Special Episode: Settler Violence in the West Bank – Sarit Michaeli on protection, annexation and civil resistance

Who protects Palestinian communities when the army and the government fail to intervene?
In this episode, I speak with Sarit Michaeli. She coordinates a project against settler violence and annexation at the New Israel Fund. Before that, she spent 22 years at B’Tselem.
Sarit takes part in protective presence herself. Activists stay in threatened Palestinian villages in the West Bank to document violence and deter attacks.
The numbers show how urgent this is. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported a 63 percent rise in severe settler attacks in the first half of 2026. The UN counts more than 80 Palestinians killed by the military and settlers since the start of the year.
We talk about why settler violence is not a series of isolated incidents. About the role of the state. And about what civil resistance can achieve when institutions fail.
Guest: Sarit Michaeli
Host: Shai Hoffmann

Links:
akweb.de/politik/bewusst-und-koordiniert-in-ga…
jacobin.com/author/sarit-michaeli
fr.de/kultur/gesellschaft/sarit-michaeli-von-d…
instagram.com/reels/DMyzpzjom5A

Ein Podcast der Gesellschaft im Wandel gGmbH, gefördert durch die Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Tausend Dank an das ganze Team!
Video und Postproduktion: Jordi Kuragari · Redaktion: Lea Volz & 365 Sherpas ·
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