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" I have always striven to raise the voice of hope for a world where hate gives way to respect and oppression to liberation. "

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" Despite a large body of work in films, TV, theatre and concerts, I am viewed by many as a Jewish artist. I do not resent the label, except for the fact that I disapprove of labels in general. "

" I am not, and have never been, in favor of boycotting Israel. "

" I remain convinced that I can be a true universalist only when I am a better Jew. "

" As an artist I have an even more abiding interest in the compact between the Arts and Government. "

" 'Retiring' - within that word is 'tiring,' and I'm not tired. I don't believe in retirement, really. "

" One might have thought the world would stop ascribing moral equivalence between acts of terrorism and acts of punishing terrorism. It has not happened that way. "

" Throughout my life I have cared as deeply about the songs of all peoples as I have about the rights of all peoples. "

" Must we be put to shame by much smaller and poorer countries, by Ireland, France, Austria or Sweden, who have understood that a nation's support of its arts is a matter of both national pride and cultural survival? "

" I am a Zionist, an ardent supporter of Israel, its defender when I deem Israel to be right and its critic when I deem it to be wrong. "

" Right up to the middle of this century all perceptions of the world around us were delivered via the bookshelf or the paper route. "

" No doubt unity is something to be desired, to be striven for, but it cannot be willed into being by mere declarations. "

" While we all could agree that the Zionist ideal is alive and well, there is serious doubt whether the Zionist movement can be said to be an ongoing proposition, fragmented as its components are in ideology and in practice. "

" For I firmly believe that Jewish life, indeed any communal life, can only be organized according to democratic principles. "

" You cannot please all of the people all of the time, and that is truer in the arts than anywhere else. "

" I refuse to do shows that are narrowly constructed, that appeal to only one sentiment. I do a lot of Jewish material in front of non-Jews and a lot of non-Jewish material in front of Jews on the simple theory that the non-Jews are entitled to a glimpse of a Jewish world and the Jews are entitled to a glimpse of the world. "

" I am a universalist, passionately devoted to the cause of equality within the human family. "

" You always draw on your experiences with live audiences to know how to do comedy on films. You're working for a laugh that may or may not come six months later, but you're working in a vacuum at the time you are doing it. "

" 'Visiting Mr. Green' is a good play. I enjoy being in it, and I have a wonderful colleague, Aidan deSalaiz, to work with. Audiences like it a lot. What's not to like? "

" You don't really need modernity in order to exist totally and fully. You need a mixture of modernity and tradition. "

" We Jews have a special attachment to the Book. The study of page after page in tomes yellowing with age was obligatory. "

" By showing hunger, deprivation, starvation and brutality, as well as endurance and nobility, documentaries inform, prod our memories, even stir us to action. Such films do battle for our very soul. "

" I am determined to give the Yiddish language a fighting chance to survive. "

" In my world, history comes down to language and art. No one cares much about what battles were fought, who won them and who lost them - unless there is a painting, a play, a song or a poem that speaks of the event. "

" Accents. I'm very good with accents. I'm exceedingly good. "

" I do prefer the stage. It's really the granddaddy of them all. "

" Audiences are audiences. "

" If I have one vanity wish, it would be to direct. It's the only thing I haven't done yet that I would like to. "

" I am first, and foremost, an actor. That's what I am. To me, a song is a mini-drama. My musical ability informs the actor as well because it gives me a sense of timing that non-musicians don't have. So, one hand washes the other. "

" I do not know who there is among us that can claim to know God's purpose and God's intent. "

" I prefer to choose which traditions to keep and which to let go. "