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Digital Surveillance During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Israel

Year 2023, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 52 - 67, 10.04.2023

Abstract

Different pandemics and diseases hit the world throughout history, and various measures were used to counter the threats posed by these diseases like quarantines or social exclusion. In parallel with this, using technology to combat diseases has become a new normal in the modern era. The last pandemic which impacted the world was the Sars-Cov-2, and its spread led to the adaptation of different monitoring techniques. This study investigates the Israeli use of secret services for monitoring their citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic and intends to lay the primary reasons behind this policy choice. In this vein, Israel's historical, geopolitical, and demographic circumstances will be analyzed to highlight the primary causes for enabling an intelligence apparatus, namely Israel Security Agency (Shabak in Hebrew), to monitor civilians.

References

  • Akgül-Açıkmeşe, Sinem (2020). “Covid-19 ve Güvenlikleştirme”, Zeynep Alemdar & Burcu Özdemir Sarıgil, 2020’de Kadınlar, Dünya Politikası ve Türkiye (10–11). İstanbul: Dış Politikada Kadınlar.
  • Almog, Oz (2000). The Sabra: The Creation of the New Jew. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Altshuler, Tehilla Shwartz, and Rachel Aridor Hershkowitz (2020). “How Israel’s COVID-19 Mass Surveillance Operation Works.” Brookings Institute. Nature Research. July 6, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-israels-covid-19-mass-surveillance-operation-works/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022)
  • Amit, Moran, Heli Kimhi, Tarif Bader, Jacob Chen, Elon Glassberg, and Avi Benov (2020). “Mass-Surveillance Technologies to Fight Coronavirus Spread: The Case of Israel.” Nature Medicine 26 (8): 1167–69.
  • Amnesty International (2020). “Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway Contact Tracing Apps among Most Dangerous for Privacy - Amnesty International.” Amnesty International. June 16, 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/06/bahrain-kuwait-norway-contact-tracing-apps-danger-for-privacy/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Arutz Sheva Staff (2020). “Bennett: We’re at War | Israel National News - Arutz Sheva.” Israel National News-Arutz Sheva. April 1, 2020. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/278146 (Access Date: 3 May 2022).
  • Belder, Ferit (2022). “Making Sense of Risky Haredi Behaviors in Israel During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 19 (73): 1–17.
  • Buzan, Barry, Ole Wæver, and Jaap de Wilde (1998). Security: A New Framework.London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  • Duke, Shaul A (2021). “Nontargets: Understanding the Apathy towards the Israeli Security Agency’s COVID- 19 Surveillance.” Surveillance and Society, 19 (1): 114–29.
  • Eiran, Ehud (2020). “Israel: Politics and Identity in Coronavirus Time.”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (44–47). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • Gimpelson, Ilana, George Karavokkyris, Ido Lachman, Guy Lurie, Magdalena Pacholska, Talia Shwartz, and Yonatan Orpeli (2016). “Law and Emergencies : A Comparative Overview Law and Emergencies : A Comparative Overview.” Haifa: Minerva Stiftung.
  • Gradstein, Linda (2020). “In Israel, Shin Bet Security Services COVID-19 Contact Tracing Raises Privacy Concerns.” Voice of America. 2020. https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_israel-shin-bet-security-services-covid-19-contact-tracing-raises-privacy-concerns/6196631.html (Access Date: 2 May 2022).
  • Gross, Judah Ari (2020). “Shin Bet Says It Found 500 Coronavirus Carriers with Its Mass Surveillance | The Times of Israel.” The Times of Israel. March 26, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-says-it-found-500-coronavirus-carriers-with-its-mass-surveillance/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Halbfinger, David M., Isabel, Kershner, and Ronen, Bergman (2020). “To Track Coronavirus, Israel Moves to Tap Secret Trove of Cellphone Data", The New York Times.” March 16, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/middleeast/israel-coronavirus-cellphone-tracking.html (Access Date: 22 December 2022).
