Yair Lapid

“Judaism is a whole line of values that have existed for thousands of years, but the democratic idea is a new idea, and significant parts of it stand in contradiction to Judaism.”

“Israel can't be the only country in the Western world not to have freedom of religion.”

“Facts cannot be replaced by opinion.”

“If someone doubts our right to exist - be it on the hills of Umm al-Fahem or in Munich's beer halls, in Gaza's crowded streets or in the thick woods of Babi Yar - it's their problem. Proud states do not break into wails and crawl under the carpet when they discover someone doesn't love them.”

“When someone doesn't react to changes, the changes turn against him.”

“I do not deal with threats and ultimatums.”

“I urge the senior members of the political system to form as broad a government as possible that would unite the moderate forces from the Left and Right so that we will be able to bring about real change in the State of Israel.”

“When you say to Israelis, 'European boycott,' they think it means that this year they won't get Camembert cheese on time... That is not the case.”

“I'm not particularly fond of Shoah jokes, yet there is one I cannot forget: Why was Auschwitz an optimistic place? Because all the pessimists were already in New York by then.”

“Jerusalem will remain under Israeli sovereignty and will not be divided.”

“The liberals will surely argue that every person has the right to fall in love with no regard to religion, creed or gender, but I am not that liberal.”

“I don't feel we need a declaration from the Palestinians that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state.”

“If you want to do stuff, you have to be able to handle controversy.”

“I used to have so many opinions before I learned the facts.”

“Israelis want peace and security, and Palestinians want peace and justice - these are two very different things, and this is the real gap we have to close.”

“I'm going into politics because I think that the kind of discourse taking place in Israel is leading this country to oblivion, and I want to change it.”

“I'm not telling you what to do on the Sabbath, and you won't tell me.”

“Israel was founded as a refuge for the Jewish people, but today it isn't a safe place. It is safer to be Jew in New York.”

“Decisions are never easy. If they were easy, they wouldn't be called decisions.”

“יש אחד בורא עולם, ויש אחד קוראים לו יאיר לפיד. הצליח ביד אומן להקים ממשלה עם שמונה מפלגות שעבדה עבור אזרחי המדינה.”