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Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Canadian activist, Vivian Silver, kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas terrorists.
Nearly two days after the invasion began, Jon Polin is waiting for news about his 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and hoping that he is still alive. Goldberg-Polin left home at 11 p.m. on Friday night for an all-night outdoor party near the Gaza border, which Hamas terrorists raided on Saturday morning, killing some 250 young adults and kidnapping others.
The party was supposed to be the kind of revelry that recently discharged soldiers tend to enjoy. Goldberg-Polin, who was born in Berkeley, California, moved to Israel with his parents at age 7 and completed his mandatory army service in April. A Canadian woman who has spent decades in the peace movement, forging close ties with moderates in Gaza, is missing and is presumed to have been abducted from her Kibbutz Be’eri home when Hamas terrorists invaded on Oct. 7.
Vivian Silver, 74, who was born and raised in Winnipeg, made aliyah in 1974. She moved to Kibbutz Be’eri, near the Gaza Strip with her late husband and two sons, 33 years ago.
Lynne and Michael Mitchell first met Silver when they were all teenagers and members of BBYO in Winnipeg. They have stayed close over the years, visiting each other often.
Silver was on the phone with her sister on the morning of Oct. 7, telling her that Hamas terrorists were at her door and outside her safe room, Michael Mitchell said in an interview with The CJN.
Currently 1,419 Canadians are registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad in Israel and 492 Canadians are registered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Registration is voluntary, and not a complete picture of Canadians outside the country, “nor an indication of the number of Canadians abroad that wish to stay or leave,” the email said.
All Canadian personnel at the embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as Canadian personnel in Ramallah, are safe and accounted for. Appealing to women across the border, she said, “Terror does not make anything better for anyone, you too deserve quiet and peace.”
“She’s amazing,” her longtime friend and fellow activist, Ariella Giniger, told JTA on Sunday. “She’s smart. She’s funny, and she does great things. She’s a real peace activist for years and to have her fight in such a situation …” her voice trailed off.
Some families searched for news about their loved ones and learned of tragedy. On Facebook, one mother wrote two wrenching Facebook posts, nine hours apart.
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