Michael Sfard

Michael Sfard was born in 1972 in Jerusalem

Michael Sfard was born in Jerusalem in 1972 and grew up in Ma'alot Dafna. His parents, mathematician Leon Sfard and University of Haifa professor Anna Sfard, left Poland after taking part in the 1968 student protests at the University of Warsaw. He is a grandson of sociologist Zygmunt Bauman.

He served in the Nahal Brigade as a combat medic. Later, as a reservist, he refused to serve in Hebron and spent 3 weeks in military prison.

He earned a law degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and trained under lawyer Avigdor Feldman, then worked in his office. In 2000 he moved to London for a master's degree in international human rights law at University College London and returned the next year.

In 2004 he opened his own office in Tel Aviv. He represents human rights groups, Palestinians and soldiers who refused to serve, and is legal counsel for Yesh Din and Peace Now. His cases include petitions on the separation barrier, including the village of Bil'in, and on settlement outposts such as Amona and Migron.

He writes opinion columns and has published in Haaretz, The Independent and The Observer. He received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award in 2012 and the Sami Michael Prize in 2024. He is married to social worker Nirit Ben-Horin and lives in Tel Aviv.