Alexander Knapik-Levert

“Another thing they talk about a lot is water—and that’s a very crucial thing, which is not discussed very much in the United States but it’s probably the main reason why Israel is never going to give up the West Bank. See, this is a very arid region, so water is more important than oil, and there are very limited water resources in Israel. In fact, a lot of the wars in the Middle East have been about water—for instance, the wars involving Israel and Syria have usually been about the headwaters of the Jordan, which come from Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. And as a matter of fact, one of the main reasons why Israel is holding on to the so-called “Security Zone” it seized in southern Lebanon [in the 1982 invasion] is that that area includes a mountain, Mount Hermon, which is a big part of the watershed that brings water to the region.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

“Interviewer: Did you go through a phase of hopelessness, or…

Chomsky: Yeah, every evening.

Interviewer: I feel like I’m kind of stuck in one.

Chomsky: Every evening. I mean, look: if you want to feel hopeless, there are a lot of things you could feel hopeless about. If you want to sort of work out objectively what’s the chance that the human species will survive for another century, probably not very high. But I mean, what’s the point?

Interviewer: You’ve just got to work at it.

Chomsky: Yeah, what’s the point? First of all, those predictions don’t mean anything—they’re more just a reflection of your mood or your personality than anything else. And if you act on that assumption, then you’re guaranteeing that that’ll happen. If you act on the assumption that things can change, well, maybe they will. Okay, the only rational choice, given those alternatives, is to forget the pessimism.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

“there has been a deepening recognition among elites in the West that as you begin to lose the power to control people by force, you have to start to control what they think. And in the United States, that recognition has reached its apogee.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

“Bombing of urban areas was not considered a war crime at Nuremberg; reason is, the West did more of it than the Germans.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky