
“From the early 19th century, the Jews have been a remarkably successful people. Up to this time, Jews were discriminated against throughout virtually the whole of Europe, and their opportunities for achievement were severely limited. (…) Freed from the former restrictions, from the middle decades of the century on, Jews began to do conspicuously well in banking, commerce, industry, the professions, science, and the arts throughout Europe. (…) Jews have been about half of the world’s chess grandmasters and champions. (…) Jews have been hugely overrepresented among Nobel Prize winners (…) by a factor of approximately 6.6.”
– Richard Lynn, English psychologist. 1930 AD
Lynn, R. (2011): The Chosen People. A Study of Jewish Intelligence and Achievement.
“That Israel still exists as an independent country, ought to be considered a miracle. Many times, Arabic and other dictatorial countries have attempted to wipe this tiny western-secular country off the map. They failed every time, but in October 1973, Israel was at the brink of collapse, and a second Holocaust was in sight. (...) Armies with a total of 1 million hostile soldiers marched against Israel, where 2.5 million Jews lived at the time. (...) For the Arab countries, it was not just about territory, but also about the Jews themselves. They had to 'disappear', just like during the Second World War. (…) After 65 years we can (…) assert that, despite the many wars that Israel has unfortunately had to fight, Israel is a great success in terms of economy, science as well as culture. For all of its citizens: whether secular, Jewish, Christian or Muslim.”
– Tom Struick van Bemmelen, Dutch Senator (VVD). 1930 – 2021 AD
Struick van Bemmelen, T. (2013): Israël overleefde aanval van 1 miljoen soldaten. In: De Dagelijkse Standaard, 6 oktober 2013. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“That the People of Israel did not go down during the many centuries of foreign rule, banishment and dispersal and has not merged with other peoples, can only be explained by the fact that special promises stand above this nation. (…) From over 60 countries, more and more Jews came back to Palestine. (…) Labor by many hands has turned desert into fertile land. Cities emerged. The ancient Hebrew language is used once more, in the laws, in the parliament as well as in the newspapers. (…) The wisdom of God surpasses human thinking. The scattering of the Jewish people is not just a punishment for its disobedience, but at the same time also a wonderful preparation for its great future worldwide assignment.”
– Emil Rahm, Swiss enterpreneur and publicist. 1930 AD
[Translated by C. Nooij].
"I love Israel and I love the Jewish people. I think that their struggle has a great commonality with our struggle. I tell many of the blacks they should try to emulate and imitate the saga of the Jewish struggle. They should go to the Seder and ask the Four Questions, not forgetting from where you come from.”
– Don King, African-American boxing promoter. 1931 AD
Ben Solomon, J.L. (2008): love Israel and the Jewish people. October 28, 2008 00:11. In: The Jerusalem Post.
"You know as I do that as Israel goes, so goes [...] our morality and our very existence as freedom loving citizens of the world. This beleaguered nation and its people are beacons of hope and justice, their enemies are our enemies, glorifiers of death, seeking to impose their bloody doctrine through violence."
– Rupert Murdoch, Australian business magnate. 1931 AD
Algemeiner Staff (2013): Rupert Murdoch. World Freedom Dependent on Israel’s Future. November 8 2013.
(BEWARE: Tutu has falsely accused Israel of segregating people based on religion)
“In our struggle against apartheid, the great supporters were Jewish people. They almost instinctively had to be on the side of the disenfranchised, of the voiceless ones, fighting injustice, oppression and evil. I have continued to feel strongly with the Jews.”
– Desmond Mpilo Tutu, South African (Xhosa) cleric and activist. 1931 – 2021 AD
Tutu, D. (2002): Apartheid in the Holy Land. In: The Guardian. Monday 29 April 2002.
“Israel is our friend and Syria our enemy.”
– Dory Chamoun, Maronite Lebanese MP. 1931 AD
“I am not a Jew, but like most Americans my sympathies, and more than that, lie solidly with the cause that Israel represents. The cause involves much more than a piece of territory; it embraces the whole set of values, whether religious, judicial or ethical, to which our civilization is heir.”
– Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author. 1931 – 2013 AD
Johnson, H. (1982): The Tangled Middle East Dispute Viewed in the Spirit of Dante. In: Washington Post. July 25, 1982.
"On May 14, 1948, Israel rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. Over these last 60 years, the American people have formed a profound and unshakable friendship with our democratic ally. The United States must continue its commitment to Israeli sovereignty, security, and democracy. We face common threats, share common values and we must continue to work together to achieve our common goals. I praise the miracle of Israel. The history of Israel and of her people is a story of freedom and rebirth that gives hope to oppressed peoples across the world and that will for millennia to come.”
– Ike Skelton, Scots-Irish American Representative (Dem) from Missouri. 1931 – 2013 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“The desire of the Jewish people to establish an independent modern State of Israel is the outgrowth of the existence of the historic Kingdom of Israel established three thousand years ago in the city of Jerusalem and in the land of Israel, and was finally realized with the assistance of the world community following the slaughter of six million European Jews during the Holocaust. The people of Israel rightly take great pride in having rebuilt a nation, forged a new and dynamic society, and created a unique and vital economic, political, cultural, and intellectual life despite the heavy costs of six wars, terrorism, international ostracism, and economic boycotts.”
– Connie Morella, Italian-American MD Representative. 1931 AD
April 22, 1998 - Issue: Vol. 144, No. 45 — Daily Edition 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) - 2nd Session.
"Jewish thought, Jewish culture, Jewish identity once flourished extensively on Austrian soil. In so doing, it contributed much that was as distinctive as it was indispensable to the development of Austria, and to the identity of a region which extended far beyond the bounds of the present republic."
– Thomas Klestil, Austrian Federal President. 1932 – 2004 AD
Thomas Klestil's Speech Before the Knesset on 15 November 1994.
“In the country which you call Lita and we call Lietuva, the Jewish thought, culture, theology, literature and social life flourished. It significantly enriched Lithuanian culture while imparting a distinctive image upon our land. It was virtually impossible to visualize a traditional Lithuanian town or city without its active, devout and talented inhabitants – the Jews. (…) It is imperative to remember the millennia-old Israelite struggle for the establishment and maintenance of a state which began a thousand years before the birth of Christ. Your resolve, unity, preservation of national identity and nurturing of democracy in the face of oppression and the abundance of adversaries is very inspiring.”
– Algirdas Brazauskas, Prime Minister and President of Lithuania. 1932 – 2010 AD
Address of the President of Lithuania - Algirdas Brazauskas to the Knesset Plenum. Jerusalem, 1 March 1995.
“We have learned so much from Israel, particularly in the field of agriculture and science and technology innovation. And India is naturally an ally of Israel, in all these frontiers of science.”
– Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, Kannada/Indian Foreign Minister. 1932 AD
Statements by PM Netanyahu and Indian Minister of External Affairs Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna. 10.01.2012.
“I am a Joodse Boer. I love the Jewish people for their spirituality, their contribution to the world and for me, personally, their love and support of the arts, especially the theatre.”
– Patrick Mynhardt, South African (Afrikaner) actor. 1932 – 2007 AD
“Chaldeans have more in common with the Jewish community than with any other nationality. (…) Jews understand our culture; they can relate to us.”
– Mike George, Chaldean-American entrepreneur. 1933 – 2014 AD
Chaldean News. Issue of 05.11.2021.
“Israel is the inheritance of the People of Israel; so is Assyria the inheritance of her displaced Assyrian people in northern Mesopotamia. (…) The Jews have persistently claimed, based on historical facts that the Biblical Land, Eretz Yisrael, belongs to them. Their capital city, Jerusalem and the Temple on Mount Zion, is an historical proof of their claim to their ancestral homeland. Since dispersal of the Jews in 131 AD throughout the Mediterranean Basin of the Roman Empire, for their constant rebellion against the Imperial Power of the Roman Rule, the Jews always ended their prayer with a plea for their return home. They hoped that someday their historical land would be restored to them and that they would all meet in their homeland, Eretz Yisrael, and praise their Jehovah God on Mount Zion. (…) Depressingly, the territory of present-day Israel is by far less and much smaller than the ancient biblical Israel.”
– Frederick P. Isaac, Assyrian-Australian author. 1932 AD
Isaac, F.P. (2001): Indigenous Peoples Under the Rule of Islam, Part III. Monday, September 11, 2001.
"In a perennially turbulent and unpredictable region of the world, Israel has always been a bulwark of stability. It is our closest ally not only in the Middle East, but also in the United Nations. And during times of crisis and conflict in the region, this bond has only been strengthened. (...) No other ethnic or religious group in human history had endured so much pain and prejudice and overcome so many enormous difficulties in establishing a nation of their own. No other new nation faced so great a threat to its immediate survival as did Israel during its first year of existence. They have created a thriving democracy in a region known for its dictatorships. They have generously opened their land to Jews from all over the world."
