Winnipeg woman feared a hostage of Hamas dead

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This article was published 13/11/2023 (694 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman and peace activist feared to have been taken hostage during Hamas attacks in Israel last month is dead.

Vivian Silver had been missing since Oct. 7. She was born in Winnipeg, growing up to be a humanitarian. She moved to Israel in 1974 and was living in Kibbutz Be’eri, a Jewish community bordering the Gaza Strip, when the war broke out. Silver dedicated her life to humanitarian work.

Her family feared she was captured or harmed by Hamas militants, who launched an attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

Her son Chen Zeigen told the Free Press in October that Silver communicated with her family while she hid in a closet in her home. He confirmed Monday evening that the family was told she died in the attacks.

The family learned of the news Monday via “representatives of the state and the army,” Chen Zeigen said.

He declined an interview after confirming his mother’s death.

Another of Silver’s sons, Yonatan Zeigen, told CBC News his mother’s remains were found at Kibbutz Be’eri and identified about five weeks after the attack. He told reporters last month he had received information that her phone was geolocated in Gaza.

Israel’s consul general in Toronto, Idit Shamir, noted the “tragic news” on X (formerly Twitter).

“Our hearts go out to her family and friends,” she wrote. “May her memory be a blessing.”

Shifra Bronznick, a longtime friend of Silver’s and an activist in Jewish women’s rights, called Silver inspirational.

“(She was a) fearless activist who never gave up on making the world a better place,” Bronznick said by phone.

Silver, 74, was among approximately 1,200 people killed in the Oct. 7 attack, according to numbers from Israel’s foreign ministry.

“We are devastated to learn of Vivian’s death during the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel,” Gustavo Zentner, president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, wrote in a statement.

He called Silver a “renowned pacificist who tirelessly advocated for peace and the improvement of the quality of life for Palestinians.”

The federation hopes for a safe return of people still in Hamas’ captivity, Zentner said.

“We are with heavy hearts as we learn of the impact of Hamas’ terrorist attacks and as time passes, to learn of the identity of those massacred in Israel.”

Silver led or was involved in many Jewish and social justice organizations, including as executive director of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development, a non-profit dedicated to promoting shared society between Jews and Arabs.

She helped launch Women Wage Peace in 2014. The female-led group works jointly with Women of the Sun, a Palestinian organization.

Haskel Greenfield, the University of Manitoba’s co-ordinator of Judaic Studies, called Silver’s death a “double tragedy.”

She worked toward peace with Palestinians and was ultimately killed by them, which doesn’t help with future peace, he said.

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, acknowledged Silver on X.

“Her life was devoted to peace and Justice,” he wrote. “May her memory be for a blessing, and her courage and conviction be an example for us all.”

Rae called for the “killing and bombing” to pause long enough for the hostages to be released.

Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson also weighed in on X, saying Ottawa must “affirm its commitment to protecting Canadians from terrorism.”

“May Vivian’s life’s work continue to live on in fostering peace, and may her memory be a blessing to all,” she wrote.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Silver “a light in times of darkness” and a “voice for peace in times of war” on X.

More than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the war began, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.

— with files from The Canadian Press

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com