  • Hoffman, Adam (2020). “The Securitization of the Coronavirus Crisis in the Middle East”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (10–14). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • I24News (2020). “Coronavirus: All Leisure Activities To Be Halted In Israel, Netanyahu Says, Unveiling Broad Measures - I24NEWS.” I24News. March 14, 2020. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/1584216067-coronavirus-all-leisure-activities-to-be-halted-in-israel-netanyahu-says-unveiling-broad-measures (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Israeli, Zipi (2020). “National Security Index: Public Opinion Survey | INSS.” 2020. https://www.inss.org.il/national-security-index-public-opinion-survey2020conference/ (Access Date: 12 December 2022).
  • Israeli, Zipi, and Ruth Pines (2021). “National Security Index: Public Opinion, 2020-2021.” Tel Aviv: The Institute for National Security Studies.
  • Kahana, Ephraim (2021). “Intelligence Against COVID-19: Israeli Case Study.” International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 34 (2): 259–66.
  • Last, Mark (2020). “The First Wave of COVID-19 in Israel—Initial Analysis of Publicly Available Data.” PLoS ONE, 15 (10 October): 1–17.
  • Levinson, Chaim (2020). “Netanyahu, Gantz Sign Coalition Deal to Form Government - Israel Election 2021 - Haaretz.Com.” April 20, 2020. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-gantz-netanyahu-expected-to-sign-coalition-deal-on-monday-evening-1.8783533 (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Lilleker, Darren, and Miloš Gregor (2021). “World Health Organization: The Challenges of Providing Global Leadership”, Darren Lilleker, Ioana A. Coman, Miloš Gregor, and Edoardo Novelli (Ed.) Political Communication and Covid-19: Governance and Rhetoric in Times of Crisis (19-33), Oxon: Routledge.
  • Lukacovic, Marta N (2020). “‘Wars’ on COVID-19 in Slovakia, Russia, and the United States: Securitized Framing and Reframing of Political and Media Communication Around the Pandemic”, Frontiers in Communication, 5 (December): 1–14.
  • Maati, Ahmed, and Žilvinas Švedkauskas (2020). “Framing the Pandemic and the Rise of the Digital Surveillance State.” Czech Journal of International Relations, 55 (4): 48–71.
  • Maor, Moshe, Raanan Sulitzeanu-kenan, and David Chinitz (2020). “When COVID-19, Constitutional Crisis, and Political Deadlock Meet: The Israeli Case from a Disproportionate Policy Perspective.” Policy and Society, 39 (3): 442–57.
  • Marciano, Avi (2021). “Israel’s Mass Surveillance during COVID-19: A Missed Opportunity.” Surveillance and Society, 19 (1): 85–88.
  • Marciano, Avi, and Aya Yadlin (2022). “Media Coverage of COVID-19 State Surveillance in Israel: The Securitization and Militarization of a Civil-Medical Crisis.” Media, Culture & Society, 44 (3): 445–63.
  • Ministry of Health (2020). “No Cooperation Between the Ministry of Health and Defense Agencies During Coronavirus Event.”, Ministry of Health, 2020. https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/19032020_01 (Access Date: 22 December 2022).
  • Molnár, Anna, Lili Takács, and Éva Jakusné Harnos (2020). “Securitization of the COVID-19 Pandemic by Metaphoric Discourse during the State of Emergency in Hungary.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 40 (9–10): 1167–82.
  • Murciano, Gil (2020). “Covid-19 and the Securitization of National Crises in Israel’s Strategic Approach.” Stiftung Wissenschaft Und Politik, no. 63, 14 December 2020,. https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/covid-19-and-the-securitization-of-national-crises-in-israels-strategic-approach (Access Date: 21 December 2022).
  • Sasley, Brent E (2020). “A Resurgent Netanyahu? The Political and Constitutional Effects of COVID-19 in Israel”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (48–50). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • Sharon, Jeremy (2021). “COVID-19: Top Haredi Rabbi Says Those Flouting Restrictions Are ‘Sinners’ - Israel News - The Jerusalem Post.” The Jerusalem Post. February 3, 2021. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/covid-19-top-haredi-rabbi-says-those-flouting-restrictions-are-sinners-657710 (Access Date: 5 May 2022).
  • Shpiro, Shlomo (2021). “Israeli Intelligence and the Coronavirus Crisis” International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 34 (1): 1–16. T he Times of Israel Staff (2022). “Communications Minister Faces Haredi Backlash after Easing Kosher Phone Rules | The Times of Israel.” The Times of Israel. May 1, 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/communications-minister-faces-haredi-backlash-after-loosening-kosher-phone-rules/ (Access Date: 3 May 2022).
  • Vankovska, Biljana (2020). “Dealing with COVID-19 in the European Periphery: Between Securitization and ‘Gaslighting.’” Journal of Global Faultlines, 7 (1): 71-88.
Year 2023, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 52 - 67, 10.04.2023

