Sayed Kashua

“Israel defines Palestinians more than anything else.”

“Sometimes I can write very angry columns, but I know that it doesn't work.”

“We were, as Arabs in Israel, educated not to leave our villages, in order to protect our identity.”

“There is really no place for individuals in Israel.”

“Sometimes I think that if we have to go back, then it certainly won't be to Jerusalem. Not to the Jerusalem beset with racism that we left at the height of the last Gaza war.”

“When was the last time an Arab MK who appeared on television wasn't there in the role of the accused who is attacked by a skeptical broadcaster?”

“Sometimes I wonder if there is any hope left for an Israeli-Palestinian discourse that is built on equality and liberty rather than a fruitless discourse of master and servant.”

“After five years of marriage, she is still the most beautiful and attractive woman in the world.”

“I wish I could be proud of being an Israeli citizen, but how can I do that when I'm not really recognized as a full citizen?”

“They're completely American. When I served my son falafel in a pita the other day, he said, 'Daddy, this taco is very good.'”

“Somehow it seems that all parents are certain that they themselves were victims of abuse in school and that they will not allow this to happen to their children. Even though children can also be the cruelest group imaginable - especially the cutest of them.”

“I don't know how it works with the Jews, but here in Beit Safafa, as in every self-respecting Arab community that is respected in turn by the state, there are no street names and no house numbers.”

“All Israelis think Arabs steal cars.”

“A lot of my friends in my student days complained about how their parents made them play an instrument when they were kids. I always felt compassion for them and didn't believe a parent could be so cruel, but when I check today, those complaining friends grew up to be quite successful, and many of them are now making their children play.”

“To be critical of television is almost like questioning the fact of God's existence.”

“Like with all the Arabs, they use the 'suspect procedure' on me. I arrive four hours before the flight. They do a body search in a back room behind the curtain and then escort me onto the plane because they're afraid that on the way I might pick up a bomb from someone.”

“If there was genuine desire on the Israeli side, even without a solution, it would be possible to solve a large percentage of the problems between Israelis and Palestinians by means of simple statements from the Israelis.”

“Americans like to add the word 'super' when they're describing things.”

“People who go far don't sleep an average of 14 hours a day.”

“Whom do you speak to about introducing a leap year? Is it heresy to request such a thing? Why do the Jews have one and we don't?”