In this episode of The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein to talk about how for decades, Israel used its occupation of Palestinians as a testing ground for new weaponry, which it then packages and sells to governments around the world.
In fact, Loewenstein argues that since its inception, Israel built its economy around military and surveillance technology, exporting it to some of the world’s most repressive regimes including Myanmar, Pinochet’s Chile and apartheid South Africa.
As the devastating war in Gaza wages on, Israeli defence contractors have already begun advertising drones, hightech firearms and robot dogs battle-tested in the field and ready to be sent abroad.
#TheBigPicture is produced and presented by Mohamed Hassan. It’s a weekly show about the big ideas that shape our past, present and future.
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Timeline:
00:00 - Intro
2:09 - How Israel became a weapons research hub for the West
7:04 - How Israel armed oppressive regimes
9:31 - Israel’s relationship with partheid South Africa
12:15 - The Palestine Laboratory: Testing weapons on occupied subjects
15:52 - Battle testing new weapons in Gaza since 7 October
19:14 - Top Gun & Hollywood military propaganda
22:45 - Gaza news footage used to sell Israeli arms
30:57 - Surveillance technology in hot demand
35:22 - Israel as the ‘border of Europe’
41:46 - The farright’s obsession with Israel
49:48 - India’s Hindu nationalism modelled on Zionism
55:00 - What has changed since 7 October
1:03:59 - Outro
Listen to the full interview HERE on Middle East Eye
