RIP Elie Wiesel

[LongTimeListener]

Elie Wiesel dead at 87; survived Holocaust, won Nobel - CNN.com

Wonderful man and writer, conscience for humanity. 87 years old. My son just read "Night" as part of the high school curriculum. That book seems to continue gaining influence.

Took on enormous influence from his modest professional beginnings in journalism.

An American citizen who often told political jokes.

 

[Riptide]

Israeli-American, dammit!

 

[bigpern23]

Elie Wiesel dead at 87; survived Holocaust, won Nobel - CNN.com

Wonderful man and writer, conscience for humanity. 87 years old. My son just read "Night" as part of the high school curriculum. That book seems to continue gaining influence.

Took on enormous influence from his modest professional beginnings in journalism.

An American citizen who often told political jokes.

What a powerful book that is. RIP.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Israeli-American, dammit!

According to this, you are wrong. You are, of course, free to find something else to the contrary.

More than once, people have claimed that Wiesel defended Israel when it was deserving of criticism and condemnation. But he retorted, “I am not an Israeli citizen and I do not live there. As a result, I will never interfere in its internal affairs or criticize its actions.”

Elie Wiesel: Quietly moving worlds

 

[Riptide]

According to this, you are wrong. You are, of course, free to find something else to the contrary.

LOL. It was a joke on you, and you showed up right on time.

 

[MisterCreosote]

I had the opportunity, when he spoke at my college, to sit in on an interview he did with the school paper, which ended up lasting two hours. He was one of the most genuinely gracious people I've ever met.

RIP to a great man.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

LOL. It was a joke on you, and you showed up right on time.

Hey dumbass, as part of the joke, you really should be kinda accurate about what you're joking about.

Now, in all seriousness (am I allowed to be?), RIP to an incredible man whose work made this world a much better place.

 

[YankeeFan]

Incredible to get out of a place like this and to find a way to live a productive life.

 

[cranberry]

I guess I first became aware of Wiesel in he mid-1980s when he spoke out publicly against Ronald Reagan leaving a wreath at the Bitburg cemetary in Germany. Nobody better served the memory of the people who perished in the holocaust or the dignity of those who survived it.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

Max Blumenthal would like a word.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Just a great man. RIP.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I had the opportunity, when he spoke at my college, to sit in on an interview he did with the school paper, which ended up lasting two hours. He was one of the most genuinely gracious people I've ever met.

RIP to a great man.

Very similar experience. He spoke at the school I went to in the late 1980s, and I somehow ended up spending a few hours with him that day. He left a huge impression on me, less because of anything in particular we discussed, but because of how comfortable with himself he was and how comfortable he made me. The thing that amazed me most about him was the love he had for humanity. He was subject to the worst that people have done to other people. And yet he was one of the most hopeful people you can imagine. Just a remarkable man.

 

[heyabbott]

Very similar experience. He spoke at the school I went to in the late 1980s, and I somehow ended up spending a few hours with him that day. He left a huge impression on me, less because of anything in particular we discussed, but because of how comfortable with himself he was and how comfortable he made me. The thing that amazed me most about him was the love he had for humanity. He was subject to the worst that people have done to other people. And yet he was one of the most hopeful people you can imagine. Just a remarkable man.

A great man. The best revenge is a life well lived. His remarkable life is a sterling rebuke to the nazis. His attitude toward life and humanity from where he has been is inspiring.

 

[WriteThinking]

I think this is one of those spiritually paradoxical things you can put down to something like perspective, or growth beyond yourself, or something like that, because Wiesel wasn't the only notable survivor of Holocaust atrocities who not only moved past them without ever forgetting but also without ever succumbing to such evil. In fact, some seem to have actually triumphed -- who knows? -- maybe because of the way their experiences drove them.

A couple of others who come to mind as having seemingly the exact same outlook, approach to life, and results, as Elie Wiesel: Joe Rubinstein, the subject of the Holocaust biography "Auschwitz #34207" and Corrie ten Boom, author of "The Hiding Place" and "Tramp For The Lord". I highly recommend all three of those books to anyone interested, by the way.

The sheer goodness of these people and the noteworthy lack of the evil that could come out of such experiences stunning, and, as The Big Ragu and heyabbott posted, is really something to behold.