Gerd von der Lippe (Norway)
Ship to Gaza Norway
Sailing on Al Awda, ‘The Return’
Gerd arrived home in Norway at 3pm on 2 August.
Read an article of Gerd’s about some of her experiences on the Freedom Flotilla [English] here.
Read Gerd’ latest article from February 2019 in Dagsavisen [Norwegian], here.
Read an article in Dagbladet from 10 August 2018 [Norwegian] here.
SOS – Release Gerd NOW – (video statement here)
Gerd von der Lippe (75) is a professor of Sports Sociology and an author. She has been working on research projects in cooperation with university colleagues in Gaza, and several invitations to present papers on women’s lives in Norway. She is a former Norwegian National Champion at 100 m, 200 m and 400 m sprint and she became famous in Norway when she – under a fake male name – ran in the biggest Norwegian relay race 1972, which was prohibited for women. She was punished for that, but together with other Norwegian champions she was an activist to enable women’s participation in the relay in 1975, which her team won.
More recently, Gerd worked on the case of Mahmoud Sarsak, a Palestinian football player detained by Israel and released after a long hunger strike in 2012. She is also a member of the national section in the Norwegian Palestine committee and a bord member/deputy chair in Ship to Gaza Norway. Gerd can be interviewed in Norwegian or in English.
“I have been in Gaza as a guest of university colleagues and listened to the stories of different people during and after several of the Israeli aggressive bombs. They are my friends, the unknown and silent heroes of Palestine, who need the solidarity of the world.”
Here are two recent articles that Gerd has contributed to: https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/uten-hjemkomst-for-palestinerne-ingen-fred/69849104 Freedom Flotilla sails again to Gaza in support of the Palestinian great march of return