“To Alef, the letterthat begins the alphabetsof both Arabic and Hebrew-two Semitic languages,sisters for centuries.May we find the languagethat takes usto the only home there is - one another's hearts....Alef knowsThat a threadOf a storyStitches togetherA wound.”

“God's true language: Hebrew. Latin. Arabic. Sanskrit.As if utterance fit into the requirements of the human mouth.I learned how to find the new moon by looking for the circular absence of stars. [...]I learned God's true language is only silence and breath.”

“The language of the heartIs the only languageThat everybody can understand.”

“We are the creature of language, and through language we affirm ourselves, we find out about the world, including ourselves, through words, and we share with one another through language.”

“In the conflict between Israelis and Arabs you have wounded civilizations — the Arabs have been wounded in their dealings with the West, and an insecure Jewish people have gone through terrible disasters and traumas. There is no end to the Jewish quest for security, and there is no end for the Arab quest for redress and dignity. It is very difficult to reconcile the two.”

“With languages, you can move from one social situation to another. With languages, you are at home anywhere.”