Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism in the Palestinian Liberation Struggle

by Omar ZahZah

This groundbreaking book documents how digital platforms and technology companies based in the United States support the Israeli settler-colonial project through censorship.

Terms of Servitude demonstrates how social media has become a new tool of anti-Palestinian suppression even though these platforms were initially instrumental in advancing the Palestinian struggle.

Features an introduction by Steven Salaita, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the American University in Cairo.

[Terms of Servitude is a joint production of The Censored Press and Seven Stories Press.]

Terms of Servitude explores the paradox whereby prominent digital platforms like Meta, Google, and X that initially facilitated the expression of activism and advocacy for Palestinian liberation have come to fortify Zionist settler-colonialism. Through anti-Palestinian censorship and erasure often justified by so-called “terms of service” or “community standards” violations, these Big Tech companies provide the Israeli occupation forces with AI technology and metadata used to streamline genocidal colonial violence against Palestinians.

Through original analysis and careful documentation, Omar Zahzah, Assistant Professor of Arab, Muslim, Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies at San Francisco State University, traces the timeline from the Sheikh Jarrah uprisings of 2021 to the beginning of October 2023 to the most current developments to explain social media’s role in advancing and suppressing Palestinian narratives.

This revealing and alarming book explores what makes anti-colonial counter-narratives across digital platforms so urgent, and what resistance can and must mean in light of the consolidation of Big Tech with Israeli colonialism and genocide.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[Hungry Rye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute banger of a book that everyone ought to read.

[sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

will definitely be considering this as an essential read for anyone who wants to learn more about modern forms of suppression towards palestinian liberation and how we can fight against big tech/social media. it's obvious the author put in the work to make this as current and detailed as possible (especially with how quickly big tech/social media changes) and despite the deep dive this was such an accessible read for anyone to pick up.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenging but extremely well researched read. I consider myself generally informed about the Palestinian plight but this book thought me a lot. Highly recommended.

[Zanuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mashallah a masterpiece.
The research in this book is so amazing and had me learning new information every page. I’ve been telling friends if I had to take Big Tech and isr*el to court tomorrow I’d walk in solely and confidently with this book in hand.
I’m so honored to have read this amazing book.

[Anton Alexandrov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great catalogue of the ways in which big tech is complicit in the genocide in Palestine.

[Mahad Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you’re interested in knowing the intrinsic motivation of Big Tech and what colonialism looks like in 2026, this book is a must read. the author makes a compelling argument that unfair censorship, doxing, deplatforming, all serve the dual purpose of making profit (for big tech) and expanding the israeli empire (through settler colonialism). if tech companies are motivated to increase profit by any means necessary, all a fascist movement has to do is convince these companies their colonial project can increase a complies bottom line. for imperialists, the most efficient way to get their colonial projects off the ground (with the least pushback) is to keep their true financial backers in the dark (us the laborers and tax payers). more specifically, if israel wants to do settler colonialism (which entails apartheid, land theft, and genocide), they need financial and military backing from bigger empires. since these empires get their power and resources in part from their population (me and you), they need to ensure that we keep funding them without realizing what our money is doing. the easiest way to do that is by completely erasing any voice, narrative, or unflattering evidence offered by the victims of colonial violence. by systematically removing palestinians and their allies from big techs platforms, israel is able to conduct its settler colonialism. this symbiotic partnership between big tech and israel is deemed ‘digital settler colonialism’. this book really furthers the insights of other books critical of big tech. for example how it reinforces and calcifies racial hierarchies (Race after Technology) and how these companies consolidate power and maintain colonial dominance (Empire of AI). would highly recommend!!

[Ben Sayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

crucially relevant. Zahzah thoroughly demonstrates that while digital media, especially social media, has opened new doors for Palestinians to directly share their experiences with the world, unfiltered by legacy media, these apparatuses are still ultimately controlled by hegemonic powers that will do everything in their power to silence counter-hegemonic narratives. the analysis can be a bit redundant at times, likely in part due to the construction of the book as mostly inspired by past essays, but it may not feel that way in the future when this issue is not so visible. we must give credit to Zahzah and other Palestinian activists for creating the circumstances in which censorship of anti-zionist narratives is obvious to anyone paying attention.

[Tai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the authors argument about digital settler colonialism made a lot of sense and is very poignant but this bih was so repetitive like omg. I think it’s bc every chapter was what seems like was a stand alone essay at some point, but could’ve used some major editing to make the ideas more cohesive. I definitely understand the argument and agree with it but I wouldn’t necessarily say it was always cogent—prob bc the writing was esoteric at times.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening to the depths Israel/ Zionists stifle social media/ communication related to Palestine. Infuriating to say the least which makes this book vital for more people to read and understand how social media is drowning out voices that need to be heard.

[Julia Ibarguen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait to reread