Pasteur in Palestine: The politics of the laboratory

Nadav Davidovitch, Rakefet Zalashik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Argument We examine the creation and functioning of the "Pasteur Institute in Palestine" focusing on the relationship between biological science, health policy, and the creation of a "new society" within the framework of Zionism. Similar to other bacteriological institutes founded by colonial powers, this laboratory was developed in response to public health needs. But it also had a political role. Dr. Leo Bhm, a Zionist physician, strived to establish his institution along the lines of the Zionist aspiration to develop a national entity based on strong scientific foundations. Even though the institute enjoyed several fruitful years of operation, mainly during World War I, it achieved no lasting national or scientific importance in the country. Bhm failed to adapt to new ways of knowledge production, scientifically and socially. The case study of the "Pasteur Institute in Palestine" serves as a prism to view the role of the public health laboratory in the history of Palestine with its ongoing changes of scientific, organizational, and political context.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)401-425
Number of pages25
JournalScience in Context
Volume23
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences
  • History and Philosophy of Science

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