– Edward Kennedy, Irish-American Senator (Dem). 1932 AD
April 30, 1998 - Issue: Vol. 144, No. 51 — Daily Edition 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) - 2nd Session.
“Israel and Sri Lanka have faced many vicissitudes, trials and challenges, but both countries remain democracies with a commitment to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. We change our governments through fair and free elections—not through bullets. Perhaps the flip side of that is that both countries hold elections too frequently. But it is certainly a sign that we are very vibrant democracies.”
– Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sinhala Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. 1933 – 2007 AD
Wickramanayaka, R. (2008): The Current Political Situation in Sri Lanka. Page 105.
“Your Excellency, you will know too that for the Labor Government of Australia it is absolutely basic policy that we support the right of Israel to exist within secure and recognised boundaries. There can and will be no solution to the dispute between the Arabs and the Israelis which does not include a general recognition of the state of Israel.”
– Bill Hayden, Irish-Australian Governor-General of Australia. 1933 – 2023 AD
Recognition of States-Israel-Palestine homeland. Speech on 1 February 1984 in Amman. (Comm Rec 1984,251).
“[Israel] is the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. Arabs are represented in the Knesset. The High Court has Arab members. Arabic is an official language. Do Jews have mirroring rights in the Arab world? (...) Israel's spectacular victory of 1967 (...) marked a turning point in the way Israel was looked at, especially by circles considering themselves progressive. Whereas people in those circles felt mostly sympathy and admiration for the egalitarian country of the kibbutzim at first, in 1967 David and Goliath switched places. (...) Could Israel have helped this? One can't expect Israel to lose a war just to remain assured of the continuing benevolence of mostly leftist European circles.”
– Frits Bolkestein, Dutch Minister of Defense. 1933 – 2023 AD
Bolkestein, F. (2014): Het Westen laat zich ringeloren door Arabische propaganda tegen Israël. In: NRC. 18 januari 2014. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“There is no nation in Europe that is so tightly connected with the Jewish nation as the Polish nation is. For the last thousand years, Jews who were not welcome in some Western countries found their fatherland in Poland. We suffered together, we lived together, our cultures mixed together, and we still have a lot in common.”
– Stanisław Pawlak, Polish Foreign Minister. 1933 AD
“I believe that the people of Israel have not only a theological but also a historical and legal right to the land. I am personally a Zionist, having gained that perspective from my belief in Old Testament Scriptures. (...) Every American who agrees Israel has the right to the land must be willing to exert all possible pressure on the powers that be to guarantee America's support of the State of Israel at this time.”
– Jerry Falwell, American pastor and activist from Virginia. 1933 – 2007 AD
“A part of the Jews brought a chunk of civilization and science along with them, from which all Arabs were able to benefit. (...) [I feel] admiration for what the Jews have brought about in Israel. They could never have achieved this without financial help from outside, but it remains a fact that, through their compelling zest, they gave their part of Palestine a different look, and that large sections of the population, and then I principally think of the kibbutzim, demonstrate an idealism that one could no longer have expected from such a kicked and beaten people.”
– Wim Gijsen, Dutch author. 1933 – 1990 AD
Gijsen, W. (1968): Het Midden-Oosten. Vrede of armageddon. In: Maatstaf. Jaargang 15. Pagina 206-215. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"To build an independent Jewish nation on a small piece of land would have been difficult even under the most ideal conditions. For Israel to have done so while the country's very existence was constantly being threatened is truly a tremendous accomplishment. In the face of hostility and adversity, Israel has persevered and developed into a thriving and diverse nation. (...) Few societies have sustained such pressure and kept their commitment to a strong democracy as Israel has done. In just 50 years the Israeli people have built modern cities and prosperous farms, and established high quality educational and medical institutions. Israel has accomplished this while remaining a refuge for Jews fleeing oppression and persecution around the world, as earlier Israel offered a new life to the survivors of the Holocaust."
– Paul Sarbanes, Greek-American Senator and MD Representative. 1933 AD
April 30, 1998 - Issue: Vol. 144, No. 51 — Daily Edition 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) - 2nd Session.
“I admire Israel because she is a democracy; I admire Israel because I love the underdog, I always loved the underdog, and as a military man I cannot help but admire Israel's military successes. But let me tell you I that I have never admired Israel more than I did during Operation Desert Storm be cause Israel had 40 reasons to enter the war—that is how many Scuds were fired at Israel. Sometimes it is said that Israel does not have the interest of the world at heart, and only has its own interest at heart, but this is not true. The Desert War proved the opposite: Israel was under tremendous pressure to enter the war, but for the good of everyone in the Coalition, Israel showed great forbearance for the common good, and because of that I am convinced today that we have the greatest opportunity today for peace, greater than at any time in my lifetime.”
– Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., German-American general leading Gulf War Coalition. 1934 – 2012 AD
Lehman, M.R.: General Schwarzkopf Says: Don't Give Back The Golan Heights.
“Since its founding 61 years ago, the modern State of Israel has been a strong ally of the United States, Israel has established itself as a dynamic, pluralistic and democratic nation with a booming economy, a thriving culture and intellectual life. (…) Israel is the home to many outstanding scientists, engineers, doctors, musicians and other hardworking people. This is an impressive record for a country of barely 7 million people. (…) Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, providing opportunity for Jews from all over the world to reestablish their ancient homeland.”
– Donald Payne, African-American Representative (Dem) from New Jersey. 1934 – 2012 AD
House Session | May 4, 2009 11:37 AM PT.
“Even though Jerusalem is a city laden with rich archeological artifacts, and remnants of ancient times, it has become a thriving city that has preserved its historic nature and adapted to modern life. Beautiful shopping malls, fresh food markets and restaurants are commonplace in Jerusalem, which emphasizes the enormous cultural advancements that the modern State of Israel has made in its short existence.”
– Edolphus Towns, African-American Representative (Dem) from New York. 1934 AD
Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005).
"On the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, it is finally time that we recognize its importance to world stability and peace,” Hatch said. “Israel is our most important ally in the Middle East and a vital partner in advancing US security interests in the region, and it deserves to be treated fairly by other members of the world community. I hope that my colleagues and our international partners will join me in supporting and celebrating the miracle that is Israel."
– Orrin Hatch, American Senator (GOP) from Utah. 1934 – 2022 AD
Hatch, Booker Introduce Resolution Celebrating Israel's 70th Anniversary. May 10, 2008.
"Did you know, if you are an Arab in Israel and you are an Israeli citizen as an Arab, you can vote in elections? In fact, in the Knesset (that's their Congress), they have a political party that is for Arabs - they have their own party in the Knesset. Israel is the only true democracy that exists in the Middle East: it has a western form of government based on the laws we see in the Bible. (...) We ought to be Israel's best friend. If we can't stand for Israel today, can we ever again be counted on as a beacon of freedom for oppressed nations? (...) Every time there is a dig in Israel, it does nothing but support the fact that Israelis have had a presence there in that land for over 3,000 years: the coins, the cities, the pottery, the culture. (...) The land began to prosper when the Jews came back and began to reclaim it. (...) Israel today is a modern marvel of agriculture. Israel is able to bring more food out of the desert environment than any other country in the world. The Arab nations ought to make Israel their friend and import technology from Israel that would allow all the Middle East, not just Israel, to be exporters of food. (...) It's good to know that we have a friend in the Middle East that we can count on. They vote with us in the United Nations more than England, more than Germany, more than Canada, more than France, more than any other country in the world. And so they have been our consistent ally for strategic reasons."
– Jim Inhofe, American Senator (GOP) from Utah. 1934 AD
Inhofe, J. (2011): The Land Belongs To Israel. In: Youtube. 27 May 2011.
“Generally, I think Israel is a very old nation. It is also a new nation, a young state. I think you really built your nationhood very effectively. And since my first visit, I noticed that your whole area was previously more like a desert, but now I see mostly green land, thanks to your hard work and good planning. So, that's my impression. (...) Among Tibetan refugees we are always saying to ourselves that we must learn the Jewish secret to keep up our traditions, in some cases under hostile circumstances.”
– Lhamo Dhöndup / Tenzin Gyatso, Dalai Lama of Tibet. 1935 AD
“Both India and Israel made parallel struggles against British rule. Our leaders adopted different methods but were inspired by the same human values and ideals. (…) In the period after independence, our countries travelled different paths. The Indian people have, nonetheless, always appreciated Israeli innovations in the field of agriculture, the kibbutz system and the remarkable achievements of your scientists and engineers. We admire the will and resolve with which the Jewish people have risen from the depths of unspeakable suffering and deprivation with a strong spirit and built their nation to make it what it is today - a thriving, progressive and prosperous society that leads the world in so many fields. Whenever the Nobel Prizes are announced, we often see names of scientists who have studied in the Hebrew University or Technion. As friends of Israel, we rejoice in your success.”
