Jonathan Sacks

“Jews survived all the defeats, expulsions, persecutions and pogroms, the centuries in which they were regarded as a pariah people, even the Holocaust itself, because they never gave up the faith that one day they would be free to live as Jews without fear.”

“A survey carried out across the U.S. between 2004 and 2006 showed that frequent church- or synagogue-goers are more likely to give money to charity.”

“While everyone else is thinking about economics and politics, executive salaries and the future of the euro, do the opposite, even if it's hard. Invest in the spirit.”

“The evidence shows that religious people - defined by regular attendance at a place of worship - actually do make better neighbors.”

“The people of Israel are entitled, as is any other nation, to live in peace and safety.”

“The market economy is very good at wealth creation but not perfect at all about wealth distribution.”

“Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start of the new millennium are not being reached. Fine words have not yet been turned into deeds.”

“Since the 18th century, many Western intellectuals have predicted religion's imminent demise.”

“If we are to negotiate the coming years safely, we may need a new kind of leadership. To put it more precisely, we need the rediscovery of an ancient kind of leadership that has rarely been given the prominence it deserves. I mean the leader as teacher.”

“People are feeling and sensing a return of anti-Semitism - even in Europe, which, seventy years after the Holocaust, is a very scary thing. I think they are feeling that Israel is very isolated and doesn't always get what they see as fair treatment in the European media.”

“Religiosity turns out to be the best indicator of civic involvement: it's more accurate than education, age, income, gender or race.”

“No great achiever - even those who made it seem easy - ever succeeded without hard work.”

“Governments cannot make marriages or turn feckless individuals into responsible citizens. That needs another kind of change agent.”

“Freedom is not won by merely overthrowing a tyrannical ruler or an oppressive regime. That is usually only the prelude to a new tyranny, a new oppression.”

“Religion is the best antidote to the individualism of the consumer age. The idea that society can do without it flies in the face of history and, now, evolutionary biology.”

“We do not always appreciate the role the Queen has played in one of the most significant changes in the past 60 years: the transformation of Britain into a multi-ethnic, multi-faith society. No one does interfaith better than the Royal family, and it starts with the Queen herself.”

“The Holocaust survivors are among the most inspiring people I have had the privilege to meet.”

“Those who believe that liberal democracy and the free market can be defended by the force of law and regulation alone, without an internalised sense of duty and morality, are tragically mistaken.”

“Some years ago there was a study to discover the most stressful occupation. It turned out not to be the head of a large business, football manager or prime minister, but rather: bus driver.”

“Parenthood involves massive sacrifice: money, attention, time and emotional energy.”