Frankfurt Book Fair: Rights lawyer Sands awarded peace prize

The 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair concluded on Sunday with the awarding of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to the Franco-British lawyer and author Philippe Sands.

Sands was honored in the presence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as a committed humanist "who, despite growing resistance, fights tirelessly for human rights, justice and mutual understanding."

The jury said that his work was based on a "commitment to the universal rights of every human being, evidenced in his advocacy for victims of war crimes, racism, torture and colonial injustice." 

Sands criticizes Germany's 'silence' on Israel

Sands, a professor of law at University College London and human rights lawyer at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, used his acceptance speech to criticize Germany for what he called its "inappropriate silence" regarding Israel and its actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Sands said human rights abuses should be clearly named, especially among allies, stating: "It's not antisemitic. It's not anti-Israel. It's the truth."

Philippe Sands: Peace through law

Sands, himself a descendent of Jews driven out of what is now Lviv in western Ukraine during the German occupation in the Second World War, became known to a broader audience through his 2016 book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.

The work, which details the lives of two Jewish lawyers, Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, and the origins of international criminal law, was translated into dozens of languages, including German as Rückkehr nach Lemberg (Return to Lviv) in 2018.

"Germany knows all about ethnic cleansing," Sands said in Frankfurt, referring to criticism leveled at Israel by many states over its treatment of Palestinians.

"So why the silence? Silence is not the way. Not for a family. Not for a community. Not for a country."

Sands also condemned the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, as "appalling" and "a monstrous crime against the norms of international law" and acknowledged that Israel, like any state, has a right to defend itself.

"[But] this right is not unlimited and must be practiced within the boundaries of international law."

Edited by: Rana Taha

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