Joshua Cohen Quotes

[The Jews] are the people of the Book [ahl' ul-kitab.]

I was born in Jerusalem with a religious background and a rabbi as a father... it was rather poor, but what we did have, we did have books.

If you are trying to raise a child to be a Jew, then you have to create a sense of Jewish identity. You really weaken that sense of identity if you celebrate two religions.

When my children were born, I made the choice I wanted them to be raised as Jews and to have a Jewish education.

I am a big advocate of the role of the bookstore in the community.

Although I was raised Jewish, my upbringing didn't include any formal religious education or training.

The real threat to Zionism is the dilution of quality, Jews know that they can land on their feet in any country of the world. The real test for us is to make Israel such an attractive place—such a cutting-edge place in human society, education, culture, science, quality of life that even Americans Jewish young people will want to come here.

The printing press did something really big for the world when everyone could get books in their hands and read.

'The Chosen,' if you recall, was based on the Chaim Potok novel and featured Robbie Benson's persuasive performance as a Hasidic Jew.

Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.

In my world there would be as many public libraries as there are Starbucks.

And Jesus was a Jew too. Your god. He was a Jew like me. And so was his father.

We had no religion at all, but we were Jews in New Hampshire, and my sister - who is now a rabbi - said it best: We were, like, the only Jews in Bedford, New Hampshire, as well as the only Democrats, so we just kind of associated those two things together. My dad raised us to believe that paying taxes is an honor.

Mother, I am young. Mother, I am just eighteen. I am strong. I will work hard, Mother. But I do not want this child to grow up just to work hard. What must I do, mother, what must I do to make a different world for her? How do I start?" "The secret lies in the reading and the writing. You are able to read. Every day you must read one page from some good book to your child. Every day this must be until the child learns to read. Then she must read every day, I know this is the secret

We're Jews. When you look at our pubic hair, it should look like Ewoks should be in there.

Whether Jew or Gentile, I rank top percentile...

Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.

Literacy could be the ladder out of poverty

A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.

Being a Jew and an Israeli are inseparable things.

We see all around the world where women's rights are denied, where governments don't believe in educating their girls. There are 800 million people in the world who are illiterate and 75 percent of them are women and girls.

But I have felt that to be a Jew was, in some ways at least, to be especially privileged.

I think I may well be a Jew.

Anybody who puts a book into someone else's hands inspires me - teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents.

Acquiring literacy is an empowering process, enabling millions to enjoy access to knowledge and information which broadens horizons, increases opportunities and creates alternatives for building a better life.