Hamas leader says 'we have the Israelis right where we want them' in leaked messages, WSJ reports

[lapucelle]

82. It's not the whole quote.

The poster left something out. I'm sure it was just an oversight.

I don't understand your optimism. Why should the Arabs make peace? If I were an Arab leader, I would never [come to terms with] Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago. What is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?

https://archive.org/details/jewishparadox0000gold/mode/2up?view=theater

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Caveat lector:

Of course there are other problems concerning the quote. The original conversion between Goldman and Ben-Gurion was in Hebrew. Goldman recounted his memory of it decades later to the interviewer, but in French.

The book was originally published in French, and then translated into English for the English speaking market. This is Goldman's account of a conversation that had taken place decades before. The original Hebrew was rendered in French and then translated into English.

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Below is the quote in French from the original publication. Here's the part of what the poster left out:

Nous sommes originaires d’Israël

We are natives of Israel

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Je ne comprends pas ton optimisme », me déclara Ben Gourion. « Pourquoi les Arabes feraient-ils la paix? Si j’étais, moi, un leader arabe, jamais je ne signerais avec Israël. C’est normal : nous avons pris leur pays. Certes, Dieu nous l’a promis, mais en quoi cela peut-il les intéresser ? Notre Dieu n’est pas le leur. Nous sommes originaires d’Israël, c’est vrai, mais il y a de cela deux mille ans : en quoi cela les concerne-t-il ? Il y a eu l’antisémitisme, les nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, mais était-ce leur faute? Ils ne voient qu’une chose : nous sommes venus et nous avons volé leur pays.

https://www.babelio.com/livres/Goldmann-Le-Paradoxe-juif--Conversations-en-francais-avec-/638161/citations

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Oh, and the poster misspelled the originale title of the book. It's Le Paradoxe juif. French is not everyone's strong suit.