Occupation from Within: A Journey to the Roots of the Constitutional Coup
Description
Michael Sfard presents his book Israels Bumerangeffekt. Von der Besatzung zum Ende der Demokratie, recently published in German by Edition Nautilus. Afterwards, Michael Sfard and Lucia Engelbrecht will discuss the questions and perspectives raised in the book, in a conversation moderated by Gil Shohat.
The renowned Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard demonstrates why the oppression of Palestinians is inseparable from Israeli society’s slide into an increasingly authoritarian state. When hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Israel against the so-called “judicial reform”, even before 7 October 2023, it was often overlooked that the very fundamental and human rights they were protesting to defend had already been severely curtailed for decades for the Palestinian population living under Israeli occupation.
Sfard describes how the occupation cannot be separated from Israel’s political and social reality. It shapes not only the lives of the oppressed, but also has ripple effects on the society of those who exercise this rule. State policy, legal structures, settler violence and societal denial are all intertwined.
Sfard links his sharp analysis to the question of what prospects exist for overcoming the violence and for a different relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. His book is thus both a compelling analysis and a plea for understanding and political change.
“Michael Sfard’s book is utterly devastating. The most important question he raises concerns the future. Can it still change, and if so, how should we fight for it?”, Dror Mishani, Haaretz
Speakers:
- Michael Sfard is one of Israel’s most prominent human rights lawyers. Born in Jerusalem in 1972, he studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at University College London. Sfard regularly represents Palestinian clients and communities before Israeli courts and advises Israeli human rights organisations and peace initiatives. He specialises in international human rights law and the laws of armed conflict, and is the author of several internationally acclaimed books and articles on the Israeli legal system, the occupation, and its effects on Israeli society and democracy.
- Lucia Engelbrecht is a political scientist and literary translator from Hebrew to German. She studied political science at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She translated Michael Sfard’s latest book, Israels Bumerangeffekt, from Hebrew into German for Edition Nautilus. Her recent translations include works by Yael Neeman, Maya Arad, Tomer Gardi, Motti Fogel and Roy Chen.
- Gil Shohat was born in 1988 in Bonn to Israeli parents and grew up there. He studied history and political science in Munich, Exeter and Berlin. From March 2023 to August 2026 he was the director of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung’s Israel Office in Tel Aviv. Since September 2026 he has been Senior Advisor for West Asia at the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung’s Centre for International Dialogue and Cooperation in Berlin.
A joint event by the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and Edition Nautilus.
The event will be held in English with simultaneous translation into German. Registration requested (see above). The event will also be livestreamed.
Accessibility:
- wheelchair-accessible entrance and lift
- assistance dogs welcome
- accessible by public transport