– Pranab Mukherjee, Bengali President of India. 1935 – 2020 AD
President Mukherjee's Address to the Knesset, Israel (October 14, 2015)
“I promise you once again that Bulgaria views the existence and security of the State of Israel as a crucial component in any agreement in the Middle East. (…) The State of Israel is a state of stones, not only due to its geological nature, but also because a stone was lifted from the heart of every Jew who came here, and the land became a flourishing garden. You have done wonders in agriculture.”
– Zhelyu Zhelev, President of Bulgaria. 1935 – 2015 AD
Address of the President of Bulgaria, Zhelyu Zhelev to the Knesset on 6 December 1993.
"I believe that Israel is one of our most important friends in the world. And the views that I hold have many adherents in Israel today. Two of the tenets of a true Zionist are 'self-determination' and 'self-reliance.' I do not believe we should be Israel’s master but, rather, her friend."
– Ron Paul, German-American Representative (LP / GOP) from Texas. 1935 AD
Shalev, C. (2011): Ron Paul Tells Haaretz: I Am Not an anti-Semite.
“Of all the people in the world, the Jews have not only suffered particularly from racist persecution, they have done more than any other people to expose and condemn racism. Generations of Jewish social scientists and scholars have labored long and hard in every field of knowledge, from anthropology to psychology, to lay bare and refute all claims of racial inferiority and superiority. To condemn the Jewish survival doctrine of Zionism as racism is a travesty upon the truth.”
– Eldridge Cleaver, African-American former Black Panther. 1935 – 1998 AD
Cleaver, E. (1976): Cleaver Defends Zionism. In: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. January 22, 1976.
“The Jews were not supplanting, destroying, breaking up, a native society. That society was itself the oddity that had broken the pattern of a sixty-year Jewish sovereignty over Palestine which had lapsed for two millennia. In Jewish hearts, however, Israel had always been there, and actuality difficult for the natives to perceive. Zionism therefore reclaimed, redeemed, repeated, replanted, and realized Palestine and the Jewish hegemony over it. Israel was a return to a previous state of affairs, even if the new facts bore a far greater resemblance to the methods and successes of nineteenth-century European colonialism than to some mysterious first-century forbearers.”
– Edward Said, Palestinian-American professor. 1935 – 2003 AD
Ayoub, H.S. (2012): Whether a 'One-State Solution to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 41. Page 181.
"This parliament testifies the birth in 1948 of a Jewish, free and democratic state, which finally gathered, after the horrendous experience of the Shoah, citizens of the world who spoke all languages and who flocked from every corner of the world. You represent ideals that are universal, you are the greatest example of democracy and liberty in the Middle East, an example that has profound roots in the Bible and the Zionist ideal.For us, as both Pope John Paul II and Rabbi Elio Toaff have said, the Jewish people is an 'elder brother'. The origins of our friendship, of our brotherhood, are found in a commonality of civilization and of destiny, in a common love for understanding and peaceful coexistence between the peoples of the earth."
– Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic. 1936 – 2023 AD
Discorso di Silvio Berlusconi alla Knesset - 3 Febbraio 2010. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"[The] possessions [of the House of Jacob] were occupied and neglected by various peoples for more than 18 centuries. In 1948, this occupation, in part, came to an end through the establishment of the State of Israel. After the Six Days War (1967) Judea and Samaria also joined Israel. The tribal areas of Ephraim, Benjamin and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Territories where the whole world wants to see a Palestinian state emerge.”
– Jan van Barneveld, Dutch physicist and evangelist. 1936 – 2022
Barneveld, J. van (2013): Gods lievelingszoon en de ‘bezette gebieden’. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“You have Palestinians living in Israel with full political rights, represented in the Knesset. You don't have discriminatory laws against them, for example that they may not swim on certain beaches or anything like that. I think it's unfair to call Israel an Apartheid state.”
– F. W. de Klerk, Afrikaner State President of South Africa. 1936 AD
South Africa's de Klerk. Israel not an apartheid state. In: The Times of Israel. 27 May 2014.
“We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity. (...) To attack Jews is anti-Semitism, but an outright attack on the State of Israel is also anti-Semitism. The State of Israel has every right to exist in safety and prosperity.”
– Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), Italo-Argentine Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. 1936 AD
Pope Francis (2013): Evangelii Gaudium.
‘Attacks on Jews are anti-Semitism, as are attacks on Israel,’ Pope Francis tells Jewish leader. In: World Jewish Congress. 28 October 2015.
“Israel has become more prosperous and modern. I came here for the first time in 1977 and then it was a Third World country. An advanced one perhaps, but still Third World. Now it's part of the First World. This is a tremendous achievement in just three generations. Yes, Israel has received aid, but the major effort came from the inside. This should be an example to the Third World. (…) I was very excited by my first visits to Israel. The building spirit of the early Zionists, the kibbutzniks and the intellectuals, Israel's great spirit.”
– Mario Vargas Llosa, Hispano-Peruvian author and journalist. 1936 AD
Levy, G. (2010): Twilight Zone A Friend in Need. In: HaAretz. June 3 2010.
“We thought about it for thirty seconds, Israel as a democratic country requires protection against the Arab aggression. We were not afraid to stick our neck out.”
– Bram Stemerdink, Dutch member of parliament (PvdA). 1936 AD
Schnerr, J. (2013): Citaten. In: Documentatie over Palestijnen, Israël en Midden-Oostenpolitiek. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Israel has conquered my heart. First of all, because of the wish to assume a share of the liability for suffering Christians have inflicted on the Jewish people throughout the centuries, such as the pogroms, the Inquisition, and their outcome: the Holocaust. Secondly, because my parents were unable to help any Jew during the war, since – for as far as I know – no Jews lived in their city. It was my mother who sowed in me the seed of my love for the Jewish people. My mother was a real fan of Israel and, in old age, she visited the country twice."
– Meindert Leerling, Dutch member of parliament (RPF). 1936 AD
Gerstenfeld, M. (2010): Het verval: joden in een stuurloos Nederland. Page 85. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"The bond between America and Israel is not just a strategic one, though that is important. The more profound tie between our two countries is a moral one. We are two democracies whose alliance is forged in our common values. To be proudly pro-American and pro-Israeli is not to hold conflicting loyalties. It is about defending the principles that both countries hold dear. That is why today I stand as I believe so many of you do: a Christian, proudly pro-American and proudly pro-Israel."
– John McCain, American Senator (GOP) from Arizona. 1936 AD
Address to the Christians United for Israel in Washington, DC. July 18 2007.
"Since becoming a reality, Israel has remained a constructive member of the international community – assisting developing nations, leading relief efforts, and sharing its world leading technologies and scientific breakthroughs. Israel is often referred to as a Western nation in the Middle East. (...) Israel has been an unsung participant in rescue operations and international development projects across the globe for decades, regardless of the politics of the nation affected. (...) It is for these achievements, ambitions and more that Israel should be applauded. (...) Despite being in a constant state of conflict since its creation, and despite its people having to come together to protect themselves from frequent and violent attacks, they have never turned inwards, but continue to look outwards with an eagerness to participate in all international activity. For that attitude they should be commended and welcomed by those of goodwill wherever there is need for international cooperation to deal with the problems of the world."
– Meta Ramsay, Scottish/British Labour MP. 1936 AD
Ramsay, M. (2011): Israel in the world: an outward expression of progressive values. In: Garratt, B. (2011): Making the Progressive Case for Israel. Page. 35-40.
“There has been a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem for three millennia and a Jewish majority in the city for the past 150 years. Jerusalem has been, throughout these years, the holiest of cities and the focal point of Jewish devotion. Jerusalem remains a unique and critically important city to the Jewish people. Jerusalem is also the only city in the world which serves as the capital of the same country, inhabited by the same people, speaking the same language, and worshipping the same God as was the case 3,000 years ago.(...) We are here today to commend the Israeli people and their government for restoring full access for all people to their holy sites. Today we again lend our support to continued Israeli control of a unified Jerusalem.”
– Bob Graham, American Governor of Florida. 1936 AD
June 11, 1997 - Issue: Vol. 143, No. 81 — Daily Edition 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) - 1st Session.
