The family and friends of celebrated Israeli peace activist, Vivian Silver, have launched an award in her name.

The Vivian Silver Impact Award will be presented annually to an Arab woman and a Jewish woman, “who show great promise or have demonstrated significant accomplishments in one of the areas that embody Vivian’s values and actions”.

The prize will award those who work towards Arab-Jewish partnership in Israel, peace between Israel and Palestine or advancing women to leadership positions.

Canadian-born Vivian Silver was a well known Israeli advocate for peace with Palestinians. She established Women Wage Peace, an Israeli grassroots peace movement formed after the 2014 Gaza War to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians and end the decade long Israel-Palestine conflict.

The award website explains: “For more than five decades, Vivian Silver dedicated her efforts and passion to bringing people together in dignity, cooperation, and mutual respect. With a keen eye and an open heart, she fostered equality – between women and men, between Arabs and Jews – in Israeli society, and actively strived for peace in the region.”

A resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, Silver continued her activism in her retirement and held a peace meeting days before Hamas’ deadly attack.

She was slaughtered on October 7 along with 1,200 other people.

It took five weeks for the 74-year-old's remains to be identified – for all that time, her family believed she had been kidnapped and was being held in Gaza.

On Wednesday, her family and friends said they launched the annual award “in the vibrant spirit” of her life.

Her son, Yonatan Zeigen, said: “We felt the need to perpetuate the legacy of my mother, Vivian, a woman who dedicated her life to justice and peace.”

“Her life’s work is an example of the power of leadership and a beacon for women of all ages and backgrounds. The Vivian Silver Impact Award will ensure that her legacy of activism, persistence and hope continues into the future.”

The award is supported by the New Israel Fund.