Michael Sfard was born in 1972 in Jerusalem into a prominent intellectual family. He is the grandson of the world-renowned sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and Warsaw Ghetto survivor Janina Bauman. This synthesis of Holocaust memory and modern social theory has instilled in him a profound moral imperative: that the law must not be a tool of dominion but a shield for the vulnerable. Having served as a warrant officer in the IDF, he later became a conscientious objector, refusing to serve in the occupied territories.
In his professional career, Sfard is a leading authority on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and human rights law. He founded his own law firm specializing in cases related to the occupation and serves as legal counsel for prominent NGOs such as Breaking the Silence, Peace Now, and Yesh Din.
His seminal work, The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights, provides a masterful analysis of how the Israeli legal system navigates the contradiction of maintaining a “rule of law” while managing a prolonged occupation. In 2025, he was honored by the International Commission of Jurists for his unwavering commitment to procedural justice in a highly polarized environment.
Sfard’s resistance takes place primarily in courtrooms and at international legal forums. He has spearheaded numerous petitions to the Israeli High Court of Justice challenging the establishment of illegal outposts, the route of the Separation Barrier, and collective punishment measures against Palestinians. During the 2024–2026 crisis, he was among the first experts to warn of the legal shift from “occupation” to “annexation” and has actively defended anti-war protesters facing state prosecution.
Demonstrating immense intellectual and moral clarity, he remarked at a 2025 legal symposium: “The true value of law lies in its protection of those outside the halls of power. When ‘security’ is used as a pretext to strip another people of their fundamental rights, we are not just destroying Palestine; we are hollowing out the foundation of the Israeli rule of law.” Addressing settler violence in 2026, he noted: “If the law fails in the occupied territories, it will eventually fail in Tel Aviv. We cannot live in a ‘partial justice’ bubble; justice is indivisible.“