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" 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. "

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" What moves me is neither ethnocentric pride nor sectarian arrogance. I make no claim that Jewish culture is superior to other cultures. But it is mine. "

Theodore Bikel

Pride

Cultures

" Having come to live in this age is as though one were to have entered another country. Learn its language or risk being left out. "

" I tried for a while to be an agricultural worker and was hopelessly bored. I would stand around in heaps of manure and sing about the beauty of the work I wasn't doing. "

" An actor is supposed to emulate life. Instead, alas, many are imitating other actors. You don't fashion your knowledge of theatre or your approach to a role on the basis of what other actors have done. This kind of thinking is a great danger, especially in dealing with TV producers who frequently say things like, 'This is a Sean Connery type.' "

" I am filled with awe that filmmakers have the capacity to stir us and give us back a sense of wonder. "

Theodore Bikel

Sense

Awe

" You learn more from the flops than from the hits. "

Theodore Bikel

Than

Flops

" Audiences are audiences. "

Theodore Bikel

Audiences

" 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. "

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

Theodore Bikel

God

Claim

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

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

" No heirloom of humankind captures the past as do art and language. "

" All too often arrogance accompanies strength, and we must never assume that justice is on the side of the strong. The use of power must always be accompanied by moral choice. "

" You can't expect the entire world to come to New York to see you. You have to travel to them. "

" I don't speak out because I am an actor nor will I keep silent because I am an actor. I respect my profession, but it endows me with no special privileges; but it also does not limit me or muzzle me. I am a person and a citizen with the attendant responsibilities of voice and vote. "

Theodore Bikel

Respect

Speak

" 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. "

" 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? "

" We live in a world of guns, bombs and terror. To conquer hate seems a nigh-impossible task. "

" Although I am deeply grateful to a great many people, I forgo the temptation of naming them for fear that I might slight any by omission. "

Theodore Bikel

People

I Am

" I prefer to make common cause with those whose weapons are guitars, banjos, fiddles and words. "

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

" 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. "

" After the advent of the written word, the masses who could not - or were not permitted to - read, were given sermons by the few who could. "

" It's a sad thing to contemplate, but I'm the last surviving cast member of 'The African Queen.' "

" 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. "

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

" Epistemology is the study of knowledge. By what conduit do we know what we know? "

" 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. "

" 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. "