WIST

A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
(Attributed)

Consensus is what many people say in chorus but do not believe as individuals.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
(Attributed)
Quoted in "The New Yorker" (April 23, 1990); http://www.bartleby.com/66/92/18392.html

If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
(Attributed)
on the UN General Assembly

It is our experience that political leaders do not always mean the opposite of what they say.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
In The Observer (5 Dec 1971)

Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
Speech, London (16 Dec. 1970)
or Vogue 1 Aug 67?

Lest Arab governments be tempted out of sheer routine to rush into impulsive rejection, let me suggest that tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
Speech, UN General Assembly (9 Oct. 1968)