The Jerusalem Institute of Justice mourns the passing of Elie Wiesel, 87, one of the world’s most dedicated, untiring, and articulate voices against man’s inhumanity to man. After he experienced the horrors of the Holocaust as a child prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, Elie Wiesel dedicated his life to generating public awareness and to fighting against genocide, hatred, and injustice.
Wiesel’s passion for justice knew no bounds. He defended the cause of Soviet Jews, Nicaragua’s Miskito Indians, Ethiopian-born Israeli youth, Argentina’s “Disappeared,” Cambodian refugees, the Kurds, and victims of famine and genocide in Africa, apartheid in South Africa and war in the former Yugoslavia.
He was recognized for not remaining silent in the face of the enemies of human rights and human dignity, stating during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” He would often say, “the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.”
We join all those who love humanity and hate injustice in honoring the legacy and mourning the loss of Elie Wiesel, the conscience of a generation
