Hundreds of people gathered in Winnipeg Thursday night to pay their respects and┬аhonour the life of Israeli-Canadian peace activist┬аVivian Silver, who was killed when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7.┬а
Silver, 74, was remembered as a┬аtireless advocate for peace, a┬аbridge-builder, and a women’s rights advocate. She was born┬аin Winnipeg and moved to┬аIsrael in 1974, where she devoted her life to peace work.
“She was fierce for what she believed in, in any setting and in front of anybody,” her son Yonatan Zeigen┬аtold CBC ahead of Thursday’s memorial.
“She had this duality to her, that┬аshe was small and also┬аseemed fragile and sensitive and soft, but┬аshe was also very assertive, and she had a really strong centre┬аand even stubbornness.”
He and his brother, Chen Zeigen,┬аarrived in Winnipeg from Israel earlier this week for┬аthe memorial.
“I was always very proud of the way she never gave up,” said Yonatan. “She was relentless.”
For more than a month, family and friends believed Silver was among the 240 hostages taken┬аby Hamas┬аafter the militant group’s Oct. 7 assault.
Her remains had been found shortly after the attack at Kibbutz Be’eri, in the south of Israel, where she lived, but weren’t identified until weeks later.
While a previous memorial was held┬аin Israel, her sons said the Winnipeg memorial┬атАФ organized by the┬аJewish Federation of Winnipeg and held at the┬аgymnasium at the Asper┬аJewish Community тАФ was important.
“This was sort of her home тАФ our home away from home. We would spend summers here,” Yonatan said.
“It was very important for us to have the chance to come be with our family here,┬аwhere she grew up, where she spent her formative years.”
Chen said┬аno matter what his mother was doing to help others, family was always important to her.
“We’ll keep remembering her for the person she was, in all of her┬аpolitical activities and achievements.тАж They were part of it. But to me they were kind of secondary,” Chen said.
“She would march for her causes at noon and tuck us into bed at night,” he said. “She would orchestrate international peace rallies during the week and bake elaborate cakes for her grandchildren’s┬аbirthdays.”
Silver’s older sister, Rochelle Gamliel, still lives in Winnipeg.
The last few weeks have been “hell. Devastating. Very, very difficult,” for the family, she said.
Gamliel broke down in tears as she saw a smiling photograph of her sister after walking┬аinto the building Thursday evening.┬а
For weeks, the family held out hope┬аshe would be found alive.┬а
“Once we found out there was no hope тАж it was very, very difficult to grasp,” Gamliel said.
“It’s too surreal for us. We can’t comprehend this.”
Gamliel said the family has received┬аletters and emails from people all over the world since her sister’s death.┬аShe didn’t realize how much of an impact Silver had on so many people.
“Children who had no idea who she was are writing and saying that they want to be like her,” Gamliel said. “It’s really impactful.”
Would be ‘heartbroken’┬аover war: son
Silver, whose┬аhome in Israel was walking distance from Gaza, was working to foster a shared society and coexistence for Jews and Arabs in southern Israel, her family said.
“I think she would have been heartbroken тАж seeing so much pain and destruction,” said Yonatan. “The continuation of this pain since [Oct. 7] and no end in sight.”
Chen said she would want both sides to find a peaceful solution.┬а
“Our mom believed┬аthat violence only brings more violence, and we’re really seeing the worst of it now,” he said.
“She would want this to be a turning point┬аtowards an understanding on both sides. All our energy needs to be┬аinvested in finding a way to seek common grounds.”
Silver was one of the founders of Women Wage Peace, a coalition of Jewish and Arab women seeking a negotiated peace┬аin Israel.
She would also often drive Palestinian children to hospitals in Israel to get life-saving care.
She leaves a legacy of promoting a shared society between Israelis and Palestinians, her family said.
“I think what she can represent is that the future of Zionism and┬аthe ability for the Jewish people to live in Israel with security and peace lies┬аwithin the understanding┬аthere needs to be coexistence side by side with the Palestinian people,” said Chen.
