Stephane Hessel Quotes

The wealthy have installed their slaves in the highest spheres of the state. The banks are privately owned. They are concerned solely with profits. They have no interest in the common good.

From 1967, all the Israeli governments continued making two big mistakes: occupation and settlement in the territories.

My mother once said to me, 'You must promise to be happy; it is the greatest favour you can do to others'. It has guided me throughout my life.

I always say that when a country wins with such overwhelming might, it's bad news for that country.

I feel that I am completely in solidarity with Jews in the world, because I know what it is to be a Jew. I've seen what it is; I am myself of Jewish origin, and therefore I can only be fully in support of the idea that the Jews, after all they've suffered, need a country where they are at home.

I was a young boy when I met the Surrealists and the Dadaists. I admired them, and that is what they taught me: to admire. Admiration is very important. People who are unable to admire others lose an important part of their soul. My soul developed from a very early age through encounters with admired people.

I never felt like a good Jew. My mother was not Jewish, and that makes me a non-Jew according to Jewish religious law.

As long as Palestinian violence exists, but not a Palestinian state, Israel is in danger, because it cannot obtain assistance from the international community against an entity that is not subordinate to international law.