Genomic Citizenship: The Molecularization Of Identity In The Contemporary Middle East

221 Pages·2021·2.962 MB·English

by  Ian McGonigle

GENOMIC CITIZENSHIP

GENOMIC
CITIZENSHIP
The Molecularization of Identity
in the Contemporary Middle East
IAN MCGONIGLE
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2021 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This work is subject to a Creative Commons CC- BY- NC- ND license.
Subject to such license, all rights are reserved.
The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from
Arcadia— a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.
The MIT Press would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers who provided
comments on drafts of this book. The generous work of academic experts is essential for
establishing the authority and quality of our publications. We acknowledge with gratitude
the contributions of these otherwise uncredited readers.
This book was set in Garamond by Westchester Publishing Services, Danbury, CT.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: McGonigle, Ian, author.
Title: Genomic citizenship : the molecularization of identity in the contemporary
Middle East / Ian McGonigle. 
Description: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, 2021. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020047210 | ISBN 9780262542944 (paperback) 
Subjects: LCSH: Human genetics- - Political aspects- - Israel. | Human genetics- -
Political aspects- - Qatar. | Biobanks- - Political aspects- - Israel. | Biobanks- -
Political aspects- - Qatar. | Ethnology- - Israel. | Ethnology- - Qatar. | Ethnicity- -
Israel. | Ethnicity- - Qatar. | Nationalism- - Israel. | Nationalism- - Qatar. |
Citizenship- - Israel. | Citizenship- - Qatar.
Classification: LCC QH428.2.I75 M38 2021 | DDC 599.93/5- - dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020047210
CONTENTS
Author’s Note vii
List of Tables and Figures ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 IDENTITY IN THE AGE OF GENOMICS 1
2 THE “NATURE” OF ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP 31
3 THE ISRAELI BIOBANK: A NATIONAL PROJECT? 63
4 BIOBANKING AND “QATARIZATION” 99
5 WHOSE DNA IS IT, ANYWAY? 121
6 GENOMIC CITIZENSHIP: HYBRID ONTOLOGIES 143
Notes 159
References 165
Index 183

AUTHOR’S NOTE
The text of this book was written solely by the author, except where other-
wise stated. Chapter 2 contains elements of a paper written in collabora-
tion with Lauren Herman, a shorter version of which was published in the
Journal of Law and the Biosciences (McGonigle and Herman 2015). Chap-
ter 2 also includes parts previously published in Transversal: Journal for
Jewish Studies (McGonigle 2015). A comparative article drawing on mate-
rial from chapters 3 and 4 was published by Science, Technology and Society
(McGonigle 2020b), and some of the material in chapter 4 is included in
a chapter in an edited volume on identity and authenticity published by
Routledge (McGonigle 2020a). Any previously published material is repro-
duced here with permission from the publisher. Likewise, permission has
been granted for the use of any copyrighted images or figures.

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 3.1 Catalog of DNA samples and cells of the NLGIP 76
Table 4.1 Qatar Biobank participant data 117
Table 6.1 Summary comparison of Israeli and Qatari biobanks 146
Figure 3.1 Israel population pyramid 67
Figure 3.2 Cost of sequencing a single person’s genome 86
Figure 4.1 Sidra Functional Genomics Symposium 100
Figure 4.2 Qatar population pyramid 107
Figure 5.1 Family ties: Saudi Arabia strives to prevent genetic diseases 126
Figure 5.2 The genetic structure of the Qatari people 128
Figure 5.3 Map of the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula 138