UN General Assembly
1971

179. May I tell Mr. Abba Eban whose courtesy, whose skill is equaled only by his tremendous oratory which he has pleasure in so frequently exercising in this Assembly-of the position we Tunisians hold, who although we are nowhere near the frontiers of war are touched in our very hearts by the fact of an Arab-Israeli war. Mr. Abba Eban, as you know we have no hatred for you, we Tunisians, nor do the Palestinians, whom you have deprived of a homeland and homes and whom you have destined to be eternal refugees; nor do the Arabs, whose territories you have seized, nor do the Christians, nor do the Moslems, in whose case you have been guilty of violence by continuing to desecrate Jerusalem. No, none of these harbours resentment towards you. In Tunisia, thanks to what has been done by President Bourguiba, we, who were forged in the white heat of solidarity for the love of our cause, we are making a constant effort to banish odium, which is so sterile, to avoid red herrings, and to look reality in the face in order to see it closely, to know it better and to reach properly to it.