Vivian Silver

Vivian Silver (; February 2, 1949 – October 7, 2023) was a Canadian-Israeli peace activist and women's rights activist. She was murdered in the Be'eri massacre, a part of the October 7 attacks.

Early life and education Silver was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Silver first visited Israel in 1968, during her junior year of college. She studied abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she studied psychology and English literature. In this capacity, Silver began publishing articles about Israeli–Palestinian relations.

In 1973, Silver and Shifra Bronznick organized the first National Conference of Jewish Women. At Gezer, she became the kibbutz's secretary, one of the few women to do so; At times, she received pushback from within the kibbutz for her refusal to adhere to gender norms and her choice to take on traditionally male work, such as overseeing construction. Silver worked within the kibbutz to organize programs to help Gazans, such as job trainings, and ensured that Gazan construction workers at the kibbutz were paid fairly. One group she founded, Creating Peace, focused on fostering business connections between Palestinian and Israeli artisans. As part of this work, she helped organize and lead tours of the Israeli side of the Israeli–Gaza border, as a way to raise awareness about the struggles of Gaza residents.

Disappearance and death On October 7, 2023, Silver was killed in the Be'eri massacre, an attack by Palestinian militants on kibbutz Be'eri, where she lived, as part of October 7 attacks, which marked the start of the Gaza war. During the attack, Silver spoke to her sister on the phone and reported hearing Hamas militants outside her home.

Silver was initially believed to have been abducted and taken to Gaza as a hostage. Her home was found burned and gutted when Israeli responders arrived, but because there was no body or signs of struggle, Silver was assumed to have been abducted.

Silver's family and friends created a Facebook page "Missing Vivian Silver" to try to collect more information about her possible whereabouts

Following the announcement of Silver's death, tributes to her were shared by B'Tselem, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, and Women Wage Peace. Online tributes to Silver were also posted by Canadian politician and human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler, Canadian foreign minister Mélanie Joly, Canadian ambassador to Israel Lisa Stadelbauer, and Israeli politician Tzipi Livni. On November 14, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also recognized Silver's death at an event, saying that she would "be deeply missed".

Silver's funeral was held at the kibbutz of Gezer, where she had lived from 1974 until 1990, on November 16. Approximately 1,500 people attended her funeral. She was buried in Be'eri at a private service.

Recognition and legacy In 2011, Haaretz named Silver as one of the "10 Most Influential Anglo Immigrants" to Israel and received the IIE Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East along with Amal Elsana Alh'jooj.

In August 2024, a community kitchen in the Zomi displaced persons camp in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in southern Gaza was named after Silver following the approval of one of her sons. The camp was established by Damour for Community Development, Clean Shelter, the Wonderbag Foundation, and UNICEF.

Her son Yonaton Zeigen has set up a Vivian Silver Impact Award. The prize will be awarded annually to two women, Arab and Jewish, who show great promise or have demonstrated significant accomplishments in one of the areas that embody Vivian's values and actions.

Personal life Silver was Jewish. and had two sons and four grandchildren.