Abstract

References

  • Akgül-Açıkmeşe, Sinem (2020). “Covid-19 ve Güvenlikleştirme”, Zeynep Alemdar & Burcu Özdemir Sarıgil, 2020’de Kadınlar, Dünya Politikası ve Türkiye (10–11). İstanbul: Dış Politikada Kadınlar.
  • Almog, Oz (2000). The Sabra: The Creation of the New Jew. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Altshuler, Tehilla Shwartz, and Rachel Aridor Hershkowitz (2020). “How Israel’s COVID-19 Mass Surveillance Operation Works.” Brookings Institute. Nature Research. July 6, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-israels-covid-19-mass-surveillance-operation-works/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022)
  • Amit, Moran, Heli Kimhi, Tarif Bader, Jacob Chen, Elon Glassberg, and Avi Benov (2020). “Mass-Surveillance Technologies to Fight Coronavirus Spread: The Case of Israel.” Nature Medicine 26 (8): 1167–69.
  • Amnesty International (2020). “Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway Contact Tracing Apps among Most Dangerous for Privacy - Amnesty International.” Amnesty International. June 16, 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/06/bahrain-kuwait-norway-contact-tracing-apps-danger-for-privacy/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Arutz Sheva Staff (2020). “Bennett: We’re at War | Israel National News - Arutz Sheva.” Israel National News-Arutz Sheva. April 1, 2020. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/278146 (Access Date: 3 May 2022).
  • Belder, Ferit (2022). “Making Sense of Risky Haredi Behaviors in Israel During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 19 (73): 1–17.
  • Buzan, Barry, Ole Wæver, and Jaap de Wilde (1998). Security: A New Framework.London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
  • Duke, Shaul A (2021). “Nontargets: Understanding the Apathy towards the Israeli Security Agency’s COVID- 19 Surveillance.” Surveillance and Society, 19 (1): 114–29.
  • Eiran, Ehud (2020). “Israel: Politics and Identity in Coronavirus Time.”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (44–47). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • Gimpelson, Ilana, George Karavokkyris, Ido Lachman, Guy Lurie, Magdalena Pacholska, Talia Shwartz, and Yonatan Orpeli (2016). “Law and Emergencies : A Comparative Overview Law and Emergencies : A Comparative Overview.” Haifa: Minerva Stiftung.
  • Gradstein, Linda (2020). “In Israel, Shin Bet Security Services COVID-19 Contact Tracing Raises Privacy Concerns.” Voice of America. 2020. https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_israel-shin-bet-security-services-covid-19-contact-tracing-raises-privacy-concerns/6196631.html (Access Date: 2 May 2022).
  • Gross, Judah Ari (2020). “Shin Bet Says It Found 500 Coronavirus Carriers with Its Mass Surveillance | The Times of Israel.” The Times of Israel. March 26, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/shin-bet-says-it-found-500-coronavirus-carriers-with-its-mass-surveillance/ (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Halbfinger, David M., Isabel, Kershner, and Ronen, Bergman (2020). “To Track Coronavirus, Israel Moves to Tap Secret Trove of Cellphone Data", The New York Times.” March 16, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/middleeast/israel-coronavirus-cellphone-tracking.html (Access Date: 22 December 2022).
  • Hoffman, Adam (2020). “The Securitization of the Coronavirus Crisis in the Middle East”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (10–14). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • I24News (2020). “Coronavirus: All Leisure Activities To Be Halted In Israel, Netanyahu Says, Unveiling Broad Measures - I24NEWS.” I24News. March 14, 2020. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/1584216067-coronavirus-all-leisure-activities-to-be-halted-in-israel-netanyahu-says-unveiling-broad-measures (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Israeli, Zipi (2020). “National Security Index: Public Opinion Survey | INSS.” 2020. https://www.inss.org.il/national-security-index-public-opinion-survey2020conference/ (Access Date: 12 December 2022).
  • Israeli, Zipi, and Ruth Pines (2021). “National Security Index: Public Opinion, 2020-2021.” Tel Aviv: The Institute for National Security Studies.
  • Kahana, Ephraim (2021). “Intelligence Against COVID-19: Israeli Case Study.” International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 34 (2): 259–66.
