A protester holds a photo of peace activist Vivian Silver in Jerusalem.
© APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI
The Canadian-Israeli activist was murdered by Hamas. Silver organized aid programs for the Gaza Strip and founded a Jews, Muslims and Christians for Peace initiative.
The 74-year-old peace activist who has been missing since the massive attack on Israel by radical Islamist Hamas Viviane Prata is dead. “Tragic news: Canadian-Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver (…) has been confirmed dead, murdered by Hamas in Kibbutz Beeri,” Israel’s Consul General in Toronto, Idit Shamir, wrote on Twitter on Monday ( X).
“Canada mourns her loss,” tweeted Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, describing the 74-year-old woman as a “lifelong defender of peace.”
Silver was at Kibbutz Beeri under attack
Silver’s son, Yonatan Zeigen, who lives in Tel Aviv, told the AFP news agency last month that he was on the phone with his mother on the day of the Hamas attack, when shots were fired from 11am. She then wrote to him that armed men were at her house in Beeri; it was his last sign of life sent to his son. More than 100 Beeri residents were killed in the Hamas attack.
➤ Find out more about current developments in Israel in our live ticker
Activist for peace between Palestinians and Israelis
Feminist activist Silver has campaigned for peace with the Palestinians and has been honored with numerous awards for her work. She initiated aid programs for residents of the Gaza Strip and helped them receive medical treatment in Israel. In 2014, she helped found the peace movement Women Wage Peace, an initiative of Jewish, Muslim and Christian women that now has more than 45,000 members.
The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, called the news of Silver’s death “devastating.” “Vivian Silver, who worked tirelessly for peace and understanding, was murdered by Hamas, the forces of blind hatred,” Seibert wrote in English on Twitter. Her condolences go out to “her family and her many friends, Jewish and Palestinian.”
Hamas attacks on October 7
Hundreds of fighters from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, entered Israel on October 7 and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli information, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, the Israeli military has massively attacked targets in the Gaza Strip and has now also entered ground troops into Palestinian territory. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, around 11,240 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip as of Monday night.
Well informed anytime, anywhere
Ensure unrestricted access to all KURIER digital content: Plus content, ePaper, online magazines and much more. Try your KURIER digital subscription now.