Editing Noam Chomsky (section)

===Childhood: 1928–1945===
Chomsky was born on December 7, 1928, in the [[East Oak Lane, Philadelphia|East Oak Lane]] neighborhood of [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania.{{sfnm|1a1=Lyons|1y=1978|1p=xv|2a1=Barsky|2y=1997|2p=9|3a1=McGilvray|3y=2014|3p=3}} His parents, [[William Chomsky]] and Elsie Simonofsky, were Jewish immigrants.{{sfnm|1a1=Barsky|1y=1997|1pp=9–10|2a1=Sperlich|2y=2006|2p=11}} William had fled the [[Russian Empire]] in 1913 to escape conscription and worked in Baltimore [[sweatshop]]s and Hebrew elementary schools before attending university.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=9}} After moving to Philadelphia, William became principal of the [[Congregation Mikveh Israel]] religious school and joined the [[Gratz College]] faculty. He placed great emphasis on educating people so that they would be "well integrated, free and independent in their thinking, concerned about improving and enhancing the world, and eager to participate in making life more meaningful and worthwhile for all", a mission that shaped and was subsequently adopted by his son.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=11}} Elsie, who also taught at Mikveh Israel, shared her leftist politics and care for social issues with her sons.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=11}}

Noam's only sibling, David Eli Chomsky (1934–2021), was born five years later, and worked as a cardiologist in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=11}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr. David Chomsky, a cardiologist who made house calls, dies at 86|url=https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/david-chomsky-obituary-philadelphia-doctor-noam-judith-20210712.html|date=July 12, 2021|first=Valerie|last=Russ|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=September 10, 2021|archive-date=July 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712200201/https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/david-chomsky-obituary-philadelphia-doctor-noam-judith-20210712.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The brothers were close, though David was more easygoing while Noam could be very competitive. They were raised Jewish, being taught [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and regularly involved with discussing the political theories of [[Zionism]]; the family was particularly influenced by the [[Left Zionist]] writings of [[Ahad Ha'am]].{{sfn|Barsky|1997|pp=11–13}} He faced [[antisemitism]] as a child, particularly from Philadelphia's Irish and German communities.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=15}}

Chomsky attended the independent, [[Deweyite]] [[Oak Lane Country Day School]]{{sfnm|1a1=Lyons|1y=1978|1p=xv|2a1=Barsky|2y=1997|2pp=15–17|3a1=Sperlich|3y=2006|3p=12|4a1=McGilvray|4y=2014|4p=3}} and Philadelphia's [[Central High School (Philadelphia)|Central High School]], where he excelled academically and joined various clubs and societies, but was troubled by the school's hierarchical and domineering teaching methods.{{sfnm|1a1=Lyons|1y=1978|1p=xv|2a1=Barsky|2y=1997|2pp=21–22|3a1=Sperlich|3y=2006|3p=14|4a1=McGilvray|4y=2014|4p=4}} He also attended Hebrew High School at Gratz College, where his father taught.{{sfnm|1a1=Lyons|1y=1978|1p=xv|2a1=Barsky|2y=1997|2pp=15–17}}

Chomsky has described his parents as "normal [[Roosevelt Democrats]]" with [[center-left politics]], but relatives involved in the [[International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union]] exposed him to [[socialism]] and [[far-left politics]].{{sfnm|1a1=Barsky|1y=1997|1p=14|2a1=Sperlich|2y=2006|2pp=11, 14–15}} He was substantially influenced by his uncle and the Jewish leftists who frequented his New York City newspaper stand to debate current affairs.{{sfnm|1a1=Barsky|1y=1997|1p=23|2a1=Sperlich|2y=2006|2pp=12, 14–15, 67|3a1=McGilvray|3y=2014|3p=4}} Chomsky himself often visited left-wing and anarchist bookstores when visiting his uncle in the city, voraciously reading political literature.{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=23}} He became absorbed in the story of the 1939 [[fall of Barcelona]] and suppression of the [[anarchism in Spain|Spanish anarchosyndicalist]] movement, writing his first article on the topic at the age of 10.{{sfnm|1a1=Barsky|1y=1997|1pp=16–19|2a1=Sperlich|2y=2006|2p=13}} That he came to identify with anarchism first rather than another leftist movement, he described as a "lucky accident".{{sfn|Barsky|1997|p=18}} Chomsky was firmly [[Anti-Stalinist left|anti-Bolshevik]] by his early teens.{{sfn|Sperlich|2006|p=18}}