Israel lost a national hero today when Elie Wiesel died at the age of 87.  Mr Wiesel survived Holocaust concentration camps at Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald and went on to write and speak about his experiences, encouraging the Jewish people to never forget, but to forgive and move forward in joyful life.  His most famous literary work was Night, and Wiesel was recipient of the Nobel Prize for peace in 1986.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who knew Wiesel personally, stated that “in the darkness of the Holocaust, in which our sisters and brothers were killed – six million – Elie Wiesel served as a ray of light and example of humanity who believed in the goodness in people.”

He was also memorialized by former Israeli President Shimon Peres, who indicated he “made his mark on all of humanity with his unique contribution to the remembrance of the Holocaust and by passing his message of peace and respect between people to the whole world.” Peres awarded Wiesel the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2013.

Israel will greatly miss one of their most influential and central Jewish figures in modern history.  More information about Elie Wiesel is available from the Shoah Resource Center of Yad Vashem.

I join the Jewish people in honor of their national hero.