COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination
Despite Israel’s responsibility under international law to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics in its occupied territories, Israeli officials have refused to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Through a critical discourse analysis of Isra...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Health and Human Rights |
| Online Access: | https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2469/2022/12/schneider.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797977010287411200 |
|---|---|
| author | Nicolas Howard Emily Schneider |
| author_facet | Nicolas Howard Emily Schneider |
| author_sort | Nicolas Howard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite Israel’s responsibility under international law to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics in its occupied territories, Israeli officials have refused to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Through a critical discourse analysis of Israeli officials’ statements regarding Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, this paper explores how Israel evades this responsibility while presenting itself as committed to public health and human rights. We find that Israeli officials strategically present Palestinians as an autonomous nation when discussing COVID-19 vaccinations, despite Israel’s ongoing attempts to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. Relatedly, Israel justifies its refusal to vaccinate Palestinians on the grounds of the Palestinian Authority’s economic independence, thereby obscuring Israel’s control over the Palestinian economy. In this way, Israel relies on citizenship and economic inequality, as internationally sanctioned forms of exclusion, to deny Palestinians their right to health. Drawing on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Achille Mbembe, and Jasbir Puar, we argue that withholding vaccines from Palestinians reveals the ways that Israel furthers its settler-colonial aims under the guise of liberal humanitarianism and economic growth. Instead of directing these conclusions toward Israel as an exceptional case, we contend that these processes reveal how settler-colonial societies use liberal frameworks of citizenship and capitalism to carry out their racialized projects of elimination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:00:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb3d979178024a5cb3c21903bf469eeb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-4113 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:00:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health and Human Rights |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb3d979178024a5cb3c21903bf469eeb2022-12-26T03:13:12ZengHarvard FXB Center for Health and Human RightsHealth and Human Rights2150-41132020-12-01242265279COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of EliminationNicolas Howard0Emily SchneiderA doctoral student of criminology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, United States.Despite Israel’s responsibility under international law to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics in its occupied territories, Israeli officials have refused to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Through a critical discourse analysis of Israeli officials’ statements regarding Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, this paper explores how Israel evades this responsibility while presenting itself as committed to public health and human rights. We find that Israeli officials strategically present Palestinians as an autonomous nation when discussing COVID-19 vaccinations, despite Israel’s ongoing attempts to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. Relatedly, Israel justifies its refusal to vaccinate Palestinians on the grounds of the Palestinian Authority’s economic independence, thereby obscuring Israel’s control over the Palestinian economy. In this way, Israel relies on citizenship and economic inequality, as internationally sanctioned forms of exclusion, to deny Palestinians their right to health. Drawing on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Achille Mbembe, and Jasbir Puar, we argue that withholding vaccines from Palestinians reveals the ways that Israel furthers its settler-colonial aims under the guise of liberal humanitarianism and economic growth. Instead of directing these conclusions toward Israel as an exceptional case, we contend that these processes reveal how settler-colonial societies use liberal frameworks of citizenship and capitalism to carry out their racialized projects of elimination.https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2469/2022/12/schneider.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Nicolas Howard Emily Schneider COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination Health and Human Rights |
| title | COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination |
| title_full | COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination |
| title_short | COVID-19 Vaccination in Palestine/Israel: Citizenship, Capitalism, and the Logic of Elimination |
| title_sort | covid 19 vaccination in palestine israel citizenship capitalism and the logic of elimination |
| url | https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2469/2022/12/schneider.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicolashoward covid19vaccinationinpalestineisraelcitizenshipcapitalismandthelogicofelimination AT emilyschneider covid19vaccinationinpalestineisraelcitizenshipcapitalismandthelogicofelimination |