The Palestine Laboratory documentary series is here
A timely, global investigation into the reality of Israel's Palestine lab in a time of rampant disaster capitalism.
After more than 15 months of mass slaughter in Gaza, a ceasefire is finally in place. Words can’t convey the horrors of what’s unfolded in Gaza and Lebanon since 7 October 2023, the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese, at the very least, and the complete destruction of Gaza. Hostages have been released on both sides, a long overdue outcome, with hopefully many more to come.
I’ve had contact with Palestinian friends in Gaza over the last days and they expressed relief, exhaustion and grief. They worry about what comes next including the threat of Israel resuming the war (or being forcibly removed to Indonesia).
Meanwhile, Israel continues to ethnically cleanse the West Bank. With Donald Trump back as US President, fascism is in the air and anti-Semitism is rising.
What’s happened to Israeli society, and far too many in the global Jewish Diaspora in the last years, has revealed a dark racism against Arabs and Palestinians that won’t be forgotten. And it’s getting far worse.
Israel’s leading journalist, Gideon Levy, unloads on Israel’s “first fascist war”:
The war that is supposed to end Sunday will go down in history as the First Kahane War. It is fundamentally different from all of Israel's previous wars.
The only war that resembled it was the 1948 war, that caused the Nakba, but the motivations behind that war were different. That was a war to establish a Jewish state; this is a war to establish a fascist state.
The State of Kahane has risen in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu's criminal spinelessness made it possible. It wasn't only the neo-Nazi right-wing parties: It was, above all, the prime minister's own Likud party that brought Kahanism to power.
The profound change that has occurred in Israel is best exemplified by the war in Gaza. Almost everything about it was meant to appease the fascist, racist, pro-population-transfer far right; and the spirit of Kahanism seized control of its goals and conduct. It wasn't only the scale of the army's cruelty; it was, above all, the way in which cruelty was rendered into a value in Israeli society as a whole, into an opportunity, an asset, a miracle. Cruelty as something to be proud of, to aspire to, to boast of and to flaunt.
Here it is!
This is the first promo/teaser for my forthcoming documentary film series, The Palestine Laboratory, made with the great UK production company Black Leaf Films and broadcast on the global network, Al Jazeera English:
Episode 1 is broadcast on 30th January, 2025, with Episode 2 following at the same time on the 6th February. Both episodes will be available on Al Jazeera’s website and YouTube (for free and complete global access).
The Palestine Laboratory is a ground-breaking two-part series (2 x 47 mins) that’s based on my global best-selling book of the same name.
In Part 1, in Israel and Palestine, I examine how the country positions itself as a world leader in hi-tech weapons and surveillance technology, with glossy promotions from the top weapons manufactures that boast their products have been “tested” and “proven” in “battle”.
Hearing from both Israelis and Palestinians, I explore how the industry understands what labels like “tested” in Palestine means and how the military intelligence Unit 8200 acts as an incubator for Israeli surveillance tech start-ups. I also examine Israel’s use of AI targeting systems in Gaza.
In Part 2, the investigation takes me on an international journey through Europe, India, Mexico, South Africa and the USA as I reveal how this “technology of occupation” is also used to subjugate people and surveil political dissidents, human rights defenders and journalists all over the globe.
This has been a massive, worldwide investigation, initiated in 2022 before my book was even released (though it was all filmed in 2024), with a huge team of remarkable researchers, producers, photographers, journalists and cinematographers. Most can’t be named due to legitimate fears for their safety and future work opportunities. I thank them all for their dedication and commitment to getting this timely story out.
Many clips, interviews and other content will be released soon.
If you’re in London on 10 February, come to a special event/screening/conversation at the famous Frontline Club all about the film and related issues with great guests including my co-director Dan Davies, Human Rights Watch UK Director Yasmine Ahmed, me (virtually) and others.
I’m an independent journalist without any institutional backing. If you’re able to support me financially, by donating money to continue this work, I’d hugely appreciate it. You can find donating options in the menu bar at the top of my website and via Substack.
My recent work has largely focused on the grim situation in the Middle East and I’ve spoken to media outlets including CNN and others. There’s a small selection of my interviews below and you can see the rest on my website and YouTube channel:
In 2024, I worked with the great US outlet, Drop Site News, to release a podcast series inspired by my book, The Palestine Laboratory. If you haven’t yet listened to this explosive 4-part series, now is the time:
I was asked by Drop Site News to comment on the news that Israel is spending US$150 million this year on more propaganda aka “public diplomacy”:
My recent interview with the UK outlet, Middle East Monitor, on the Israeli arms trade, the radicalisation of Israeli society and Netanyahu not being the (only) problem:
Although my global best-selling book, The Palestine Laboratory, was released in mid-2023, it continues to generate interest and huge engagement across the globe.
Here’s a wonderfully incisive review by a popular American TikToker:
William Dalrymple is one of the world’s best historians. I was honoured that he picked my book as one of his best for 2024 in the UK Guardian/Observer:
I often think about what Israel has unleashed in Gaza, the aim is complete devastation, and Palestinians there have a long history of suffering under this arrogant and criminal war-making. My first visit to Gaza was in July 2009, six months after Israel's Operation Cast Lead war, and I made a short film then about what I saw and heard:
The Turkish edition of my book was recently released and here’s my interview with a popular journalist in the country:
More than 18 months after the release of my Palestine Laboratory book, I continue to be amazed and humbled by how it’s entered the global conversation around Israeli militarism.
So far, it’s been released in 10 global editions (with many more translations coming in 2025):
From the release in Brazil, interest in the Dominican Republic and top reviews in India and the UK, the work has uncovered the dark history of Israeli complicity with some of the worst worldwide crimes of the last 80 years.
Pankaj Mishra is a leading writer on global politics and his words on Palestine have long been powerful and prescient. His new book, The World After Gaza, is set to be an essential read. I’m rapt to be interviewing him in person at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on 26 February and it’s already sold out.
As the co-founder and co-editor of Declassified Australia, an independent news site that publishes investigative work, please donate $, we ran a story on the potential of a nuclear strike on the US intelligence base, Pine Gap, in the centre of Australia, and dangers of the pro-Israel lobby trying to silence critical voices.
The fall of the Syrian dictator Basher Al-Assad was welcome news after decades of brutal rule. I visited the country in 2007, when researching my book, The Blogging Revolution, and explained my thoughts on the country’s dark past and potential future:
I was asked by the US outlet, HuffPost, about my news consumption and how to cope with it:
“Much of my journalistic work revolves around covering war, Palestine, the Israeli genocide in Gaza and related issues, so it’s heavy and emotionally taxing day-to-day work. I encourage people not to disengage from grim news — it’s a luxury many in the world simply don’t have — but instead add some non-work elements to their media diet. In the last months, I’ve really enjoyed the TV series ‘Shrinking’; it’s witty, moving and beautifully observed. More of this, please!” ― Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist, filmmaker and author of the global best-seller, “The Palestine Laboratory”
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter for constantly updated content. My website has information about all my work, books and documentary films stretching back to 2003.
I’m an independent journalist without any institutional backing. If you’re able to support me financially, by donating money to continue this work, I’d hugely appreciate it. You can find donating options in the menu bar at the top of my website and via Substack.
Thanks very much for reading.
Take care.
Antony