“I knew when I left Auschwitz, I knew and I understood why, first of all, we should never have genocide in the world again. The second thing, and also so crucial to my views, is that there always needed to be a homeland for the Jewish people. It’s the reason we always need an Israel. Why it has to be there, survivable for the ages and for all who seek a home there and refuge there.”
– Barbara Mikulski, Polish-American Senator (Dem) from Maryland. 1936 AD
Shapiro, D. (2015): Senate loses pro-Israel stalwart with Mikulski’s departure. In: The Times of Israel. 18 March 2015.
“‘Never Again’ – two words that pretty much sums up Israel's attitude toward another holocaust or being driven off the land God gave to their patriarch, Abraham, and his decedents forever, and they are not about to be moved off of it no matter how bloody the fighting or how great the odds. (…) Israel's aeronautical capabilities are second to none and they lead the world in the development of all kinds of technologies, in my best guess, some they have not even unveiled to the rest of the world as of yet. (…) I know which side I'm on. I only wish I could say the same about my country. It was God who dispersed the Jews throughout the world and God who brought them home in 1948, and no matter what happens, there will always be an Israel. Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.”
– Charlie Daniels, American country singer from North Carolina. 1936 AD
Daniels, C. (2014): Israel and Her Enemies. Posted on 07.11.2014.
“For 62 years now, Israel has stood as a vibrant democracy and a symbol of hope for millions of people around the world. For 62 years Israel has modeled a society where determination and passion, and an emphasis on social progress and education, can build a productive nation. (...) Israel deserves to be secure and prosperous, to live in peace with its neighbors, and to live free from fear and violence.”
– Alcee Hastings, African-American Representative (Dem) from Florida. 1936 AD
Congressional Speeches on Israel’s 62nd Anniversary. April 22 2010.
“Israel is an extraordinarily democratic nation. The struggles of the great majority of Israelis to solve their enormous problems through the democratic process are an example to us all. (…) It is a tough road beset by the pitfalls and traps of extremists. It is a path often shrouded by the fogs of apathy.”
– Peter Adams, British-Canadian Liberal MP. 1936 AD
Adams, P. (1995): The Late Yitzhak Rabin. November 6th, 1995.
“Today the Jews can be proud of their democratic, modern and affluent nation-state. I congratulate the people of Israel for their many accomplishments, and I am proud that a large number of Jews from Latvia have taken part both in the establishment and in the strengthening of the State of Israel. I also am proud that when Latvia’s independence was at stake in 1918, many Jews joined the ranks of Latvia’s newly formed army and helped Latvia to win its War of Liberation against German and Russian occupying forces. The Jews and the Latvians have shared similar fates and parallels in their history, and have had to fight hard to obtain their freedom and independence. (…) I will add that Latvia is proud of its strong and vibrant Jewish community, which has provided an immeasurable contribution to Latvia’s political, economic and cultural life.”
– Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia. 1937 AD
Address by H.E. Dr. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of the Republic of Latvia, at the state dinner held in her honour by H.E. Mr. Moshe Katsav, President of the State of Israel, Jerusalem, 20 February 2006.
“Many citizens of Israel have roots in my country. They were born there, or their parents or grandparents were born there - some of them are still citizens of the Czech Republic; therefore, our relationship is a special one. (…) Europe as we know it would be unimaginable without the heritage that derived from Israel’s three thousand-year-old traditions. One cannot imagine Europe without the Judeo-Christian heritage. That is especially true of Central Europe. (…) I would be very happy if there were more countries in this region with which we could share the same values and if there would be more choices regarding with whom we could have a special relationship.”
– Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Foreign Minister. 1937 AD
Schwarzenberg, K. (2008): The Middle East as Seen from Middle Europe. In: The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs - Volume 2 - Page 123.
“[During my visit in 1979] Israel was a country of great revelation to me. I was greatly moved by the vitality of the Israeli people and much impressed by the long and profound history of this country. I became aware of the difficulties facing Israel.”
– Rikihiro Madarame, Japanese businessman. 1937 AD
”What I admire most about Israel is that it has not become what circumstances would justify. Israel was born in war and has been at war ever since. It exists in a state of siege, the subject of international economic boycotts, hostile propaganda, terrorist attacks and the incessant threat of all-out war. If ever a country were justified in becoming a militaristic, closed and spartan society, it is Israel. Yet Israel is the opposite. Sure, it has one of the best armies in the world, but it is a citizen army. It is of the most vigorous democracies on the globe. It has an independent judiciary. It has a free press, free trade unions, a vibrant cultural life and an extraordinary record of humanitarianism.”
- Charley Reese, American columnist. 1937 - 2013 AD
“After 60 years, Israel has proved that a nation that embraces liberty and democracy can flourish in the face of even the strongest adversity. Despite decades of violence and terrorist attacks, the Israeli people have achieved an outstanding level of economic, intellectual, and cultural success. Among its most notable achievements has been its well-earned reputation as a free sanctuary for millions of refugees from around the world. No other nation in the Middle East has embraced a diverse array of oppressed people like Israel. (…) In Israel, I have seen firsthand the impressive contributions Israelis have made to the world in areas from scholarship and engineering to cooking and music.”
– Judy Biggert née Borg, Finnish-American Representative (GOP) from Illinois. 1937 AD
May 20, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 83 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“I know first hand how badly America needs allies and friends in the Middle East. Having served in Iraq, I understand how important the Israeli-American relationship is. They are our most important ally and one of our great friends. They are our partners in peace and in war.”
– Lynn Woolsey née Robinson, American Representative (Dem) from California. 1937 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
"The establishment of the State of Israel was greeted with great enthusiasm in the Netherlands. After all, this state gave the Jewish people their own place and the legal security that the countries of Europe could not offer. For all Jews in the world this new country was thus not only a refuge, but also a source of inspiration and self-assurance. (...) During all of the conflicts that threatened the existence of the young state, the Dutch people and its government stood behind Israel without hesitation. This feeling of connectivity lives even today. For many Dutchmen it is certain that a special relationship exists between our two countries. (...) You overcame the confusion of tongues that threatened you during the construction of this tower of Babel, by teaching everyone Ivrit. (...) In many countries there exists a great admiration for the patience and dedication with which Israel searches for solutions for this multiplicity of issues."
– Beatrix of Orange-Nassau, Queen of the Netherlands. 1938 AD
Rede van koningin Beatrix in de Knesset. 29 maart 1995. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“From its establishment after the 1949 elections, [the Knesset] has been an exemplary model of the democratic courage of the founders of Israel and its nation. From those days, without stop, despite internal and regional difficulties, the political life of Israel has always contained guidelines of respect and defense for the values of democracy and pluralism of a free society, within which live together, side by side, different stances and political views. (…)The Knesset is recognized around the world for its action and lively debate. This liveliness reflects the spirit of a nation which is not satisfied with what it has achieved until now, but wants to continue to advance to new goals.”
– Juan Carlos I de Borbón, King of Spain. 1938 AD
Address of the King of Spain Juan Carlos I to the Knesset on 9 November 1993.
“For years the Ukrainians and the Jews were nations that did not have their own state and felt like foreigners on their land. And along came new eras. At the end of the 1940s the Jewish nation succeeded in realizing its 2,000-year-old ambition to renew its sovereign state, and the Ukrainian delegation to the United Nations was among the first to support the revival of the Jewish statehood.”
– Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine. 1938 AD
Address of the President of the Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma to the Knesset on 25 November 1996.
"The State of Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and is the anchor of stability in a sea of instability. (…) Israel emerged in 1948 based on a UN decision. The legitimacy of the state, unlike Hamastan in Gaza, is not in question. Israel has democratic institutions, which also encompasses the Arab minority. It is a dynamic, western-oriented nation. Europe does not end on the Mediterranean coast, but rather to the east of Jerusalem. Israel has continually been threatened in its existence, the people measure their lives by the wars. First it was armored warfare, then suicide attacks and from now on a campaign of delegitimation, which is to turn the Jewish State into the pariah among the nations. Even 62 years later, it’s still about survival. No western state has had to suffer anything similar.”
– Michael Stürmer, German historian. 1938 AD
Stürmer, I. (2015): Kauft nicht bei Israelis?. In: Die Welt. 08.12.2015. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"Israel has a deep meaning for the world, and I believe it is setting a standard for the world. The Jewish people down through the centuries have given us so much. I’ve been enamored of the great legacy of all the great people from the time of Moses down to the present. There is so much the Jewish people have contributed – and continue to contribute – to world information and knowledge, the sciences, medicines and the arts as well. I’ve fallen in love with that legacy. Then, of course, there is that land that has been the basis – the landscape of all of that history is, of course, Israel. It’s very important to the history of the Jewish people."
– Jon Voight, American actor. 1938 AD
Horowitz, D. (2012): Jon Voight. Jews contributed so much to the world. In: YNet News. 07.21.12, 08:27.
