--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For decades Israel has been capturing…" description: "\"For decades Israel has been capturing, and kidnapping Lebanese and Palestinian refugees on the high seas, from Cyprus to Lebanon, killing them in Leban..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/noam-chomsky-42_cyprus_for-decades-israel-has-been-capturing-an_3039249.jpg" --- # For decades Israel has been capturing, and kidnapping… ![“For decades Israel has been capturing, and kidnapping Lebanese and Palestinian refugees on the high seas, from Cyprus to Lebanon, killing them in Lebanon, bringing them to Israel, holding them as hostages. It's been going on for decades, has anybody called for an invasion of Israel?” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/noam-chomsky-42_cyprus_for-decades-israel-has-been-capturing-an_3039249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/noam-chomsky-42_cyprus_for-decades-israel-has-been-capturing-an_3039249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/noam-chomsky-42_cyprus_for-decades-israel-has-been-capturing-an_3039249.jpg) > “For decades Israel has been capturing, and kidnapping Lebanese and Palestinian refugees on the high seas, from Cyprus to Lebanon, killing them in Lebanon, bringing them to Israel, holding them as hostages. It's been going on for decades, has anybody called for an invasion of Israel?” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long‑standing maritime abductions of refugees have been ignored, raising questions about international response and accountability. **In simple terms:** Refugees have been captured at sea for years without strong action. Key Takeaway Demand stronger global enforcement against maritime kidnapping. Themes human rights conflict accountability Mood frustrated urgent Type political advocacy When to use this quote - humanitarian NGOs - UN bodies - policy makers - media outlets Key Concepts international law state sovereignty refugee protection Questions to Reflect On - How can the international community effectively intervene? - What legal mechanisms could deter future kidnappings? A Different Perspective Political complexities and regional power dynamics hinder decisive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cyprus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyprus/) [High seas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-seas/) [Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Kidnapping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kidnapping/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Lebanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lebanese/) [Lebanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lebanon/) [Palestinian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palestinian/) [Palestinian refugees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palestinian-refugees/) [Refugee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refugee/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) ## Related quotes > [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/) [Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/) > [For years, Lebanese have known that Palestinian camps like Nahr al-Barid and Ain al-Helwe - hopeless slums crowded with generations of disenfranchised Palestinian refugees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/for-years-lebanese-have-known-that-palestinian-camps-like-nahr-al/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [Today three-quarters of the Palestinian people are displaced: there are 5 million Palestinian refugees throughout the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/today-three-quarters-of-the-palestinian-people-are-displaced-there/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) > [If the refugees return to Israel, Israel will cease to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gamal-abdel-nasser/if-the-refugees-return-to-israel-israel-will-cease-to-exist/) [Gamal Abdel Nasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gamal-abdel-nasser/) > [Referring to Palestinian refugees: "We must do everything in our power to ensure that they never return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/referring-to-palestinian-refugees-we-must-do-everything-in-our-power/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [ We must do everything to ensure they \[the Palestinian refugees\] never do return ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/we-must-do-everything-to-ensure-they-the-palestinian-refugees-never/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [The 21 Arab states that could easily have absorbed the original 650,000 Palestinian refugees in 1948 refused to do so, even though their combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-price/the-21-arab-states-that-could-easily-have-absorbed-the-original-650/) Randall Price > [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and-2/) [Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/) > [“The Palestinian refugee problem could have easily been solved in 1948, just as virtually every other refugee problem in the world has been; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-palestinian-refugee-problem-could-have-easily-been-solved-in-1948/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [What cause have we to complain about their fierce hatred to us? For eight years now, they sit in their refugee camps in Gaza,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-dayan/what-cause-have-we-to-complain-about-their-fierce-hatred-to-us-for/) [Moshe Dayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-dayan/) > [“The Arab world has done nothing to help the Palestinian refugees they created when they attacked Israel in 1948. It’s called the ‘Palestinian refugee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-gabriel/the-arab-world-has-done-nothing-to-help-the-palestinian-refugees-they/) [Brigitte Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-gabriel/) > [Jordan is the only Arab state that has provided citizenship to Palestinian refugees and integrated them. But something has to be done about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell-mead/jordan-is-the-only-arab-state-that-has-provided-citizenship-to/) [Walter Russell Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell-mead/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. 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Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Cyprus quotes > [“It was at a conference in Cyprus in 1976, where the theme was the rights of small nations, that I first met Edward Said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-at-a-conference-in-cyprus-in-1976-where-the-theme-was-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Turkey will be in Cyprus forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/turkey-will-be-in-cyprus-forever/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Two goddesses now must Cyprus adore; The Muses are ten, and the Graces are four; Stella's wit is so charming, so sweet her fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callimachus/two-goddesses-now-must-cyprus-adore-the-muses-are-ten-and-the-graces/) [Callimachus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callimachus/) > [I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/i-grew-up-in-cyprus-and-egypt-these-fantastic-places-i-remember-fondly/) [Tea Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [Greece is not the country which has occupied and illegally invaded and illegally occupied Cyprus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-tsipras/greece-is-not-the-country-which-has-occupied-and-illegally-invaded/) [Alexis Tsipras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-tsipras/) > [It's a Cyprus of misery and soup kitchens and a state which cannot meet basic obligations. It can only cause me grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicos-anastasiades/it-s-a-cyprus-of-misery-and-soup-kitchens-and-a-state-which-cannot/) [Nicos Anastasiades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicos-anastasiades/) > [I've lived in Liverpool, London, Belfast, Germany, Coventry, Dorset, and Cyprus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-doherty/i-ve-lived-in-liverpool-london-belfast-germany-coventry-dorset-and/) [Pete Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-doherty/) > [The fact that Turkey, the U.S., and Russia and other countries are really interested in Cyprus because of its strategic location... the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-quigley/the-fact-that-turkey-the-u-s-and-russia-and-other-countries-are/) [Mike Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-quigley/) > [In college, I was a researcher/writer for 'Let's Go: Europe,' assigned to Crete and Cyprus. I was supposed to go to England, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/in-college-i-was-a-researcher-writer-for-let-s-go-europe-assigned-to/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [Cyprus was a breath away from economic collapse. It was a big battle in which we came out wounded, but upright and determined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicos-anastasiades/cyprus-was-a-breath-away-from-economic-collapse-it-was-a-big-battle/) [Nicos Anastasiades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicos-anastasiades/) > [It doesn't take a genius to see what happens when the entitlement state outgrows the economy upon which it rests. The time of Greece,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/it-doesn-t-take-a-genius-to-see-what-happens-when-the-entitlement/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We're strongly in favor of the U.N. plan for a solution to the Cyprus conflict. 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There are wonderful examples of this, prosperous multinational states: Switzerland, Switzerland and Switzerland. Everywhere else - be it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-don-t-believe-in-binational-states-there-are-wonderful-examples-of/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Browse all 44 Cyprus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyprus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For decades Israel has been capturing, and kidnapping Lebanese and Palestinian refugees on the high seas, from Cyprus to Lebanon, killing them in Lebanon, bringing them to Israel, holding them as hostages. 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