The Wall and the Gate, Michael Sfard
The Wall and the Gate, Michael Sfard
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The Wall and the Gate
Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights

Author: Michael Sfard

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Unabridged: 21 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/23/2018


Synopsis

A farmer from a village in the occupied West Bank, cut off from his olive groves by the construction of Israel's controversial separation wall, asked Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard to petition the courts to allow a gate to be built in the wall. While the gate would provide immediate relief for the farmer, would it not also confer legitimacy on the wall and on the court that deems it legal? The defense of human rights is often marked by such ethical dilemmas, which are especially acute in Israel, where lawyers have for decades sought redress for the abuse of Palestinian rights in the country's High Court—that is, in the court of the abuser.

In The Wall and the Gate, Michael Sfard chronicles this struggle—a story that has never before been fully told—and in the process engages the core principles of human rights legal ethics. Sfard recounts the unfolding of key cases and issues, ranging from confiscation of land, deportations, the creation of settlements, punitive home demolitions, torture, and targeted killings—all actions considered violations of international law. In the process, he lays bare the reality of the occupation and the lives of the people who must contend with that reality.

About Michael Sfard

Michael Sfard, Israel's leading human rights lawyer, was educated at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and University College, London. A former conscientious objector, he received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award and an Open Society Fellowship. Sfard has also taught human rights law and his writing on the subject has appeared in the New York Times, Haaretz, the Independent, and Foreign Policy. He lives in Tel Aviv.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laabidi

Being raised in an Arab country (Tunisia), I am very familiar with the extreme conditions of the Palestinian people under occupation. What I was not familiar with is the very existence of brave Israelis human rights activists/lawyers who defended the oppressed. This book shed the light on some of th......more

The second half made up for the first half which I found difficult to follow since it jumped around a lot. But an indispensable perspective in understanding the conflict. “What does a human rights lawyer want in his professional life? To defend the good guys and fight the bad; to do good; to help the......more

Goodreads review by Abu

Having a chance perusing this book during my quarantine. This book simply expose me to the different side of Palestinian's struggles. Since child I was always hearing about the physical torture and the terrorism acts done by Israel. The same thing also happened in their legal battles. Reading Sfard'......more

Goodreads review by Ariel

Amazing, amazing work of legal scholarship. Long but fascinating the entire way through. In each section, Sfard breaks down a different category of Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights (e.g. home demolitions, settlement construction, torture, administrative detention, deportation, security......more