“Israel remains a tough, resourceful, energetic nation, an offspring of the West (…) whose current struggle merits sympathy and support. (…) The Israeli people are America’s friends and have a right to peace and secure borders. We should help them secure these rights. (…) No true Christian can carry within his heart hatred for any of God’s children. I am as aware as any other Christian that our Savior was Jewish, His mother was Jewish. The Apostles were Jewish. The first martyrs were Jewish. So no true Christian, in my judgment, can be an anti-Semite.”
– Pat Buchanan, Irish-American politician and columnist. 1938 AD
Buchanan, P. (1996): - Setting the Record Straight on Anti-Semitism. March 1, 1996.
"Consider that when the Jews came to Palestine, it was a desert. People were living in the same primitive manner as they had been since the time of Moses. The Jews brought Western knowledge and Western values to the Middle East. They turned an almost barren land into a modern, industrial civilization. They raised cities where there had been only dirt; they developed irrigated farms where there had been only dry sand; they built cars and trucks and planes where there had been mainly pack animals. They produced wealth where there had been only poverty. They brought freedom and individual rights to a land where these ideas were unknown. And many of the Arabs hated Israel for doing so – because it was an achievement they could not, and did not want to, equal."
– Edwin Locke, American psychologist. 1938 AD
Price, R. (2001): Unholy War. Page 82.
“The horrors and madness in Europe had obviously more than strengthened the surviving Jews’ hot desire to one day return to live in the capital of their dreams and mind. (…) The result of the 1967 war was, among other things, that all of Jerusalem came under Israeli rule. The greeting ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ had become something that could now be realized. Finally, finally, finally Israelis and Jews from all parts of the world could now reach the Wailing Wall. Rarely has the world's history witnessed such scenes of joy.”
– Alf Svensson, Swedish member of European Parliament (KD). 1938 AD
Svensson, A. (2009): Ingen fred om Jerusalem delas. 17 december 2009. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"Israel is at the forefront of women being treated equally, relative to other areas of the world. There are shining examples of women advancing here, if you look at the army, politics – former Prime Minister Golda Meir. The responsibilities that women have here are impressive. I look at Israel as a forward, progressive country which has done much in the advancement of women's rights in all stations of life."
– Edwina Sandys, English feminist. 1938 AD
Silverman, A. (2012): Churchill's granddaughter on art and Israel. In: YNet News. 07.01.12, 13:29.
“I have always admired Jews: their capacity to individually and collectively overcome horrible situations, to surpass many people in the arts, in science, in business, in enterprise. I admire them and at the same time I pity them, and I have lived with them in my adolescence, then when I learned of what had happened in the 20th century, I lived with them, I shared the indignity that weighs on us all like a lead weight, on us of the human species, that there had been such a crime committed against the Jews.”
– Lucien Bouchard, French-Canadian Premier of Quebec. 1938 AD
Conférence de presse de M. Lucien Bouchard, premier ministre du Québec. Le mercredi 20 décembre 2000, 12 h 33. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"I bought some books on the Jewish people. Jews attach extreme importance to study and see scholars as their spiritual leaders. [They] speak truth to power [and] freely expres different opinions. There are people who say that the world's wealth is in the Jews' pocket. Actually, Jews' wealth is in their own brain.”
– Wu Guangzheng, Chinese mayor of Wuhan. 1938 AD
Stone Fish, I. (2013): Retired high-ranking Chinese official asks why Jews are so smart. In: FP. May 23 2013, 3:30 PM.
“For hundreds of years, the United States has benefited from Jewish contributions to American culture. As a nation of immigrants, the United States is better and stronger because Jewish people from all over the world have chosen to become American citizens. When the first Jewish settlers came to this land, they sought a place of promise where they could practice their faith in freedom and live in liberty. American Jews have strengthened our country and helped shape our way of life. By recognizing those contributions to the fabric of American life, we promote awareness and understanding.”
– Maurice Hinchey, Irish-American Representative (Dem) from New York. 1938 AD
April 22, 2010 - Issue: Vol. 156, No. 58 — Daily Edition 111th Congress (2009 - 2010) - 2nd Session.
“In its short 60 years as an independent nation, Israel has made remarkable achievements in all sectors of society. Despite its tumultuous experiences, Israel is a vibrant democracy that embraces a free press and political dissent. Israel has also contributed remarkably through miraculous breakthroughs in medicine, revolutionary technological advancements, cultural icons and an agricultural system that is a model for the entire world.”
– Lois Capps née Grimsrud, Norwegian-American Representative (Dem) from California. 1938 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“Since its establishment 60 years ago, the people of Israel have turned a desert into a new nation, forged a new and dynamic society, and created a unique and vital economic, political, cultural, and intellectual life despite the heavy costs of seven wars, unrelenting terrorism, frequent international ostracism, and economic boycotts.”
– Dan Burton, Irish-American Representative (GOP) from Indiana. 1938 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“The Jews of Israel have already emerged as a valorous people who have made the deserts bloom. And the Jews of Canada have found a home in this country, whose future is immeasurably brighter and whose values have been incalculably enriched because of their Jewish presence and their contribution to Canada and to all humankind.”
– Brian Mulroney, Irish-Canadian Prime Minister of Canada. 1939 AD
Mulroney, B. (???): An Enduring Reality.
“[I am] a long standing friend of the Jewish community of Australia and a long standing admirer of what the state of Israel has achieved against such tremendous adversity in the last 50 years. (...) Your contribution to Australian society has been immense. And the contribution of the Jewish people around the world, to wisdom and to culture and to learning, has been absolutely legendary. That great and famous part of the world has given great gifts to the people of the world. And that makes the present time of peril and present time of distress all that much harder to bear. But the hallmark of the Jewish people and the hall mark of the state of Israel has always been faith and commitment and tenacity. (...) Israel has been a wonderful source of inspiration to the Jewish people of the world, it's been a wonderful example of racial harmony and tolerance and of openness and a willingness to receive people from all around the world, not unlike, of course, our own country. (...) By any measure, it has been a remarkable fifty years for Israel – years of struggle, years of war, and the terrible price of senseless terrorism. It has also been fifty years of democracy, of fighting for principle, of survival in the face of constant attacks on Israel's very right to exist. (…) The 1948 [independence] declaration offered to Israel's neighbours 'peace and good neighbourliness' and committed Israel to doing her share in a common effort for the advancement of the Middle East. That offer, and Israel's right to exist, were rejected—setting the scene for the tumultuous struggles which have threatened Israel, destabilised the region and provided the conditions for terrorism to flourish.”
– John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia. 1939 AD
Address at Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and United Israel Appeal, Melbourne. 22/11/2000.
Address to the United Israel Appeal Dinner. 10 March, 1998.
“Judaism favors capitalist activity and provides a rigorous moral framework for it. (…) The three-tenths of 1 percent of the world population that is Jewish has contributed some 25 percent of notable human intellectual accomplishment in the modern period… In the second half of the twentieth century, when Nobel Prizes began to be awarded to people from all over the world, that figure rose to 29 percent. So far in the twenty-first century, it has been 32 percent.”
– George Gilder, American investor and author. 1939 AD
Gilder, G. (2009): Capitalism, Jewish Achievement, and the Israel Test. In: American Enterprise Institute. July 27 2009.
“Israel is obviously a miracle. (...) Never before has it happened that a nation was threatened with death in multiple wars and hundreds of terror attacks. Nevertheless, Israel has remained a vital democracy with free elections and free debate. Furthermore, Israel is the only democracy in the whole area. All twenty Arab countries are clearly dictatorships with varying degrees of severity. Therefore it is a moral and ideological obligation for free people all over the world to support Israel. (…) Dramatic is indeed the realization that the people that Hitler almost wiped out, could regain their nation and turn it into a model for many other countries.”
– Per Ahlmark, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. 1939 AD
Intervju i vår tidning Menorah 1999. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“I daresay that no country has faced such adversity and strife during such a short period of time. Our staunchest ally in the region has persevered against enemy invasions, random terror attacks, and saber rattling throughout its short existence and has grown stronger as a result.”
– Kit Bond, American Senator (GOP) from Missouri. 1939 AD
May 8, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 76 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
"In looking back upon the Jewish nation; the fact that it still exists today is a miracle in itself, for the Jews have been more persecuted than any race on the face of the earth. They have been conquered by seven different nations and yet survived each of these alien cultures. (...) The Jewish people, through centuries of persecution and dispersion, have sustained their own identity. Out of the four billion people living on our planet today, only fourteen million are Jewish. That is less than one-third of one percent of the total population. Yet although small in number, the Jews have made many significant contributions to the world. In the last few years, twelve percent of the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine have been won by Jews. (...) Here in the United States, as a result of the Hebrew philosophy of recognizing man's individual rights, we have inherited our democratic form of government and society."
