Vivian Silver is a renowned and celebrated Canadian-Israel peace activist who recently went missing and is presumed to be under Hamas custody after she last sent some troubling texts to her son
The incident happened on Saturday morning as Hamas gunmen attacked her neighborhood near Israel’s Gaza border, with her last message reading “They’re inside the house.”
Who is Vivian Silver missing Canadian-Israeli peace activist held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel
"She wrote me that she had armed people inside her house. And then communication stopped."
Among the missing Israeli's is 74-year-old Vivian Silver. Her son, Yonatan Zeigen, joins us to talk about Saturday morning as the violence unfolded. pic.twitter.com/jEdauyLd5Y
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) October 9, 2023
Vivian Silver.
Canadian-Israeli pro-peace activist who deeply cared about Palestinian rights.
Violently dragged away from her home by Hamas terrorists and being held hostage.
Lesson: You don’t take your pet anaconda to bed. pic.twitter.com/3O2W7oRqlo— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) October 8, 2023
According to sources, Silver is currently presumed to be a prisoner after Hamas coordinated the weekend attack on Israeli soil.
Ariel Dloomy shares about her friend Vivian Silver
The 74-year-old reportedly spent her adult life campaigning for peace and human rights for Palestinians. One of Vivian’s former colleagues at the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation, Ariel Dloomy stated:
This is almost surreal to think that someone who dedicated their entire life to building peace, ending the occupation, lifting the siege of Gaza, is kidnapped by Hamas.”
Upon asking what Vivian would be thinking about her captivity and Israel’s response, Ariel stated:
“Vivian’s message would be to never lose hope. I’m sure that deep inside her, despite all these difficulties, she knows how to separate between the terrorists and the ordinary people. There are two million people living in Gaza, and we have to find a way, as the Israelis, to live with them in peace.”
Vivian Silver bio
Vivian Silver is a Canadian-Israeli peace activist who was born and brought up in Winnipeg, Canada. She eventually moved to Israel back in the 1970s and quickly became a fierce campaigner. She helped launch and run various aid organizations, including Women Wage Peace. Back in 2017, Silver organized a march for peace alongside the shores of the Jordan River in the West Bank. Through the march, Vivian condemned an Israeli attack which killed various Palestinian civilians in Gaza. According to reports, despite being in her 70s, she still drives around sick Palestinians from Gaza to hospitals in Israel.
Silver’s son Yonatan Zeigen narrates his story
Following the tragic incident, Silver’s son Yonatan Zeigen also narrated the story of his mother going missing. Zeigen shared:
“She believes in peace and reconciliation and making the world a better place.”
According to Zeigin, his wife and three kids who live in nearby Tel Aviv had initially planned to visit his mother during the weekend. However, they decided not to go last minute and called up her on Saturday morning after hearing reports about Hamas gunmen attacking civilians near her home in Be’eri Kibbutz.
While talking to her, he suddenly heard people screaming and yelling on the phone along with gunshot sounds. As such, he explained how they decided to stop talking so that the gunmen wouldn’t hear them. He explained how he continued talking to her through WhatsApp texts. However, she last texted, ‘They’re inside the house”, following which his messages have gone unanswered.
Hamas speaks out about the attack
A Hamas military wing spokesperson recently made an announcement on Monday, threatening to start executing Israeli hostages on video. The spokesperson stated that they would follow up with the threat if Israel continues to target Gaza civilians with airstrikes.
Abu Obeida, the Qassam Brigades spokesman stated:
“We have decided to put an end to this and as of now, we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding.”
Palestinian resident shares about the ground reality
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza. The siege includes a blockade on food, electricity and fuel. Moreover, the Israeli military have deployed rockets on the overcrowded Palestinian enclave, home to over two million civilians.
A Palestinian named Aziz Elkahlout shared about the ground reality stating how the Israeli air attacks were striking civilian targets without any warning. He shared that the airstrikes killed his neighbors and destroyed their local market.
He added:
There is a lot of children, women, old people. They’re hitting anything without warning,”