Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because these geography books no longer exist; not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahalal arose in the place of Mahalul, Gevat - in the place of Jibta, Sarid - in the place of Haneifs and Kefar Yehoshua - in the place of Tell Shaman. There is no one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.
Our American friends offer us money, arms, and advice. We take the money, we take the arms, and we decline the advice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the tendency to accept material aid while rejecting unsolicited guidance.
Moshe Dayan's quote reflects the complex relationships between nations, particularly in the context of assistance and influence. It suggests that while countries may eagerly accept financial or military support from allies, they often resist external advice, valuing their autonomy and independence over imposed strategies or suggestions. This dynamic underscores a broader theme in international relations about the balance between cooperation and sovereignty.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a diplomatic conference discussing military aid, this quote can illustrate the complexities of international support.
More from Moshe Dayan
All quotes →It is not in our hands to prevent the murder of workers… and families… but it is in our hands to fix a high price for our blood, so high that the Arab community and the Arab military forces will not be willing to pay it.
We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house.
We came here to a country that was populated by Arabs and we are building here a Hebrew, a Jewish state; instead of the Arab villages, Jewish villages were established. You even do not know the names of those villages, and I do not blame you because these villages no longer exist. There is not a single Jewish settlement that was not established in the place of a former Arab Village.
We could not guard every water pipeline from being blown up and every tree from being uprooted. We could not prevent every murder of a worker in an orchard or a family in their beds. But it was in our power to set high price for our blood, a price too high for the Arab community, the Arab army, or the Arab governments to think it worth paying... It was in our power to cause the Arab governments to renounce 'the policy of strength' toward Israel by turning it into a demonstration of weakness.
We should demand his blood not from the Arabs of Gaza but from ourselves... Let us make our reckoning today.
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Now you have people in Washington who have no interest in the country at all. They're interested in their companies, their corporations grabbing Caspian oil.
It's not the hand that signs the laws that holds the destiny of America. It's the hand that casts the ballot.
American government is like a train on a track. You have the people on the left shouting; you have the people on the right. But the train's on track. They just keep ploughing ahead.
Those looking for ideology in the White House should consider this: For the men who rule our world, rules are for other people.
I am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions from it.
People constantly speak of 'the government' doing this or that, as they might speak of God doing it. But the government is really nothing but a group of men, and usually they are very inferior men. They may have some better man working for them, but they themselves are seldom worthy of any respect.