– Scott Ross, American TV presenter. 1939 – 2023 AD
CBN: Israel. The Apple of His Eye. 12-10-2022.
“Israel's security and success is not only a strategic imperative for the United States. It is a moral imperative, as well. Ours is a relationship of shared values and common aspirations, and of principle and conscience. We are nations of immigrants, safe havens for the oppressed and partners for peace. And, we are united in fighting terrorism. No people on earth have been subjected to more bigotry and violence than the Jewish people, and no people are more in need of a sovereign, secure homeland to provide safe haven and to protect identity.”
– Steny Hoyer, Danish-American Representative (Dem) from Maryland. 1939 AD
May 2, 2006 - Issue: Vol. 152, No. 50 — Daily Edition 109th Congress (2005 - 2006) - 2nd Session.
“For almost 1,900 years, the Jews wandered about the earth as strangers who were persecuted from every side. This culminated in the holocaust of World War II, when six million Jews were put to death in the concentration camps. Yet, against all odds, the state of Israel was reborn on May 14, 1948, and the Jews began to return to their homeland from all points of the compass. This was the second time in their history since becoming a nation that they have come back into their land. (...) The nations that persecuted them—Moab, Ammon, Edom, Philistia, and many others—have either been destroyed or completely lost their individual identity. Have you ever heard of a Swedish Moabite? A Russian Philistine? A German Edomite? An American Ammonite? No! These people have been totally absorbed into other cultures and races. However, have you ever heard of a Swedish Jew? A Russian Jew? A German Jew? An American Jew? Yes! As prophesied, they have not lost their identity.”
– Josh McDowell, Irish-American evangelist. 1939 AD
McDowell, J. (1980): Answers To Tough Questions.
“Out of the dark shadows of the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of over 6 million Jews, and many others, the state of Israel was reborn on the very same lands where the Jewish people had maintained a continuous presence for more than 2 millennia. As an American, I am so proud that the United States has stood by Israel, our closest of allies, from the very beginning of its modern existence. (…) It was from the ashes of World War II that (…) a beacon of democracy and hope was established in the Holy Land. (…) In a region long dominated by autocratic and monarchic traditions, Israel has been a paragon of democratic pluralism. Over the course of its modern existence, Israeli society has defended the principles we, as Americans, hold in such high esteem: freedom of speech, religion, and the press, an independent judiciary, and free market capitalism.”
– Harry Reid, American Senator from Nevada. 1939 AD
April 17, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 61 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“We believe that (…) Israel’s right to exist and to participate as a full and equal member of [the international] society must be protected as must those of all other countries. It is unthinkable that a democratic and enlightened society should be ostracised and treated as a pariah. We will have none of it.”
– Andrew Peacock, Scottish-Australian Liberal MP. 1939 AD
“Unlike the Arab tribes that have entered this land for the purpose of expanding ownership and control; the Banu Israel grew up in this land since the dawn of history with their kingdoms. It was this land in which originated their festivals, sanctuaries, heritage, culture and religion. It remained the land of the Jews and their direction of prayer and destination of travels. It was the hotbed of their prophets and revelation. Embracing the land of Israel are Jewish cities: holy Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and Hebron. Zion was but a name synonymous with Jerusalem and the land of Israel. In this land, Jewish prophets and scholars wrote their books which remains a beacon of light and guidance for the Jews and reached all the nations after them.”
– Muhammad Hassan Sharab, Palestinian writer and historian. 1938 – 2013 AD
Shoebat, W. (2012): All Maps Lead To ISRAEL FOR THE JEWS. June 6 2012.
“Let us learn from the accomplishments of the Israelites. They purchased land, built homes, set up villages and communities, and established various centers. They accomplished all this with the help of a strong ideology. Today, we [Assyrians] live under more favorable conditions than the Israelites did then.”
– Dr Ashur Moradkhan, Assyrian-American dentist.
Zinda Magazine, 13 July 2005.
“I look forward to good relations with Israel and the Jewish
people in which we fight terrorism together in this region.”
– Hussein Yazdanpana, Kurdish Peshmerga commander and politician.
Frantzman, S.J. (2016): ‘This is our 1948’: Kurds kindle a close relationship with Jews and Israel. In: The Jerusalem Post. May 12 2016, 08:38.
“Israel is an open and democratic country guaranteeing human dignity and equality before law. Israel's Labor Law is also in favor of workers and employees as it is applied equally to protect rights of workers including foreign workers. (…) Israel is known as a country making progress in technology and Nepal can benefit a lot from Israel's innovation in different sectors. We can learn and import Israel's high tech knowledge in agriculture and water sector.”
– Prahlad Prasai, Nepalese Ambassador to Israel.
Spotlight (2015): Ties With Israel Growing In Strength. July 27, 2015, 5:45 PM.
"As our ally, Israel is also a model from which we can learn – from the intrinsic value of Judaism to Israel's fortitude and security. And with the deep pains and grief over the years from so many mass shootings in U.S. schools, Israel stands as a beacon of light for how to protect our children in public places."
– Chuck Norris, Irish-American martial artist and actor. 1940 AD
Norris, C. (2013): Israel. America's model for reducing violent crime. In: WND. January 20, 2013.
“Israel is a blooming, indeed a booming country, with a stable democracy. You owe this success not least to your citizens’ perseverence, affirmation of life and faith in God. Germany and Israel are more closely bound than ever before: by common values, but also common interests. (...) In no other country in the world, are the present, millennia-old traditions and the world religions as interwoven and present as in Israel. Israel is a young, modern country, with a creative art, music and start-up scene. At the same time the many Biblical and historical locations in the country are fascinating. This mixture is not free from contradictions.”
– Joachim Gauck, Mecklenburgish Federal President of Germany. 1940 – 2012 AD
Empfang mit militärischen Ehren durch den Präsidenten des Staates Israel. Jerusalem/Israel, 29. Mai 2012. [Translated by C. Nooij].
Interview mit der Tageszeitung BILD und der israelischen Zeitung Yedioth Ahronoth. 12. Mai 2015. [Translated by C. Nooij].
"The creation of Israel stands out as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, and as a beacon of hope to the world. (...) Israel has made deserts bloom, cities thrive, created a dynamic economy, advanced the rights of citizens, and preserved its very rich culture."
– Nancy Pelosi née D'Alesandro, Italian-American US House Speaker (Dem). 1940 AD
Pelosi on Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of Israel. April 22, 2008.
“The only country ISIS fears is Israel. They told me they know the Israeli army is too strong for them. They think they can defeat U.S. and U.K. ground troops, who they say they have no experience in city guerrilla or terrorist strategies. But they know the Israelis are very tough as far as fighting against guerrillas and terrorists goes. (…) They are not scared of the British and the Americans, they are scared of the Israelis and told me the Israeli army is the real danger [to ISIS].”
- Jürgen Todenhöfer, Badenian/German member of parliament (CDU). 1940 AD
Haaretz (2015): 'The Only Country ISIS Fears Is Israel'. December 28 2015.
“I always loved the great sensitivity that is the primary quality of the Jews. A sensitivity often marked by suffering and the same anxiety that moves me. (...) Regarding Israel, I see and admire it as a growing country that has huge opportunities, thanks to the intelligence of its people – especially when you see how the country has enhanced its land, compared to the land of its neighboring countries. Israel is the very expression of man returning to nature. Hence the importance of knowledge and human intelligence to me.”
– Dalil Boubakeur, Algerian-French Mufti. 1940 AD
Interview de Dalil Boubakeur, recteur de la Grande Mosquée de Paris à Gilles Sitruk. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“From the first hour on that first day, Israel and the United States began a relationship based on democratic values, friendship and respect that continues to this day. Over the years, Israel has developed into a thriving society, a world leader, and an active democracy. Welcoming people from Russia to Ethiopia, Israel has become a refuge for those persecuted for thousands of years.”
– John Lewis, African-American Representative (Dem) from Georgia. 1940 AD
April 23, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 65 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“Jerusalem (…) is a city unique in all the world. We know much of its 3,000 year history. We know that Jerusalem has been a great city for many people; we know that it remains a holy city for people throughout the world; we know that it is an inseparable part of the Jewish state, a fundamental part of Jewish identity; and we know that it is the undivided capital of the State of Israel.”
– Connie Mack III, Irish-American Representative (GOP) from Florida. 1940 AD
June 11, 1997 - Issue: Vol. 143, No. 81 — Daily Edition 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) - 1st Session.