  • Last, Mark (2020). “The First Wave of COVID-19 in Israel—Initial Analysis of Publicly Available Data.” PLoS ONE, 15 (10 October): 1–17.
  • Levinson, Chaim (2020). “Netanyahu, Gantz Sign Coalition Deal to Form Government - Israel Election 2021 - Haaretz.Com.” April 20, 2020. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-gantz-netanyahu-expected-to-sign-coalition-deal-on-monday-evening-1.8783533 (Access Date: 4 May 2022).
  • Lilleker, Darren, and Miloš Gregor (2021). “World Health Organization: The Challenges of Providing Global Leadership”, Darren Lilleker, Ioana A. Coman, Miloš Gregor, and Edoardo Novelli (Ed.) Political Communication and Covid-19: Governance and Rhetoric in Times of Crisis (19-33), Oxon: Routledge.
  • Lukacovic, Marta N (2020). “‘Wars’ on COVID-19 in Slovakia, Russia, and the United States: Securitized Framing and Reframing of Political and Media Communication Around the Pandemic”, Frontiers in Communication, 5 (December): 1–14.
  • Maati, Ahmed, and Žilvinas Švedkauskas (2020). “Framing the Pandemic and the Rise of the Digital Surveillance State.” Czech Journal of International Relations, 55 (4): 48–71.
  • Maor, Moshe, Raanan Sulitzeanu-kenan, and David Chinitz (2020). “When COVID-19, Constitutional Crisis, and Political Deadlock Meet: The Israeli Case from a Disproportionate Policy Perspective.” Policy and Society, 39 (3): 442–57.
  • Marciano, Avi (2021). “Israel’s Mass Surveillance during COVID-19: A Missed Opportunity.” Surveillance and Society, 19 (1): 85–88.
  • Marciano, Avi, and Aya Yadlin (2022). “Media Coverage of COVID-19 State Surveillance in Israel: The Securitization and Militarization of a Civil-Medical Crisis.” Media, Culture & Society, 44 (3): 445–63.
  • Ministry of Health (2020). “No Cooperation Between the Ministry of Health and Defense Agencies During Coronavirus Event.”, Ministry of Health, 2020. https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/19032020_01 (Access Date: 22 December 2022).
  • Molnár, Anna, Lili Takács, and Éva Jakusné Harnos (2020). “Securitization of the COVID-19 Pandemic by Metaphoric Discourse during the State of Emergency in Hungary.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 40 (9–10): 1167–82.
  • Murciano, Gil (2020). “Covid-19 and the Securitization of National Crises in Israel’s Strategic Approach.” Stiftung Wissenschaft Und Politik, no. 63, 14 December 2020,. https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/covid-19-and-the-securitization-of-national-crises-in-israels-strategic-approach (Access Date: 21 December 2022).
  • Sasley, Brent E (2020). “A Resurgent Netanyahu? The Political and Constitutional Effects of COVID-19 in Israel”, The Project on Middle East Political Science (Ed.), The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, (48–50). Washington DC: The Project on Middle East Political Science.
  • Sharon, Jeremy (2021). “COVID-19: Top Haredi Rabbi Says Those Flouting Restrictions Are ‘Sinners’ - Israel News - The Jerusalem Post.” The Jerusalem Post. February 3, 2021. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/covid-19-top-haredi-rabbi-says-those-flouting-restrictions-are-sinners-657710 (Access Date: 5 May 2022).
  • Shpiro, Shlomo (2021). “Israeli Intelligence and the Coronavirus Crisis” International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 34 (1): 1–16. T he Times of Israel Staff (2022). “Communications Minister Faces Haredi Backlash after Easing Kosher Phone Rules | The Times of Israel.” The Times of Israel. May 1, 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/communications-minister-faces-haredi-backlash-after-loosening-kosher-phone-rules/ (Access Date: 3 May 2022).
  • Vankovska, Biljana (2020). “Dealing with COVID-19 in the European Periphery: Between Securitization and ‘Gaslighting.’” Journal of Global Faultlines, 7 (1): 71-88.
There are 34 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Relations
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Hasan Basri Barıt

Publication Date April 10, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 1 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Barıt, H. B. (2023). Digital Surveillance During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Israel. Social Review of Technology and Change, 1(1), 52-67.