"SO SORRY WE WON!"

                                         

Ephraim Kishon (1924-2005), deserves a blog of his own. He was Israel’s premier satirist, whose biting wit shaped the national agenda of the formative years of the Jewish state, and kept people laughing at the same time. Mr. Kishon’s influence went beyond the large number of people who read his books and newspaper column or watched the skits, plays and movies he wrote. He was one of the most popular satirists worldwide, selling more than 40 million books in his half-century of writing. 

Efraim Kishon’s quotes:

Israel is a country so tiny that there is no room to write its name on the world map.

It is a country of boundless boundaries.

It is a country where mothers learn the mother tongue from their sons.

It is a country where everybody has the right to speak his mind, but there is no law forcing anybody to listen.

The State of Israel is the most enlightened country in the region, thanks to the Arabs.

It is a country where all the capital is concentrated in Jewish hands–and there is much grumbling because of this.

It is a country where nobody expects miracles, but everybody takes them for granted.

It is a country where every human being is a soldier, and every soldier is a human being.

Like  some other successful authors, he was somewhat of a prophet. He called the book he wrote after the Six Day War: “So sorry we won!” The sad truth is that “they” love us when we’re victims. Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace. Israel is called upon to make concession, to be generous, when no other nation has voluntarily yielded a bare outcrop of land to others.

The popularity of the Jew among the nations reached its maximum heights when its people huddled in distress and exasperation in little sealed rooms, instead of retaliating when missiles descended upon them.

Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover, but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed in the Six Day War he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. 

No other nation makes the world happy only when they are victims. The spectacle of the world’s hypocrisy and the double standards used to justify condemning the Israelis and excusing the Palestinians has become a norm.

We are a people that face up to our moral responsibilities, and indeed our flaws, with as much honour as any people in history. But, first and foremost, we must do what it takes to survive. We must protect our fragile borders, safeguard our citizens, ensure our national security and take whatever steps are needed.