The Palestine Laboratory is chock full of information and discusses the ways technology and weapon production is tested on Palestine. It was difficult to get through at some points simply because of how dense the information is. But it’s definitely a book worth reading especially see the pervasiveness of the exports. Keep reading this book review of The Palestine Laboratory for my full thoughts.
Summary
For more than 50 years, the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza has given the Israeli state invaluable experience in controlling an ‘enemy’ population, the Palestinians. It’s here that they have perfected the architecture of control, using the occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground for weaponry and surveillance technology that they then export around the world.
The Palestine Laboratory shows in depth and for the first time how Israel has become a leader in developing spying technology and defence hardware that fuels some of the globe’s most brutal conflicts — from the Pegasus software that hacked Jeff Bezos’s and Jamal Khashoggi’s phones, and the weapons sold to the Myanmar army that has murdered thousands of Rohingyas, to the drones being used by the European Union to monitor refugees in the Mediterranean who are left to drown.
In a global investigation that uncovers secret documents, based on revealing interviews and on-the-ground reporting, Antony Loewenstein shows how, as ethno-nationalism grows in the 21st century, Israel has built the ultimate tools for despots and democracies.
Review
The Palestine Laboratory is dedicated to dispelling these illusions of democracy. It makes, and strengthens, the connections between the weapon and surveillance exports of Israel to the testing of and on Palestinians. Incredibly informative, The Palestine Laboratory is a book meant to be read in pieces. It explores the close ties of nationalism, militarism, and capitalism. With the (mis)information being spread, especially since 2023, you can see the crumbling idea of a ‘moral military’ or any moral high ground.
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The Palestine Laboratory exposes the dehumanization, occupation, oppression, and violence. As someone who’s been doing more active reading with Palestinian voices, it’s not an entirely new topic, but it’s one that keeps being broadened with every book I read. Even more so, the idea that these surveillances and tools do not make any distinction between those who are and aren’t involved in the violence. To them, they are all seen as threats, guilty until ‘proven’ innocent. This is worth a read. Find The Palestine Laboratory on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.