Quotation from Moshe Sharett “Let us hope for a new war with the Arab countries” — May 26 1955
Minister for Foreign Affairs 1948-1956, and Prime Minister 1954-1956, paraphrasing on Moshe Dayan's words on the desire for a new war.
- Sharett, Moshe (1894-1965) ( 10 quotations )
- International law does not matter ( 37 quotations )
- "Land of Israel" or variable geometry "biblical lands ( 42 quotations )
- Colonization: never more than breaks ( 57 quotations )
- Colonial optimism ( 37 quotations )
- Only strength gives the right ( 33 quotations )
"To sum up: We had [said Dayan] no need of a defense pact with the US. On the contrary, it would be to our detriment. In any event, we would be in no danger from Arab military superiority for the next 8-10 years. … A defense pact would tie our hands and deny us freedom of action, which was precisely what we needed over the next few years. Acts of reprisal, which we would be unable to undertake under the conditions of a pact, are our elixir of life. ... they assisted us in keeping the country and the Army on guard. Without them we would not have a nation imbued with a fighting spirit. Without that we would be lost. .... In order that young people will continue to settle the Negev, we must sound the alarm on this danger.
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His [Dayan’s] conclusions were clear. This country had no international worries, no economic problems, the question of peace did not exist, what occurred in the region or in the entire world was unimportant. This country could, better still it is obliged to, make its decisions self-interestedly, to live by the sword and to see the sword as the means, if not the only means, of raising its spirits and maintaining high morale among its ranks. To achieve this it was permissible, nay, obligatory, to conjure up dangers and then adopt a System of bloody vengeance. Above all, if only a new war erupts with the Arab countries, then we will extricate ourselves from all our problems and be freed (a telling slip of the tongue: « Ben Gourion himself has said that it would be well worth our while to pay an Arab a million pounds to start a war ! »)
Moshe Sharett, My Struggle for Peace: The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956 Indiana University Press, 2019, pp. 880-81.
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