It is with our deepest condolences that we share the passing of Sidney Topol, a long-time friend of Harvard University through the Topol Family Foundation’s support of numerous efforts for peace-making. May his memory be a blessing.
Hilary Rantisi, Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) at the Religion and Public Life program reflected on her twenty-plus years of friendship with Sid Topol:
“Sid Topol held a lifelong deep commitment to principles of nonviolence and justice. I experienced Sid as a very warm person with a profound gift for bringing people together. He was relentless in his pursuit of a vision of nonviolence and wanting to change the world. He wouldoften create opportunities to gather people from vastly different backgrounds and perspectives to connect and initiate dialogue, often as breakfasts in his home. Personally, I was asked by Sid to join a dialogue group in 2002 with participants ranging from influential Jewishleaders to young Palestinian leaders like myself. We would have never been in the same room without Sid’s spirit of invitation and prophetic vision for just peace through human connection. Sid’s generosity over many years culminated in the creation of a Topol Fellowship on Just Peacemaking and Nonviolent Activism to enrich RCPI’s work with peace and justice practitioners in 2020. We have been fortunate to work with four dedicated Topol Fellows since the creation of Fellowship.”
Dr. Diane Moore, faculty director of Religion and Public Life shares, “We know that Sid’s legacy will have a lasting impact in our work at Harvard Divinity School. We are grateful for the privilege of knowing and partnering with him in helping to realize his vision.”
To learn more about Sidney Topol’s life and legacy, please see his obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/sidney-topol-obituary?id=33978714
To add condolences please see this online memorial page: Sidney Topol Obituary - Brookline, MA (dignitymemorial.com)