Israeli Democracy vs Occupation: Surveillance Technology and Blackmail

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Israeli officials and supporters often criticize critics of Israel by suggesting they have a gay parade in Gaza City to highlight the intolerance of Hamas towards the LGBTQ+ community. The point being made is that Israel claims to be a vibrant democracy, but the occupation seeps into every aspect of Israeli life, potentially subjecting Palestinians who don't live normal heterosexual lives to blackmail. Unit 8200, an Israeli intelligence unit, has developed sophisticated surveillance technology and aims to funnel it into the private sector through companies that specialize in facial recognition, smart walls, and spyware.

Paris Marx is joined by Antony Loewenstein to discuss how the Israeli weapons industry tests new military technologies on occupied Palestinians before selling them internationally.

Antony Loewenstein is an independent journalist who’s written for the New York Times and the Guardian. He’s the author of The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports The Technology Of Occupation Around The World. Follow Antony on Twitter at @antloewenstein.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Excerpts from Antony’s book have been published by In These Times, Declassified Australia, and Jamal Khashoggi-founded Democracy for the Arab World Now. Antony also wrote a good overview of the book for Middle East Eye.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Yesh Din have called Israel’s actions apartheid.
Google and Amazon workers protested Project Nimbus. They also faced shareholder revolts over the project.
Airbnb lists properties in illegal Israeli settlements.
Red Wolf is deployed at checkpoints to scan Palestinians’ faces and add them to surveillance databases without their consent.
Facebook has been criticized for removing Palestinians’ posts.
The New York Times reported on Israel’s use of NSO Group surveillance tools for diplomatic leverage.
The Committee to Protect Journalists found Israel killed 20 journalists.