American Rhetoric: Movie Speech

"Munich" (2005)

PM Golda Meir Holds Cabinet Meeting Following the Munich Massacre

Prime Minister Meir: It's the same as Eichmann. You say to these butchers, "You didn't want to share this world with us? Then we don't have to share this world with you."

[Addressing the Attorney General] There's legitimacy for this -- am I correct?

Ambushed and slaughtered again. While the rest of the world is playing games, Olympic torches, and brass bands, and dead Jews in Germany -- and the world couldn't care less.

Minister 1: We've responded. We sent 70 fighter jets.

Minister 2: A response no one heard.

Minister 1: Airstrikes on guerrilla training centers -- that's a response.

General Nadav: No one notices what happens in the border camps.

Minister 1: Sixty Arabs dead at least.  Who knows how many wounded?

General Nadav: This is about fixing the world's attention.

General Zamir: Well, it's not just a publicity stunt. Let me remind you: Ali Hassan Salameh, he invented Black September. He is the architect of the Munich murders.

Prime Minister Meir: These people. They're sworn to destroy us. Forget peace for now. We have to show them we're strong. We have laws. We represent civilization. Some people say we can't afford to be civilized. I've always resisted such people, but I don't know who these maniacs are and where they come from. Palestinians? They are not recognizable. You tell me what law protects people like these.

Today I'm hearing with new ears. Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values. I've made a decision. The responsibility is entirely mine.