"On May 14, 1948, when the world was still struggling with the aftermath of the Holocaust, Israel declared itself a nation. (...) As the only true democracy in the Middle East, we recognize Israel's struggle to protect its people, maintain peace with its neighbors, and defend the freedoms of a democratic society."
– Jim Clyburn, African-American Representative (Dem) from South Carolina. 1940 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East, and Israel with the United States stand together in the fight against terror and the protection of individual’s rights against our collective enemies. (…) Israel is one of our greatest allies, and our relationship is especially critical during these dangerous times in the Middle East.”
– Lamar Alexander, Scots-Irish American Senator (GOP) from Tennessee. 1940 AD
Campaign web site, www.AlexanderForSenate.com, “Agenda”, May 27, 2002.
"The Jews started it all – and by ‘it’ I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, tick. Without the Jews, we would see the world through different eyes, hear with different ears, even feel with different feelings. We would think with a different mind, interpret all our experience differently, draw different conclusions from the things that befall us. And we would set a different course for our lives."
– Thomas Cahill, Irish-American scholar and writer. 1940 AD
Cahill, T. (2010): The Gifts of the Jews. Page 3.
"I think there is a wrong perception that Islam is in disagreement with Israel. This is caused by Arab propaganda. (…) I always say that China and the Soviet Union have or had atheism as part of their constitution, but we have long-term relationships with both these countries. So then Israel has a reputation as a nation with a high regard for God and religion – there is then no reason we have to be against Israel."
– Abdurrahman Wahid, Javanese President of Indonesia. 1940 – 2009 AD
Odenheimer, M. (2004): A Friend of Israel in the Islamic World. In: HaAretz. July 7 2004.
"The support of Israel is a biblically based mandate for every Christian. All other nations were created by an act of men, but God Himself established the boundaries of the nation of Israel. God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a covenant of land that was eternally binding, and it's recorded in the book of Genesis. (...) It was the Jewish people who gave us the written Scripture. They gave us the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They gave us the disciples and the apostle Paul. The Jewish people gave to Christianity the first Christian family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus - our Savior! If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there is nothing left. (...) Geopolitically speaking, we should support Israel because it is the only true democracy in the Middle East. The tiny democracy of Israel is surrounded by feudal states and brutal dictatorships that control vast regions of land and oil resources. The presence of the Israeli Defense Forces brings stability to that part of the world."
– John Hagee, American pastor from Texas. 1940 AD
https://www.jhm.org/faq.asp#israel
"Israel is not just a vitally important ally to the United States, it is a beacon of democracy in a part of the world where democracies are few and far between. Sadly, all too often, Israel is forced to defend these democratic values against countless who wish to wipe Israel off the map."
– Harry E. Mitchell, American Representative (Dem) from Arizona. 1940 AD
Congressional Speeches on Israel’s 62nd Anniversary. April 22 2010.
"We expelled the Jews from Poland, but they have given us embassies in Stockholm, London, everywhere. Without the Polish-Jewish emigrants of 1968 we would never had the revolution – they were the biggest contribution to our freedom."
– Krzysztof Śliwiński, Polish special envoy for Jewish Affairs. 1940 – 2021 AD
Kalhousová, I. (2019): Our Jews, Our Israel!. Page 124.
“I am standing here to deliver an unequivocal message of sympathy and solidarity to your people: Israel has a fundamental right to exist. Israel has a lasting right to live peacefully within secure borders among neighbours who recognise it. (...) Israel's history is part of Europe's history and our fates are intertwined. As democracies we are part of the same community of values. You are our neighbours, we have a common heritage. (...) Our common heritage and ideals should be at the core of our common action to inspire hope, and to respond to the aspirations of the peoples for democracy in an ever changing Middle East. (...) Bring democracy to the region, in which you, citizens of Israel, live. You have the chance to be an agent of change. I am sure that your nation, a nation of hope and freedom like Israel will contribute to writing this new chapter in the history of the Middle East.”
– Jerzy Buzek, Prime Minister of Poland. 1940 AD
Address by the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek to the Knesset on 15 June 2011.
“I pay tribute to the self-restraint and statesmanship shown by the people of Israel during the Gulf war. I do not believe that any other democracy, seeing its people being killed and attacked by missiles from the sky, would have been as willing to show the same self-restraint.”
– John Marshall, Scottish/British Conservative MP. 1940 AD
UK Parliament (1991): Israel. Volume 191: debated on Thursday 23 May 1991.
“Except for some Arab countries, Israel is recognized by the entire world. Israel's army has become the strongest army in the Middle East. Its annual per capita income has reached $18,000, which amounts to the total per capita income for all Arab countries put together, excepting the Gulf states. Culturally and scientifically, Israel is one of the top countries in the world. (...) Three of its universities (the Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and Haifa University) are ranked among the 20 best universities in the world, while no Arab university is listed among 400 best universities in the world (Cairo university is ranked 401).”
– Shaker Al-Nabulsi, Jordanian-American author. 1940 – 2014.
MEMRI: Reformist Arab Writer. The Policy of Rejecting Normalization with Israel Is a Political Decision of Unmatched Stupidity.
“There had always been Jews in Palestine; never was the land fully abandoned. Around the turn of the century, about 30,000 to 50,000 Jews lived there. But they were mostly townsfolk, subsisting on small workmanship or devoted themselves to studying the Bible. (…) The situation changed as a result of the Russian immigration waves. These refugees, contrary to the Jews already living there, wanted to engage in the development of the land. (…) The second wave of migration took place after the new pogroms in Russia from 1902 to 1906. (…) Now, specialists were trained for the development of a new type of agricultural settlements. As such, from this second migration wave resulted communal settlements, the Kvutzim or Kibbutzim, which attempted to overcome the traditional principles of ‘payment based on performance’ and achieve as much of a common responsibility among all members as possible. (…) Aside from the continually growing settlement establishments, the first larger modern city was formed on the sand dunes at Jaffa in 1909: Tel Aviv – Hill of Spring. A number of industrial enterprises emerged in the immediate vicinity, so that people living in Tel Aviv could find work there.”
– Hans-Jürgen van der Minde, Hessian/German pastor. 1940 AD – 2020 AD
Minde, H.-J. van der (2010): Glanz und Elend jüdischer Geschichte [translated by C. Nooij].
“Israel is in extreme crisis. She is threatened by terrorists, undermined by Arab propaganda, attacked by anti-Semitic voices in the U.N. and in Europe. It doesn’t take much creative thinking to surmise that Israel needs help. The millions of Christians around the world are potentially the best friend Israel has, yet most of the Church is sound asleep or deceived with regard to Israel’s growing crisis. (…) The Church may miss her highest calling if she does not prepare herself to say also to Israel when and if the time ever comes, ‘Where you die, I will die.’”
– Susan Sandager, American actress from Kentucky.
Brog, D. (2016): Standing with Israel. Why Christians Support Israel. Page 235.
“Our ancestors have cried for the day that they could meet with the sons of Abraham. ‘Cause you were the people of hope, the people of light. Welcome to my whare (meeting house). Welcome… I, like them, have waited for this day. (...) I want to be your friend. I don't want to be your brother, I don't want to be anything - I want to be your friend."
– Patrick Tupoto Ruka, Maori (Ngāpuhi) tribal elder / kaumātua. ??? – 2021 AD
2018 Powhiri welcome from Perry Trotter on Vimeo.
"For hundreds of years the Turkish nation and the Jewish nation have served as the most beautiful example of coexistence in brotherhood and tolerance. The two nations carry toward the future - with great pride – the friendship between them, which is based on their common past. The Turks and the Jews have always helped each other in difficult times; always rushed to help each other out. For example, we always remember our Israeli friends who shared our pain and worked at the forefront of the aid efforts, on the front lines, when the earthquake disaster befell us in 1999. We will always remember this and we will always be grateful. The friendship and brotherhood between us have been tested many times, during good and bad times. They have grown stronger over time, and they are a strong foundation of cooperation which exists today and has been established between the Turkish Republic and the State of Israel.”
– Ahmet Necdet Sezer, President of Türkiye. 1941 AD
Address of the President of Turkey, Ahmet Necdet Sezer to the Knesset on 7 June 2006.
“I have thought for many years that as long as Israel and the United States work together on matters related to the Mid-East and many other important matters as well, history will not deny us the triumph of freedom. (…) I would submit that the dilemma and the enemies and the problems and the war, that both Israel and the United States have today in common, on which they stand on the same side, is exactly that: we are hated because we are free. (…) We are hated by these Islamists because we believe in freedom of speech, freedom of press, the education of women and openness and everything that makes life worth living, in modern Israeli and American society.”
