On himself " 'Chaim' coupled with 'Itze" (or Isaac) means 'life and laughter', and I have done my best to live up to both".

Political Correctness "'Thou shalt not be judgemental' has replaced 'thou shalt not commit adultery' in the Ten Commandments".

On the family "The family is a walled garden in which the young flourish and the old decline, and functions as a lasting source of mutual support. Remove it, and one is left to the caring professions, who can, within limits, be useful enough as a prop to the family, but are no substitute for it".

Freedom and the press "The liberty to cause offence, even outrage, is precisely what freedom of speech is about. It presumes the right to be wrong".

Harold Pinter "… is a man of few words, most of them silly"

Primo Levy "…best antidote to jewish paranoia that I've come across.

Edwina Currie "I am not in favour of intermarriage but the fact that the former Tory MP Edwina Currie has spoken out against it, suggests that there must be something to be said for it".

The politics of 'greater Israel' "Israel is supremely capable of defending itself against external enemies, but rather less effective at defending itself against the enemy within".

Religion: "Judaism is essentially wholesome and benign, as long as it is distant from power".
"If there should ever be peace Jew and Arab, there will be one almighty settling of accounts between Jew and Jew".

Gourmet: "Judaism not only impacts on the soul, it can be, and should be, tasted on the tongue".

Animal Magic: " Cats are the most beautiful things in creation (especially when small)…and the one constant element in a constantly changing world".

Sports: "There may come a time when Israel will be at peace with it's neighbours, but it will never be at peace with itself until the principles and practice of cricket are more widely understood".

Tel Aviv: "There is no rush hour in Tel Aviv. They rush all the time and the more frantic their efforts to get around, the longer they stay in place".

" the Yeshiva world is the last word in nepotism". Commenting on the fact that in may Yehivot, the only way to become a Maggid Shiur is to marry the Rosh Yeshiva's daughter.

" Half of them have done time, the other half should have done time". Commenting on the congregants of a particular North London Minyan, many of whom had been investigated for tax evasion.