Sari Bashi

Background

About Sari Bashi

Sari Bashi is a human rights lawyer, writer, analyst and lecturer in law. She is the co-founder and former executive director of Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement the Israeli human rights organization promoting the right to freedom of movement for Palestinians, especially residents of the Gaza Strip. Beginning in 2005, Sari built Gisha into a leading voice on policy toward Gaza and a legal services organization that has helped thousands of people overcome travel restrictions to access jobs, education and family members. She then served as the Israel/Palestine country director at Human Rights Watch and completed a human rights fellowship at Yale Law School, where she taught international humanitarian law and researched the way in which activists for justice in South Africa and Israel/Palestine talk to and about the dominant group whose conduct they wish to change - how they engage the oppressor. She is currently working as an independent consultant and human rights lawyer, writing expert legal opinions on international, American and Israeli law, conducting mapping, research and analysis for international organizations, lecturing publicly and writing a book about the movement for justice in Israel/Palestine. Sari's work has been profiled for the connection she draws between long-distance running (she is Israel's female champion in ultra-marathon running, including at the 134-mile distance) and freedom of movement. Sari received a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. Ms. Bashi clerked on the Israeli Supreme Court for Justice Edmond Levi and is a licensed attorney in Israel and New York. Prior to studying law, Sari worked as a correspondent for the Associated Press in Jerusalem and conducted research on ethnic identity among Ethiopian immigrants to Israel as part of a Fulbright Scholarship.