Film Screening: The Palestine Laboratory

The students of the Research Lab War, Security and Emerging Technologies of the MA Conflict Studies & Human Rights program are hosting, in collaboration with the Anthropology Department and the Contesting Governance Platform, a film screening of two Al Jazeera episodes titled The Palestine Laboratory (2025). This documentary problematizes the idea of Palestine as a lab and how Israel gets away with its occupation. 

Testing Ground

Palestine has often been described as a testing ground for new weaponry and technology. Both Israeli as global companies have tested their military weapons and surveillance systems on Palestinians. These systems have taken away the freedom of Palestinians in their own land, leading to dystopian images of life in the West Bank. Journalist Antony Loewenstein wrote a book on the matter, titled: “The Palestine Laboratory”, in which he describes how this industry not only makes money on war and surveillance but exports Israel’s idea of occupation as a profitable act.

The lab since October 7th

Since October 7th 2023, surveillance technologies have increasingly been used in Gaza as well, both to control the population and to systematically identify and kill “possible threats”.  During this event, we will explore this development by watching the two parts of the Al Jazeera documentary, in which Loewenstein explores these topics and how they evolved since October 7th 2023. We will give you some prompts and matters to think about while watching, so we can have an interactive discussion afterwards. During the event, we will provide you with some lovely Palestinian snacks.