Manchester University Press Thorough Surveillance: The Genesis of Israeli Policies of Population Management, Surveillance and Political Control Towards the Palestinian Minority

Widely regarded as expert in techniques of surveillance and political control, Israel has been successful in controlling a native population for a long time. Despite tremendous challenges, it has maintained a tight grip over a large Palestinian population in the territories it occupied in the 1967 war. Moreover, it has effectively contained the Palestinian minority inside its 1948 borders. Although members of the latter group were granted Israeli citizenship, various policies have blocked them from challenging the state's Jewish identity. Israel's continued administration of a large Palestinian population into the twenty-first century represents a serious challenge for scholars and theorists of colonial forms of political control. Relying on hitherto unpublished archival material, this book traces the genesis of Israeli policies and tactics of population management, surveillance and political control towards the Palestinians. It identifies the principal architects of these strategies, discusses their approaches, summarises their discussions and traces the implementations of these policies and their impact on the everyday lives of Palestinians. Review 'Sa'di achieves what few others have; a long-term view of a multi-faceted surveillance assemblage as it touches ordinary people going about their everyday lives.' David Lyon, Queen's University 'This ambitious and careful study will appeal to anyone interested in the history and theory of colonial control.' Timothy Mitchell, Columbia University 'Based on unassailable evidence of documents, names, places and dates, Sa'di calls us on all to bear witness to the making of a sophisticated system of colonial surveillance in its formation in the 1940s through to its present active mode today - state orchestrated, and deliberately designed.' Ann Laura Stoler, The New School for Social Research --. From the Back Cover Israel's ability to maintain its control over a large indigenous Palestinian population, both citizens and subjects who have been living under occupation into the twenty-first century, well after the demise of colonialism, represents a challenge for scholars of surveillance and colonialism. While this success might be attributed to multiple factors, one key element is the nature of the policies of population management, surveillance and political control it has employed. This book traces the genesis of these policies, their evolution and implementation in the first two decades of Israel's existence. The book begins by discussing the reasons and circumstances which allowed 156,000 out of 900,000 Palestinians to stay in the territory on which Israel was established and the initial debates among Israeli leaders on how to manage this non-Jewish population which remained in Israel; a state that was established for Jews. The book traces and analyses the various aspects of the policy plans and principles which were fashioned to manage the Palestinians in all aspects of their lives: their spatial distribution, natural growth, identities and categories of affiliation, the content of their education and the various means which affect their consciousness, their political behaviour and economic activities. Moreover, these plans identified the bureaucratic structures and the legal edifice through which they were governed. The book details how these policies and principles were fashioned and the mindset of those who composed them: their outlooks, calculations and reasoning. Moreover, it explores the ways in which they morally justified their decisions and reflected on the consequences of their judgements. It also deals with the ways in which these policies were implemented and thus affected the everyday lives of the Palestinians. About the Author Ahmad H. Sa'di is Senior Lecturer in Political Sociology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev