Vivian Silver z”l was a lifelong peace activist, CEO of the Negev Institute for Peace and Development Strategies, founder of the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment, and Cooperation, and an active NIF board member. A friend to many in our community, she was a beacon of light and hope, a reminder that while disagreements and challenges on the road to peace are unavoidable, living by the sword is not. She dedicated herself completely to uplifting women and fostering Israeli-Palestinian peace until the moment she was murdered by Hamas on October 7th in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri.
Vivian’s lifelong devotion to uniting people, Jewish and Palestinian, together in dignity, cooperation, and mutual respect between and across borders did not die with her. In her honor, NIF is partnering with her sons, Chen and Yonatan, to launch and coordinate the Vivian Silver Award. The Award will be granted annually to honor one Arab and one Jewish woman living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea who embodies Vivian’s spirit. In other words, women who are leaders and pioneers, dedicated to building Arab-Jewish partnership, establishing peace between Israel and Palestine, and creating a safe and sustainable future for all.
The first annual Vivian Silver Award was presented on Thursday, November 21st at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to Dr. Rula Hardal and May Pundak, co-leaders of A Land For All (ALFA). ALFA is a bi-national, Israeli-Palestinian organization that presents an imaginative roadmap for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They have drawn up a model of binational confederation based upon the principles of democracy and security for all, that the land belongs to all its inhabitants.
Dr. Rula Hardal is an activist and an academic — she has a doctorate in political science and rich experience in advancing gender equality within Palestinian society. Her research focuses on political theories of identity, national minorities, colonialism and post-colonialism, social movements and feminist activism in the Middle East. She was an associate professor of political science from 2015-2021 at Al-Quds University, the only Palestinian university in Jerusalem. She is currently a research fellow at both the Kogod Center for the Study of Jewish and Contemporary Thought at the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. As one of her nominators said of her: “Through these diverse professional accomplishments and experiences, Rula has proved herself as a leader and developed a unique voice full of both courage and nuance. But it is Rula’s work as Palestinian co-director of A Land for All, alongside Israeli co-director May Pundak, that makes her so richly deserving of a prize created in the memory of Vivian Silver.”
May Pundak is a feminist lawyer, activist, social entrepreneur, and former member of NIF’s staff. Before co-leading A Land For All, she was the director of the Polyphony Foundation, assisted in establishing a legal team to support political struggles in East Jerusalem and co-founded an educational dialogue group program for Jewish and Palestinian teenagers across Jerusalem. She holds a teaching certificate in civics and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in law in the field of public and international law, with an emphasis on human rights. One of her nominators wrote: “Her leadership has offered a beacon of hope during the profoundly challenging days following October 7. Her deep empathy for both Palestinians and Israelis has enabled her to navigate these dark times with a compassionate and unwavering commitment to peace. This has enabled her to continue and bring communities together in a shared pursuit of a brighter future.”
THIS GIVING TUESDAY, SUPPORT DEMOCRACY AND EQUALITY IN ISRAEL