The Scrapbook was on vacation when Elie Wiesel passed away, and we would be remiss if we failed to say something. Wiesel died at the age of 87, and as a Holocaust survivor, he knew more than anyone that he had been blessed with a full life. Indeed, his life will continue to reverberate.
When The Scrapbook mentioned Wiesel had died, it was our high-school-age niece, living in Denver 70 years later in circumstances as far removed from the reality of the Holocaust as can be imagined, who took the news hard. She’d read Wiesel’s slim but profoundly weighty memoir Night twice.
For millions of postwar Americans, Wiesel’s book is their primary introduction and connection to the Holocaust. As literary endeavors go, few have surpassed the economy and grace of Night. Even now we recall the page where Wiesel arrives at Auschwitz—with a profound sense of loss, not just for Wiesel personally, but for the millions he spoke for who didn’t survive:
When Wiesel, quite miraculously, made it through the war alive, it ultimately transformed him into such a towering figure that he seemed incapable of speaking a word that was morally indifferent. And for most of his life, he was recognized as such. Wiesel was one of a precious few Nobel Peace Prize recipients in recent decades who was actually deserving of the honor.
However, it’s also the case, dispiritingly, that the uncompromising Wiesel lived long enough to see himself become an object of hatred once again. In recent years, Wiesel began speaking out about state infringement on religious freedom and denouncing the boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) movement against Israel for what it is—an overt manifestation of antisemitism. These stands made Wiesel a target of much ire in the progressive fever swamps.
After he died, no less than Max Blumenthal, the son of longtime Hillary Clinton consigliere Sidney Blumenthal, said several vile things about Wiesel—including that “He did more harm than good and should not be honored.” Clinton, having previously praised Max Blumenthal’s work, was forced to disavow Blumenthal’s statements as “hateful.”
Plus ça change . . .
