There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
Nobel Peace Prize Lecture (1986)
Quotations by:
Wiesel, Elie
Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference,
indifference between life and death.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
“One Must Not Forget,” interview by Alvin P. Sanoff, US News & World Report (27 Oct 1986)
See also Nietzsche.
Whatever you say about God you should be able to say standing over a pit full of burning babies.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
(Attributed)
There is one right I would not grant anyone. And that is the right to be indifferent.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
(Attributed)
There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
(Attributed)
Where was God in all this? Was this another test, one more? Or a punishment? And if so, for what sins? What crimes were being punished? Was there a misdeed that deserved so many mass graves? Would it ever again be possible to speak of justice, of truth, of divine charity, after the murder of one million Jewish children?
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
A Jew Today, “To Be a Jew” (1978)
On the Holocaust.
Why were there so few? Was it that perilous to oppose evil? Was it really impossible to help? Was it really impossible to resist organized, systemitized, legalized cruelty and murder by showing concern for the victims, for one victim? Let us remember: What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.
I swore to never be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim; silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
Speech (1986-12-10), Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize
(Source)
