Aid centre named after Winnipeg-born peace activist slain in Oct. 7 attack

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This article was published 05/10/2024 (730 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the son of murdered peace activist Vivian Silver, an aid centre in Gaza bearing her name is a “positive and hopeful initiative.”

The naming of the centre, which serves as a community space and kitchen in the Zomi displaced people’s camp, is a recognition of how Silver “embodied the prospect of change and hope,” Tel Aviv resident Yonatan Zeigen said.

“In her death, my mother became a symbol of that,” he said. “I would rather know that my beloved mom Vivian’s name is helping to feed children in Gaza than see it engraved on a missile that kills them.”

Silver was 74 when she was killed by Hamas militants in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, but had lived in Israel since 1974.

Silver was known for her tireless advocacy for peace in the region, including helping to found Women Wage Peace, a grassroots movement in Israel that seeks a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She was also part of the Road to Recovery, driving Palestinians from Gaza to Israeli hospitals before the attack.

A sign bearing her picture and name was posted at the camp in July. It was put there by Clean Shelter, a German aid group that runs the centre with other organizations, including Palestinian aid group Damour for Community Development and UNICEF.

In the Times of Israel, Tahani Abu Daqqa, a member of the board of Damour for Community Development, said when people who use the centre in Gaza ask about Silver, “We tell people who she was.”

“She worked very hard for peace,” Daqqa said.

Zeigen said the naming of the centre in his mother’s name is an honour. “It recognizes her desire for diplomacy and peace,” he said.

He said he hopes people in Winnipeg might also honour his mother’s memory by pushing for “a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

Noting how communities in places such as Canada have been torn apart by the war, Zeigen said he thinks she would be disappointed to see “people in North America importing our conflict to their countries.”

Instead of holding separate rallies where the flags of Israel and Palestine are raised, she would have preferred to see people gathering together to raise a banner of peace, he said.

“The only way to bring about peace and security is by working together for a common future,” he said.

Jeff Lieberman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, said having a community space and kitchen in a displaced people’s camp in the Gaza Strip named for Silver shows the respect that the Gazans had for her.

“We are proud of all of the work that she did to help provide a better life for those who were less fortunate,” he said.

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