Book Reading and Discussion with Michael Sfard

In conversation with Rabbi Andrea London of Beth Emet Synagogue

Sponsored by the New Israel Fund and Metropolitan Books

Tuesday, February 6
7:00 pm

Book signing reception will follow the discussion. The book will be available for purchase.

Beth Emet Synagogue
1224 Dempster Street
Evanston, IL 60202

PLEASE RSVP BELOW

A farmer in the West Bank, cut off from his fields by Israel’s separation barrier, wants to petition the courts to build a gate in the wall. But while the gate would help the farmer harvest his crop, would it not also confer legitimacy on the wall itself? For Michael Sfard, pursuing justice means encountering such dilemmas on a daily basis.

This groundbreaking work examines the ethics and challenges of legal work for human rights. Recounting key cases and issues, Sfard lays bare the reality of the occupation and exposes its surreal legal structures. With emotional force and penetrating analysis, he offers both a moral reckoning with the occupation and a blueprint for a hopeful future.

-- SPEAKERS --

Michael Sfard is one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers. A former conscientious objector, he received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award and an Open Society Fellowship. His writing on human rights has appeared in The New York Times, Haaretz, The Independent, and Foreign Policy. He lives in Tel Aviv.

Rabbi Andrea London is a nationally recognized leader who has served at Beth Emet since 2000 and as the congregation’s Senior Rabbi since July 2010. She serves on the President’s Rabbinic Council of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and has served on the board of Rabbis for Human Rights North America (T’ruah) and the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI). She is also the secretary of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and co-chair of the J Street rabbinic cabinet. In 2014, Rabbi London was named by The Forward newspaper as one of America’s most inspiring rabbis.

-- SPONSORS --

Metropolitan Books, established in 1995, publishes American and international fiction and nonfiction. With a mission to introduce unconventional, uncompromising and sometimes controversial voices, Metropolitan publishes titles in categories ranging from world history to American politics, foreign fiction to graphic novels, social science to current affairs. Barbara Ehrenreich, Atul Gawande, Susan Faludi, Joe Sacco, Noam Chomsky, Andrew Bacevich, and Thomas Frank are among the authors published by Metropolitan. Regardless of the writer, topic, or genre, Metropolitan strives to uphold its commitment to inquiry, diversity, and distinction.

The New Israel Fund is the leading organization advancing and defending democracy in Israel. Widely credited with building Israeli progressive civil society, NIF has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel since its inception in 1979. More about NIF here: www.nif.org