Strategic Vulnerabilities and the 'Sparta' Idea

In spring 2023, journalist and filmmaker Antony Loewenstein published The Palestine Laboratory, a book tracing the way that Israeli military technology and weaponry, battle-tested on Palestinians, is exported around the world. Lowenstein argues that as Israel’s surveillance and combat technologies are sold far and wide, we can expect to see the forms of violence carried out in Gaza, for example, appear elsewhere in the world. Last month, Jewish Currents published an article by Rhys Machold called “The Myth of Israeli Innovation,” which takes a critical look at what Machold has termed “the laboratory thesis” and examines how it obscures Israel’s dependence on powerful allies, while doing PR for the overhyped Israeli tech sector. 

On this episode of On the Nose, Jewish Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel hosts Loewenstein and Machold for a comradely debate about the “laboratory thesis” and whether it serves a narrative of Zionist exceptionalism. The guests discuss how advanced Israeli weapons really are; how “Israeli” they are, given the role of Western governments and corporations in their development; and how much of Israel’s “innovation” should be considered technological as opposed to political. They also explore whether or not Israel is on the verge of collapse, and how to characterize the balance of power between Israel and the US.

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Articles and Media Mentioned and Further Reading

The Palestine Laboratory by Antony Loewenstein

The Palestine Laboratory, documentary series by Antony Loewenstein on Al Jazeera

“The Myth of Israeli Innovation,” Rhys Machold, Jewish Currents

“Reconsidering the laboratory thesis: Palestine/Israel and the geopolitics of representation,” Rhys Machold, Political Geography

“How Palantir, Google & Amazon armed Israel's genocide in Gaza,” interview with Antony Loewenstein on The Big Picture, Middle East Eye 

“‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza,” Yuval Abraham, +972 Magazine

“Profiting from Terror in Cold War Latin America: Bishara Bahbah’s Israel and Latin America: The Military Connection,” Alexander Aviña, Liberated Texts

“From Domination to Extermination,” Shir Hever, Phenomenal World

“Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus,” Frontline, PBS

“Zionism is an anachronism,” Makdisi Street

“The rot is very, very deep,” Makdisi Street

Israel on the Brink by Ilan Pappé

“How Israel’s War Economy Defied Economic Predictions,” Assaf Bondy and Adam Raz, Jacobin

The Israeli Connection: Who Arms Israel and Why by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi

Drop Site reporting on “Epstein and Israel” by Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussein

“On Jeffrey Epstein,” On the Nose

“Survey: Young, diverse generation of evangelicals shows growing ambivalence toward Israel,” Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service

Transcript forthcoming.