Excerpt from Interview with Antony Lowenstein author of The Palestine Laboratory, “The Palestine Laboratory“ on Al Jazeera

Excerpt from Interview with Antony Lowenstein author of The Palestine Laboratory

I saw this when I was there, living there for years. I saw this when I was back there last year, that there is a real sense, not just of entitlement, but of supremacy. I mean, Israel is a Jewish supremacist state that prioritized the Jews over anybody else.

And the idea that Jews in the diaspora are supporting that, when many of those Jews themselves like living in multicultural societies, speaks volumes about the cognitive dissonance that is going on.

And that's why me and many others are trying to challenge that idea that this cannot be what Judaism is represented by. It cannot. The origins of Israel and Zionism has always been about a belief that, and I heard this when I was growing up too, by the way, in Melbourne, not in Israel, that Jews are the chosen people. Like, we're chosen by the guy upstairs, apparently.

Now I never believed that nonsense, but that's what we were told over and over again. Now that might sound sort of ridiculous, childish, racist, which it is, but it's actually more than that. It creates a mindset for those who believe it, that we have a almost God-given right, because of what happened to us as Jews in the Holocaust, to do anything we want. How dare you criticize us because of what happened to us? Open your mouth, Holocaust. Open your mouth, Nazis. And that is an incredibly powerful silencer.

Even still, in New South Wales politics, in federal politics, in American politics, it's deeply powerful that a lot of people buy into that line. And, obviously, I and many others reject that entirely, absolutely.

The idea that you have a majority of mainstream so-called Jewish organizations in the West supporting this 110%. Now there are exceptions. Jewish Council Australia, Jewish Voice for Peace in the US, and others. Of course, there are exceptions.

But the so-called mainstream Jewish organizations are on board, not just on board, but are pressuring and bullying and lobbying and harassing anyone who challenges that, and is pushing their governments to support this. So that to me is the, there is a, not that I wanna get into this tonight, but there is a real crisis, I would argue, in Judaism.

There's only 16,000,000 Jews in the world. It's a tiny population. Roughly half is in Israel and half is in the US and obviously others around the world.

Now this is not what's happening in Gaza is not about Jewish people, really. It's obviously about Palestinians. I'm not for a second saying otherwise.

However, this is being done in my name as a Jew. Israel constantly claims, always claims to be speaking, “We're representing world Jewry.”And there's a sizable and growing proportion of Jews, globally, who say, “If this is what Judaism means, I'm out.”

---

How Israel Tests Military Tech on Palestinians- “The Palestine Laboratory”Episode 1

Uncovering how Israel profits from surveillance technologies using occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground.

Israel punches way above its weight when it comes to arms sales. The 97th country by population, it is the ninth largest arms dealer in the world with a $13bn military-industrial complex.

"Plenty of countries sell weapons," says award-winning journalist Antony Loewenstein, "but what makes Israel's industry unique is the mix of weapons, surveillance technology and architectural techniques that combine to create a comprehensive system for controlling 'difficult' populations and are based on years of experience in Palestine."

In this two-part series, Loewenstein goes on a journey to investigate how these weapons and surveillance technologies are used to control and repress Palestinians in Palestine before being sold all over the world.

Antony Loewenstein is a Jewish, Australian journalist and author who for more than 20 years has written unflinchingly about Israel and its relationship with the Palestinians, even though it has often put him at odds with many in the Jewish diaspora and Israel.

In Episode 1, Loewenstein returns to Israel to investigate how cutting-edge military and surveillance technology is being used on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, before being marketed to international clients as "field-proven" and "battle-tested".

Hearing from Palestinians and Israelis, he uncovers how a pipeline of personnel and research from the Israeli army feeds into semi-private arms companies which form a crucial part of Israel's exports to the world. He also investigates the Israeli army's use of targeting systems that utilise artificial intelligence during the Gaza war after October 7, 2023.

---

How is Israel’s Military Tech Marketed Abroad?- “The Palestine Laboratory” Episode 2

In Episode 2 of "The Palestine Laboratory", journalist and author Antony Loewenstein investigates how surveillance and military technology developed by Israel and tested on Palestinians is marketed abroad. He finds out how the latest Israeli technology is being used to monitor refugees and migrants in Greece and along the US-Mexico border.

Loewenstein visits Mexico to explore its use of Israeli spyware and travels to India to find out how a thriving arms trade is fostering close links between the two nations. In South Africa, he uncovers a hidden aspect of the country's history which saw a secret relationship between the apartheid-era government and Israel centred on a clandestine arms trade and shared values.

What he reveals is a picture of how the "technology of occupation" developed on Palestinians is also used to subjugate people and surveil political dissidents, human rights defenders and journalists all over the world.

Loewenstein concludes by asking if the countries buying these systems are actually looking for more than just another weapon, but instead buying into a wider ideology of the separation and control of "unwanted" populations, be they protesting farmers, political dissidents, or refugees.