Elie Wiesel

Eliezer Wiesel (born September 30, 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania ? now part of Romania) is a Holocaust survivor, a world–renowned author, and a political activist. He is the author of over 40 books, the most famous of which, Night, serves as a testimony to his experiences during the Holocaust. In 1986, Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.{{ref|Nobel}} The Norwegian Nobel Committee called Wiesel a "messenger to mankind", noting that through his struggle to come to terms with "his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps", as well as his "practical work in the cause of peace", Wiesel has delivered a powerful message "of peace, atonement and human dignity" to humanity. Wiesel lives in the United States, teaches at Boston University and serves as the Chairman of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.{{ref|ewfoundation}} He was the first to use the term "Holocaust".

Criticism

Wiesel has drawn criticism from people, such as Norman Finkelstein, author of The Holocaust Industry, who claims that Wiesel has inappropriately turned his work on the Holocaust into a business, making a quiet fortune off of lecture fees that Finkelstein believes to be excessive. Finkelstein claims that Abba Eban's cynical phrase, "There's no business like Shoah-business" was "literally coined for ".{{ref|Finkelstein}}

Related Topics:
Norman Finkelstein - The Holocaust Industry - Abba Eban - Cynical - Shoah

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Some leftists, including Finkelstein, also criticize Wiesel's ardent support of the State of Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, claiming Wiesel "shed tears on cue" for President Clinton while ignoring the plight of the Palestinians—indeed, Wiesel defends the Israelis, saying, "Whatever Israel has done is the only thing that Israel could have done" and insisting Israeli soldiers feel "great pain and anguish" in their work. {{ref|Israel}}

Related Topics:
Israel - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - President - Clinton - Palestinians

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Noam Chomsky, a Jewish linguist and left wing critic, named him "a terrible fraud." To Chomsky, although Wiesel militated against the silence about the Holocaust and he decries Arab terrorism, he remains silent on Palestinian issues.

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