Meet the Visionaries
Ghadir Hani
Social changemaker and peace activist. For many years, she lived in the Negev and was involved in promoting peace and the rights of Bedouin women. Ghadir is an active member of various organizations in the field and facilitates dialogues between Israelis and Palestinians.
Dror Rubin
Social changemaker and peace activist. For many years, he has been working to promote
trust between Jews and Arabs, with an emphasis on working in Israel's mixed cities.
He mediates and facilitates dialogue groups for various organizations and associations.
About the Book
Women Write Hope is a unique initiative that documents the journeys of women from all over Israel, working toward peace between Jews and Arabs.
Vivian Silver, a long-time activist and proponent of peace, was one of many victims brutally murdered in their homes in the Gaza Envelope on that profoundly tragic day of October 7, 2023.
We, Vivian’s partners on the path to peace, have chosen, despite the immense pain, to carry on her legacy and fulfill her wish: to do everything in our power to help build a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Guided by Professor Amia Lieblich, a group of women came together to interview and document the life stories of 21 women, Jewish and Arab, each working in her own way to reshape reality and promote peace.
At a time when many have lost hope, this project highlights the moving, persistent, and often unseen efforts of women who refuse to give up. Their life stories — their childhoods, struggles, choices, and dilemmas — serve as a moral compass and a beacon of hope for the future of this land.
Remembering Vivian Silver
Vivian Silver was born in Canada in 1949. In 1968, she came to Israel for the first time and studied for a year at Hebrew University. That same year, she made the decision in her heart to move and live in Israel. She returned to Canada where she joined a group of young Americans who wanted to establish a kibbutz. A few years later in 1974, Vivian returned to Israel with a core group from the "Habonim" youth movement and re-established Kibbutz Gezer. Throughout her life, Vivian remained deeply committed to social justice and equality.
In 1990, Vivian moved with her partner and two sons to Kibbutz Be’eri, located near the Gaza Strip. During this time, she developed close ties with the Bedouin community and residents of Gaza. In 1998, she was appointed executive director of the Negev Institute for Peace and Development Strategies. She also led programs on the kibbutz aimed at assisting Gaza residents, including job training, and advocated for fair wages for Gazan construction workers employed there.
In later years, Vivian volunteered with the organization “On the Road to Recovery,” helping transport patients from Gaza to Jerusalem for medical treatment. In 2000, together with Amal Al-Sana Al-Hajjouj, she founded the Jewish-Arab Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation, serving as its director. The organization led peace-building projects across Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. In 2010, both women were honored with the Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East. Vivian was also a board member of “B’Tselem”, an Israeli human rights organization. When Operation Protective Edge began in 2014 and one of her sons was called up for military service, Vivian and a group of women founded the organization “Women Wage Peace.”
Vivian truly believed in the possibility of making a difference and changing our reality. She believed that all human beings are equal and that peace is the only path to true security and freedom.
Vivian was a wonderful mother and grandmother to Isaac, Allen, and Asia. On October 4, 2023, just three days before the Hamas terrorist attack, Vivian co-organized a peace rally in Jerusalem and at the Dead Sea, attended by approximately 1,500 Israeli and Palestinian women.
On October 7, Vivian was tragically murdered in her home on Kibbutz Be’eri.
May her memory be a blessing.
Purchase the Book
Preview the English version of Women Write Hope by downloading two complementary chapters. If possible, we would be grateful for your donation to help us expand our peacebuilding efforts.
Available for download via Amazon.
The full book in print.
Available for purchase on Amazon.
Available for purchase in Israel for 94 shekels here. Free Pickup from Tel Aviv or Acre.
Local Shipping 25 shekels.
Meet the Women
Women Write Hope is a book about women, made possible by the contributions of many remarkable women. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the women interviewers who spoke with and shared the stories of the women featured in this book.
Professor Amia Lieblich | Galit Pnina Avinoam | Mimi Sheffer | Orna Ashkenazi | Orna Raz | Kefaia Masarwy | Tamar Shalit Barlev | Einat Metzl | Karmit Arbel | Heftsiba Cohen Montagu | Alisa Eshet Moses
The Women Featured in the Book
Dr. Julia Chaitin
Amani Mussa
Irit Filmus
Achinoam Nini
Dr. Yael Admi
Yahaloma Zchut
Hanan El Sana
Hyam Tannous
Marcia Kreisel
Sharon Rosen
Kefaia Masarwy
Dr. Yeela Raanan
Adina Bar Shalom
Somaya Bashir
Noa Mevorach
Neora Shem
Rachel Liel
Rula Daood
Raefa Hakroush
Alisa Eshet Moses
Women Envision Hope
In the months leading up to October 7th, we, Ghadir Hani and Dror Rubin, were working together to strengthen trust and foster positive neighborly relations within Israel's Arab-Jewish mixed cities. We were genuinely concerned that violence might erupt in these cities, so we invested significant effort in supporting local stakeholders.
Women played a central role in this work. Inspired by their leadership, we brought together Arab and Jewish women from across the country through a national initiative to support and amplify their work. Although these women came from diverse backgrounds, they were all deeply engaged in shared society initiatives.
These women were a profound source of inspiration for us. We began to ask ourselves how we could share their stories and expand the impact of their work. The legacy of the late Vivian Silver, may her memory be a blessing, sparked the idea to document their journeys and bring them to a wider audience.
This book is just one part of our broader initiative, Women Envision Hope, a network of Arab and Jewish women’s leadership circles in mixed cities and neighboring communities. Today, groups are active in the North, including Acre, the Galilee, and Haifa; in the Center, in Lod; and the South, in Yeruham and Rahma.
We have had the privilege of meeting and working alongside truly inspiring women. Some of their life stories are featured in this book, Women Write Hope. We invite you to support the ongoing work of Women Envision Hope, a model for joint women's leadership that nurtures trust and connection between Arab and Jewish communities, offering a meaningful step towards a shared society and peace.
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