WIST Quotations

Eban, Abba -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

Eban, Abba -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:20:19 +0000

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

Eban, Abba -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:53:05 +0000

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

Eban, Abba -- In The Observer (5 Dec 1971)

Dave — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:11:06 +0000

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)

Eban, Abba -- Speech, Japan (19 Mar 1967)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted all other resources.

Abba Eban (1915-2002) Israeli politician and diplomat [b. Aubrey Solomon Eban]
Speech, Japan (19 Mar 1967)

Regarding the problems between Israel and her neighbors Other references by Eban:

"Nations do behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." (6 Jun 1967)
"The question is whether there is any reason to believe that such a new era may yet come to pass. If I am sanguine on this point, it is because of a conviction that men and nations do behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. Surely the other alternatives of war and belligerency have now been exhausted." (Speech, United Nations, 16 Jun 1967)

Eban used the phrases in various ways, but generically for all nations, for many years. Variants referencing America are usually attributed starting in the early 1980s to Winston Churchill, but not found in his writings or attributions to him at the time:

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities."
"The Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted."
"You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else."
"The Americans will always do the right thing, after they've exhausted all the alternatives."

For more info, see here.

Eban, Abba -- Speech, UN General Assembly (9 Oct. 1968)

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2004 17:52:51 +0000

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)