| 30 January 2009
In November 2008, the Free Gaza Movement elected an interim Board of Directors. We have appointed two individuals to coordinate our work in Gaza, as well as a group of international coordinators around the world, and a distinguished board of advisors.
Gaza Co-Coordinators
Caoimhe Butterly (Ireland)
Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish human rights activist. She has worked on human rights observation projects and with NGOs in Zimbabwe, Chiapas, Guatemala, Iraq and Palestine. Caoimhe lived in the Jenin refugee camp for a year in 2002 before being shot by Israeli soldiers, then deported. She speaks conversational Arabic.
Ewa Jasiewicz (UK)
Ewa Jasiewicz is an experienced journalist, community and union organizer, and solidarity worker. Her articles have appeared in The Independent, The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, Red Pepper, Left Turn, and Z Net, among others. She worked with the ISM in Palestine, and with Voices in the Wilderness in Iraq. She speaks conversational Arabic.
Ship Captains
Denis Healy (UK)
Denis has been involved with boats for 45 years, beginning with small fishing boats in Portsmouth. He has been captain of the Dignity on several successful voyages to Gaza. Denis learned to sail while at school and has been part of the sea ever since. He's a certified yachtmaster and has also worked on heavy marine equipment from yachts to large dredgers.
George Klontzas (Greece)
George Klontzas is a professional diver and sailor. He was captain of the Liberty on the first voyage in August 2008, and captain of the Spirit of Humanity in January 2009.
Web Team
Andrea Z (Italy) Webmaster
Andrea is a webdesigner, he joined the Freegaza.org team in December 2009, he built the Joomla based website and now he's taking care of its development. Moreover, he manages the server hosted at Slicehost.
Doug Sparling (USA) Assistant Webmaster
Doug is an experienced web developer and a published tech author. He works as a consultant primarily using open source technologies. Doug also volunteers and devotes time to local, national, and international human rights organizations.
Interim Board of Directors
Huwaida Arraf (Palestine/USA), Board Chair
Huwaida is a Palestinian-American, and also a citizen of Israel. She is a human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. In 2007 she received her Juris Doctor from American University in Washington D.C. and from 2007 - 2008 taught Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Al Quds University in Jerusalem.
Greta Berlin (France/USA), Board Secretary
Greta Berlin is one of the founders of the Free Gaza Movement. She has been an advocate for justice for the Palestinians since the early 60s. She is the mother of two Palestinian/American children whose father was born and raised in Safad, Palestine and is a 1948 refugee. She has a masters degree in Theatre and a bachelor’s in English and, when she’s not working with the Palestinians, has spent the past 32 years teaching engineers and scientists how to design and deliver presentations.
Audrey Bomse (UK/USA)
Audrey Bombse has been an activist since her student days in the 1960s. She's been involved in the Civil Rights Movement, the prisoner rights movement, and the El Salvador and Palestinian solidarity movements. As a human rights lawyer, she worked in Israel and the OPT for much of the past 7 years, most recently as coordinator of the United Against Torture Coalition, comprised of 15 Palestinian and Israeli NGOs representing the interests of Palestinian detainees and working to prevent and combat torture. Audrey was a passenger on the second voyage of the Free Gaza Movement in October 2008, and has been working on legal issues involving the Israeli naval assaults on the Dignity, as well as on Gaza fisherman and their boats. Audrey has been an active member of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) for 25 years, past co-chair of its Prisoners' Rights Committee and is the current co-chair of its Free Gaza Subcommittee.
Eliza Ernshire (Australia), Board Treasurer
Eliza Ernshire is a schoolteacher and human rights activist. Originally from Australia, she currently lives and works in the UK.
Fathi Jaouadi (Tunisia/ UK), Finance Director
Fathi Jaouadi is a television producer and human rights activist. Originally from Tunisia, he currently lives and works in London.
Lubna Masarwa (Palestine48)
Lubna Masarwa is a political and social activist. She works for Al Quds University as a community organizer for social and political rights in East Jerusalem. She focuses on education and the right to school for every child. Lubna has also worked against house demolitions and forced evacuations of Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
Dr. Vaggelis Pissias (Greece)
Dr. Pissias is a university professor and well-respected human rights activist.
Adam Shapiro (USA)
Adam Shapiro is a documentary filmmaker, human rights activist and Palestinian rights activist. He lived in the occupied Palestinian territory from 1999-2002 and helped found the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). His films include the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad (Spring 2004), darfur diaries: message from home (Fall 2005), and becoming nadya (short film, 2007). His latest film is a documentary series on Palestinian refugees all over the world called Chronicles of a Refugee, which was broadcast on Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel in May 2009. Adam previously served as Country Director in Afghanistan for the internationally renowned human rights organization Global Rights. He is co-author of the book, "Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival" (Nation Books).
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