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About this quote

What does it mean?
Peres describes Israel's existential struggle and vulnerability due to repeated attacks and being outnumbered.
In plain terms
Israel had to fight for survival against overwhelming odds.
What can you take from it?
Survival often requires fighting against odds.

Where it applies

  • national defense
  • historical context
  • security planning

Putting it to work

  • understand security needs
  • analyze conflicts
  • plan defense

Questions to consider

  • When is defense justified?
  • How do small states survive?

Another view

It simplifies the broader historical and political context.

More from Shimon Peres

  1. There's a great deal of criticism about the United States, but there is one thing that nobody criticizes the United States. Nobody thinks the United States wen…

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  2. There isn't a single person in Israel who wants to destroy or harm Egypt. In contrast, there's a whole country that openly wants to destroy Israel, and that's …

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  3. The borders will be based on 1967, with the required security modifications. If we take a certain percentage of the Palestinian land, we will compensate them w…

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