A gentle smile passed across his wrinkled face as he bowed subtly to the audience, which stood in ovation at first sight of Elie Wiesel. The Nobel laureate, author and Holocaust survivor made his second appearance in Madison Tuesday to speak to a packed house as part of UW-Madison’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
As the crowd quieted, Wiesel’s near-whisper of a voice punctuated clearly through the Orpheum Theater with a message promoting sensitivity and education as building blocks to global peace, which he said is almost unimaginable in the light of current Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Wiesel came to Madison Tuesday after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week and speaking to thousands of Israeli supporters, including 80 UW students rallying in Capitol Hill Monday.
Wiesel, 74, spoke about his personal experiences, which influenced him to dedicate his life to fighting hatred, racism and indifference. The theme of silence versus speech threaded through his message.
“I feel that every survivor has a story, has the authority to write a story,” Wiesel said. “So I’ve tried to use words to fight the words of hatred.”
Wiesel was introduced by UW student Lina Dreyfus, who recently returned from studying abroad in Israel. “Witnessing horror, tragedy and evil can drive someone to want to forget or to remain silent,” Dreyfus said. “The other option is to do the complete opposite; to make one’s voice heard so that it is impossible [for] anyone to forget.”
Wiesel’s first-hand experience of life in concentration camps compelled him to write about the Holocaust.
Since 1948, Wiesel has written over 40 books on Judaism and the moral obligation of all people — Jews and non-Jews — to remember the horrors of the Holocaust as an example of indifference and hatred manifested.
Wiesel said it is even more important to actively retain these memories for future generations.
“We [Holocaust survivors] are a kind of minority, an endangered species,” Wiesel said. “What will happen when the last survivor is gone?”
UW senior Steven Schoenberger said he felt privileged to witness Wiesel’s speech because today’s youth hold responsibility for passing on the Holocaust memories.
“We’re the last generation to personally know Holocaust survivors,” Schoenberger said. “And it’s not just a historical event — it is an emotional event. But as time goes on and it gets further and further away, people lose that connection.”
Wiesel said in the 10 years since he last visited UW, terrorism has taken on a new face. He said terrorists attacks used to be accompanied with words, a request for money or land. Sept. 11 was different, and Wiesel said the terrorist attacks influenced his political views.
“This time, these 19 suicide bombers had no words,” Wiesel said. “It is as if they decided death is the only language we deserve. Therefore, I enforce what President Bush is doing against terrorism, and I cannot criticize [Israeli] Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s actions to fight terrorism.”
Although Wiesel is recognized and respected by many as one of the world’s foremost authorities for his views on unity and peace, which is mirrored by his gentle nature, some people violently denounce his mission.
“Elie Wiesel ? has consistently ignored the gross violations of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza,” said Ahmed Amr, editor of independent pro-Palestinian online magazine, NileMedia. “He consistently derides [Palestinian] sufferings and tries to label a whole nation as ‘terrorists’.”
UW law student Dafna Hopestand said she thinks Holocaust survivors like Wiesel are extremely important and particularly emotional because today Israel celebrates her independence.
“When you have a strong emotional connection to a certain place, like Israel, and you feel its existence is being threatened, it’s very overwhelming to speak or listen to somebody whose experiences directly led to the creation of the state of Israel,” Hopenstand said.
— Christine Lagorio contributed to this story.
