On Gaza | Noam Chomsky | MIT Center for International Studies | January 13, 2009
I originally included the following in this post's title: "The atrocities did not begin on October 7th: Gaza before and after the establishment of the State of Israel," with the intention of making clear what should be obvious but what is instead, especially in the United States, not widely known context. I'll make clear another fact that's already obvious to anyone who's still capable of applying elementary moral reasoning to their assessment of the situation: Though it may or may not be possible to comprehend what leads people to commit atrocities, atrocities cannot be justified. That said, I removed my addition to the video's title because the MIT Center for International Studies' title as posted to YouTube is better left unaltered. I didn't receive a complaint; I just decided that the title should remain as posted by MIT and that it's better to add my comments in my introduction.
Today, October 21st, 2025, as I edit the introduction to this post, the world is being told by prominent public figures and mass media that a triumph of peace must be celebrated after the killing of more than 60,000 people, with another 170,000 wounded and thousands more unaccounted for and buried under rubble, of whom around 80% are civilians and more than 50% women and children, all of which is supported by US taxpayers and the actions and inaction of elected US officials.
Primarily due to the presence of vast energy resources in the region, the October 7th, 2023 massacres and the destruction of Gaza are part of an ongoing history, especially since the end of World War II, of cruelty, which I think is aptly illustrated by this quote:
"For some time, I’ve been compelled to arrange
speaking engagements long in advance. Sometimes
a title is requested for a talk scheduled several years
ahead. There is, I’ve found, one title that always
works: 'The current crisis in the Middle East.' One
can’t predict exactly what the crisis will be far down
the road, but that there will be one is a fairly safe
prediction. That will continue to be the case as long
as basic problems of the region are not addressed."
A talk and a question and answer session providing an overview of the Israel-Palestine conflict with special attention to Gaza and US involvement. I've set the video to begin at around the 30 minute mark, which in its entirety includes two introductory speakers. Chomsky's knowledge of the history of the conflict is, as far as I know, peerless for depth and breadth. As always, however, viewers should draw their own conclusions.