David Ben-Gurion

"The soul of a nation is revealed not in its monuments but in its treatment of its citizens."

"We must be willing to pay the price of freedom, but never to sell it."

"A true revolution begins in the mind before it manifests in the world."

"The legacy of a great leader is measured by the leaders he leaves behind."

"In building something lasting, we must dig deep foundations and build slowly."

"The strength of conviction is not measured in volume but in steadfastness."

"We honor the dead not through words but through the work we continue in their stead."

"A people must always balance respect for tradition with openness to innovation."

"The greatest teacher is not the one who speaks most eloquently but the one who changes lives."

"In our struggle, we are not seeking dominion but recognition of our right to exist."

"A nation's character is determined by what it does when no one is watching."

"We must build not only institutions of government but institutions of culture and learning."

"The power of unity lies in its ability to make ordinary people capable of extraordinary things."

"In the end, a people are remembered not for what they conquered but for what they created."

"A man who does not know his past, cannot properly understand his present and can grasp even less his future."

"The greatest miracle in the world is the Jewish people itself."

"Pessimism is a luxury the Jews cannot afford."

"We must think in terms of generations, not elections."

"In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles."

"The main thing is to be strong, not to be smart."

"If you believe something is impossible, you make it impossible."

"We do not rejoice in victories, we rejoice when a new kind of cotton comes up as a favor."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act despite it."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

"Do not rely on miracles, but be prepared for them."

"A nation that cannot defend itself is not worthy of existence."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that the very existence of the free person is an affront to it."

"We are not here to build a state for ourselves alone, but for all those who believe in our cause."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

"The measure of a man is not how much he has but how much he has accomplished."