– James Woolsey, American Director of the CIA. 1941 AD
Herzliya Conference 2001. Session Transcripts.
"The nationalism of nineteenth century Europe – every nation its own holy state, inhabited by that very special nation with its special calling in the world; chosen, unique among the nations. (…) But at the same time they [the Jews] themselves were a nation for thousands of years, long before the other nations were invented – more than those nations they were the nation par excellence; also chosen, with their own country as well: Palestine – the land of their origin; the land given to them, in the eyes of believers, by God; a land that, after their expulsion – 70 AD and definitively in 125 – was unreachable to them for centuries. (…) When the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs, the Bourbons and the Oranges still jumped around in their bear skins – to say nothing of the Saudi’s and others – the Cohens read from the Torah, the Levy’s made ritual sacrifices to God."
– Wessel te Gussinklo, Dutch author. 1941 – 2023 AD
Gussinklo, W. te (2008): Palestina als adderkluwen. De Israëlische tragedie. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“We get a lot from the Jews of the world, we got a lot of culture, we got a lot of science, we got a lot of everything. As far as I know, more than half of all the Nobel Prize winners are Jewish. Without them, we would not be at the levels of understanding that we have reached today. (...) Israel has the ungrateful task of fighting on the front for our Western values and societies.”
– Ole Nydahl, Danish Buddhist monk/lama. 1941 AD
“I am a big believer in Israeli startups, and in the culture and mentality that fosters them. (…) I am a big believer in Israeli culture, which refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer. A fear of risks is simply absent from the mindset. The talented people are not afraid to make mistakes, and I love the way you think. People in Israel are direct, they say what they think; it is a trait that also characterizes the Dutch.”
– Neelie Kroes, Dutch Minister (VVD) of Transport and Water Management. 1941 AD
Dover, S. (2015): Netherlands looking to copy Israel's startup success. In: Globes. 20 October 2015, 12:15.
“Israel has been a long time ally of the United States and was founded on the same democratic principles and freedoms as the United States. (...) I admire Israel as the lone democracy in a troubled area of the world.”
– Duke Cunningham, American Representative (GOP) from California. 1941 AD
May 3, 2002 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E717.
“The point of Israel is that Jews shall never again, like Blanche DuBois in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, depend on the kindness of strangers. Such dependency did not work out well for Jews, so Israel exists for Jewish self-defense.”
– George Will, American political commentator. 1941 AD
Will, G.F. (2014): America needs a conservative internationalist as president. In: The Washington Post, July 30 2014.
“The birth of the modern Jewish state in the night of 14 May 1948 was a miracle of God, and during the following years, his saving right hand was often dramatically active in the fate of this people.”
– Johan Malan, South African (Afrikaner) cultural anthropologist. 1941 AD
Bibleguidance. [Translated by C. Nooij].
“Throughout history, the judgments of God have fallen heavily upon Israel’s oppressors - Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and in more modern times, Spain, Germany, and Russia. (…) While the complete fulfillment is yet to come, the return of the Jews to Israel in 1948 was an astounding event unprecedented in world history. Never had a decimated ancient people managed to retain their individual identity through almost twenty centuries and reestablish their nation in their original homeland. The event was specifically prophesied, and it happened exactly as foretold. It was clearly a miraculous act of God.”
– David Jeremiah, American evangelic writer. 1941 AD
Jeremiah, D. (2010): What in the World is Going On?. Page 5.
(BEWARE: In this same speech Gülen also spreads anti-Jewish Blood Libels)
“Even though they have lived in exile here and there and have led an almost nomadic existence, Jews have been able to maintain their racial characteristics with almost no loss. Moreover, the Jewish tribe is very intelligent. This intelligent tribe has put forth many things throughout history in the name of science and thought.”
– Fethullah Gülen, Turkish preacher and writer. 1941 AD
Torossian, R. (2017): Deport Radical Islamist Preacher to Turkey and Maintain American Interests. In: The Algemeiner. May 19 2017.
“I like Israelis, I have always gotten along well with them. I feel a kind of closeness with Israel and Israelis. (...) Israel is the result, in part, of the Holocaust caused by Nazi Germany. It gave the moral imprimatur to the establishment of Israel, and I feel that as a German of my generation or any generation that we have an obligation to support that country.”
– Hans-Jörg Gudegast / Eric Braeden, Sleswickian/German-American actor. 1941 AD
Shefa, S. (2011): Y & R star is a pro-Israel advocate. In: The CJN. January 27, 2011.
“The State of Israel was established as a sovereign and independent nation on May 14, 1948. Israel provided a democratic refuge to Jews who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and the evils committed by the Nazis. Israel is home to many religious sites which are sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This multicultural society serves as a shining model of democratic values by regularly holding free and fair elections, promoting the free exchange of ideas, and vigorously exercising its Parliament, the Knesset. Israel is a democratic government that is fully representative of its citizens and has worked to build peaceful and bilateral relations with her neighbors, including Egypt and Jordan.”
– Danny Davis, African-American Representative (Dem) from Illinois. 1941 AD
May 3, 2006 - Issue: Vol. 152, No. 51 — Daily Edition 109th Congress (2005 - 2006) - 2nd Session.
“From its first breaths in 1948 until today, Israel has stood as the foremost beacon of democracy in the Middle East. As the sole democracy in the region, Israel is the United States' most strategic ally in the Middle East, and I have supported policies that strengthen its safety, security and welfare. (...) The Iranian government, and the international community, must recognize the Jewish, democratic state of Israel's legitimacy and right to exist, given the Jewish people's three millennia of history in the land of Israel. Israel is Jewish land, and this must be recognized.”
– Mike Honda, Japanese-American Representative (Dem) from California. 1941 AD
Congressional Speeches on Israel’s 62nd Anniversary. April 22 2010.
“On May 14, 1948, Israel's founders declared that the country would be not only a Jewish State, but also a democratic one, where all citizens, regardless of religion, ethnicity, race or gender, would live in peace with equal civil rights. Since that day, Americans have stood side by side with Israel to form a strong bond of friendship. (...) The United States and Israel are close allies whose people share a deep and abiding friendship based on a shared commitment to core values including democracy, human rights and freedom of the press and religion. (...) A strong Israel is an asset to the national security of the United States and brings stability to the Middle East.”
– Bob Etheridge, American Representative (Dem) from North Carolina. 1941 AD
Congressional Speeches on Israel’s 62nd Anniversary. April 22 2010.
“For as long as it has existed, Israel has been a beacon for the Jewish Diaspora and a lone democracy in the Middle East. It has given refuge to those in search of a homeland and provided a safe haven for people around the world who have fled from persecution. While it has struggled with its neighbors to find a workable peace, Israel and its people have never ended its pursuit for a permanent solution.”
– Sam Farr, American Representative (Dem) from California. 1941 AD
April 22, 2008 - Issue: Vol. 154, No. 64 — Daily Edition 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - 2nd Session.
“Israelis have proved beyond any doubt why God promised them this land – only they could keep it green. The land is described repeatedly in the Torah as a good land and 'a landflowing with milk and honey'. This description may not seem to fit well with the desert images we see on the nightly news, but let's keep in mind that the land was repeatedly abused by conquerors that were determined to make the land uninhabitable for the Jews. In the few decades since the Jewish people regained control of the land, tremendous improvement in its agriculture has been witnessed. Israeli agriculture today has a very high yield. Agriculture in Israel is very effective, and is able to cover about 75% of domestic needs, despite the limited land available. Looking at the development and transformation that the land has gone through because of the Jewish innovative spirit, hard labor and commitment to freedoms for all times to come, I am convinced that it is true that God created this earth but it is also a fact that only an Israel can keep this earth from dying.”
– Dr. Tashbih Sayyed, Pakistani-American scholar, journalist, and author. 1941 – 2007 AD
“The establishment of Israel after 2000 years of life in the Diaspora has been a miracle for the Jewish people. In 60 years this tiny country along the Eastern Mediterranean has, in spite of crises and wars, undergone a phenomenal development: The population was increased tenfold, from 750,000 to 7.3 million citizens, an extremely poor Agricultural country grew into a renowned, modern high state, the products of which are in demand all over the world. (…) The joy over the birthday of the State of Israel does not cover all of our worries. Israel has been fighting for its existence for 60 years. Even today, its right to live is being questioned, and Israel is being attacked daily. (…) Israel wants to live in peace and security. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah want to destroy Israel. This simple yet clear fact ought to be pronounced one such day.”
– Johannes Gerster, Rhine-Hessian member of the Bundestag (CDU). 1941 – 2021 AD
Festakt in der Frankfurter Paulskirche zum 60. Geburtstag Israels. [Translated by C. Nooij].
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