‘We want to see her back home’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/10/2023 (740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time Vivian Silver communicated with her family she was hiding in the closet of her home in fear, as the sounds of gunfire and shouting filtered through the door.

Silver, who was born and raised in Winnipeg before moving to a Jewish community bordering the Gaza Strip and dedicating her life to humanitarian work, has been missing since 11 a.m. Saturday.

“At some point, she told us ‘Someone is at the door,’” Chena Zeigen, Silver’s son said by phone from Connecticut. “She said she thought they left, and then that’s the last we heard of her.”

Her family fears she may have been captured or harmed by Hamas militants, who launched an attack against Israel earlier that day, killing hundreds of innocent civilians and prompting the Israeli government to declare war on Gaza.

Former federal cabinet minister Irwin Cotler identified Silver as being held captive following the attack, but her family has received no updates or official confirmation of Silver’s status, Zeigen said.

“We also share this suspicion, but we’ve not received any verification,” he said. “We are hoping to get some information on where she is, what happened to her, how she is doing; we want to see her back home.”

Global Affairs Canada said Monday it is aware of reports of one Canadian who has died and three others who are missing. It could not confirm whether Silver was among such reports.

Government officials in Israel are in contact with local authorities to confirm and gather additional information, it said.

Zeigen said his family is in contact with the Canadian government.

Silver, 74, is a “lifetime advocate for peace,” her son said. She moved to Israel in 1974 and spent decades advocating for diplomatic solutions to end the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

She has led or been involved in numerous Jewish and social justice organizations over the years, including as executive director of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development, a non profit dedicated to promoting dedicated to promoting shared society between Jews and Arabs.

In 2014, she helped launch Women Wage Peace, a female-led peace movement. The group now has more than 44,000 members and works jointly with a Palestinian organization called Women of the Sun.

“I have basically lived and breathed the movement day and night. Living on the border of the Gaza Strip is a compelling factor for me. I am driven by the intense desire for security and a life of mutual respect and freedom for both our peoples,” Silver said in a biography published on the organization’s website.

“The thought of yet another war drives me mad. Like the last three, it will not resolve the conflict. It will only bring more dead and wounded.”

Silver worked with extensively with the Bedouin community, an Indigenous group in the Negev desert, and spent time volunteering to drive cancer patients from Gaza to Jerusalem for treatment.

“She loves her children, she loves her friends. She is the most loyal friend,” Zeigen said, fighting through tears. “She was a woman of values and principles, and she worked all her life to fight for these values.”

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae acknowledged Silver Sunday, saying he is thinking of her and her family, and “There are too many others.”

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh published a similar post, describing Silver as one of many “champions for peace,” who have been killed or kidnapped amid the turmoil.

“Families across Canada are worried for loved ones in Israel and Palestine,” he wrote. “During these dark days, we must keep the flame of peace burning.”

By Monday evening, the war dead totalled nearly 1,600 on both sides, the Associated Press reported.

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Hamas is believed to have captured an unknown number of hostages during its initial raid, including women, children and elderly people. The group has threatened to begin executing prisoners in response to increased Israeli airstrikes and a blockade restricting food, fuel and supplies from entering Gaza.

Zeigen urged the Israeli government to make an agreement with Hamas to release prisoners — particularly children, saying his mom would want the same.

“Canada stands with Israel and fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law. Canada also calls for the immediate release of those being held hostage, and demand that they be treated in accordance with international law,” Global Affairs said in an email.

It updated its information on the number of registered Canadians abroad, saying 2,450 Canadians are now known to be in Israel, while 480 are in the Palestinian territories.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.