Sidney Blumenthal’s son doesn’t want Elie Wiesel to be honored

Blumenthal, who is Jewish, slammed Wiesel for his support of Israel and other issues like his thoughts on the Armenian genocide and the Iraq War.

Blumenthal tweeted Saturday afternoon that the Romanian-born Wiesel “went from a victim of war crimes to a supporter of those who commit them. ”

“He did more harm than good and should not be honored,” Blumenthal added.

Blumenthal has made a name for himself with his controversial writings against Israel, including calling the country an “aparteid state” and comparing it to Nazi Germany. He is also the son of longtime Hillary Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal, who the former secretary of state once called a “mitzvah.”

On Saturday, Blumenthal’s stream of tweets targeted what he said was Wiesel’s support for Jewish settlers “ethnically cleansing” Palestinians in East Jerusalem, denying the existence of the Armenian genocide and taking money from “hate preacher” Pastor John Hagee.

“Elie Wiesel is dead. He spent his last years inciting hatred, defending apartheid & palling around with fascists,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal’s criticism of the Nobel laureate comes in stark contrast to the widespread mourning and praise Wiesel received upon news of his death Saturday afternoon at the age of 87. Wiesel wrote several books, but his retelling the horrors of the Holocaust in Night earned him a spot among the foremost Holocaust witnesses. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

Wiesel was praised by numerous public officials, including President Obama, who said he “was one of the great moral voices of our time, and in many ways, the conscience of the world.”

The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, called Wiesel a “wordsmith” who “served as a ray of light and a beacon of humanity that believes in the goodness of man.”