Remembering Vivian Silver: Activist and Advocate
Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli activist from Winnipeg, was a bridge-builder and a staunch advocate for women’s rights. A co-founder of Women Wage Peace—a coalition of Jewish and Arab women seeking a negotiated peace in Israel—Silver dedicated her life to fostering coexistence between Jews and Arabs in southern Israel. Tragically, her life was cut short on October 7th, when Hamas murdered her during the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri.
“She would orchestrate international peace rallies during the week and bake elaborate cakes for her grandchildren’s birthdays,” her son Yonatan Zeigen recalled. Silver lived within walking distance of Gaza, working tirelessly to build a shared society. “I think she would have been heartbroken, seeing so much pain and destruction,” Yonatan added. “The continuation of this pain since [Oct. 7] and no end in sight.”
A Vision for Peace
Yonatan emphasized that his mother believed in the power of dialogue over violence: “She would want this to be a turning point towards an understanding on both sides. All our energy needs to be invested in finding a way to seek common grounds.” Silver’s advocacy for peace was deeply rooted in her conviction that violence only perpetuates more violence.
The Weight of Loss and the Call for Accountability
Yonatan Zeigen @yonatanzeigen, member of @PCFForg and son of Vivian Silver - beloved Israeli Peace and women’s rights activist, who was murdered by Hamas on October 7th:
— Israelis for Peace NYC (@israelispeaceny) December 15, 2024
“My mother didn’t survive the massacre of Kibbutz Be’eri. I was with her on the phone till the end. The… pic.twitter.com/e7yTHdVZ6M
Reflecting on her passing, Yonatan shared the immense personal pain her loss has caused:
“My mother didn’t survive the massacre of Kibbutz Be’eri. I was with her on the phone till the end. The feeling of shock and helplessness will stay with me forever. The pain is immense. The void she left by her demise is an open wound for me and for my kids, who still talk about her constantly. But I refuse to relate to her death as only a personal tragedy.”
For Yonatan, the tragedy is not just personal but a symptom of a broader, avoidable crisis.
A Global Responsibility
“Part of what makes our bereavement so intolerable is the fact that it was avoidable. It wasn’t fate. It’s part of a context, of a toxic political construct, that is chosen for us by our leaders, or politicians—you can’t call them leaders.”
Speaking to an audience far from the conflict zone, Yonatan addressed the global dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
“Standing here is pretty surreal. Demanding peace so many miles away from the war. One might say that this is a moot gesture, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an internal matter. Around 1,000 Israeli civilians killed or held hostage, including babies, is not an internal matter. Around 40,000 Palestinians killed, most of them civilians, including babies, is not an internal matter. Both sides being displaced by the hundreds of thousands, detainees or hostages suffering from systematic abuse, is not internal.”
A Plea to the International Community
Yonatan called on the international community, particularly the United States, to reassess its role in perpetuating the conflict:
“We’re standing here, not just as concerned Jews or Palestinians. We’re standing here in the United States because the international community, led by America, has actively enabled the status quo before October 7th and has actively sponsored the war since. We’re standing here because, for us to be able to stop paying the ultimate price of loss and to start living sustainable lives in the Middle East, we need the international community to stop fueling our wars and to start fostering the prospect of peace. Palestinians will be free; Israelis will be secure. Everybody from the river to the sea will enjoy equal human rights only when we bring down the occupation, end the conflict, and achieve lasting peace. This is not an internal matter.”
Vivian Silver’s life and death stand as both a testament to the power of hope and a call to action for a world weary of violence. Her legacy urges us to envision and work toward a future where coexistence and mutual respect replace conflict and despair.
Read here the interview with Yonatan a year after her mother was murdered. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/07/one-year-mother-murdered-kibbutz-horror-peace
Yonatan Zeigen is a member of the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum (@PCFForg). A grassroots organization based on more than 700 Palestinian and Israeli bereaved families who have all lost a loved one to the conflict. https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/personal-stories/
(Photo from https://www.womenwagepeace.org.il/en/vivian75/)