Talk:Elie Wiesel/Archive 1

Intro
The introduction to this article describes Wiesel's writing as "powerful and poetic" - is this an objective statement? While it may be true, where is it coming from? Forgive me, I'm new at this, but shouldn't there be a citation - ie, "so-and-so has described Elie Wiesel's work as powerful and poetic", or shouldn't it be taken out? Cdawg116 (talk) 03:12, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Criticism Section (Old)
It has come to my attention that by restoring the criticism section of Elie Wiesel, I may have inadvertently endorsed the view that the Holocaust was somehow a myth. I just want to make it clear that this was ABSOLUTELY NOT MY INTENT. My intent was to simply restore what I saw as straw man rhetoric back to critics like Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein in their own words. As can be found out from the page history, THAT original section was contributed by Bogdangiusca. --issident|Dissident]] (Talk) 23:47, 19 May 2004 (UTC)


 * Criticism

Are you serious, really? Do we need to include this paragraph if Tom Sawyer does think so? Certainly not. Because it's totally groundless. However, IMHO, Chomsky's criticism is not without a point. If the IDF does cause excess innocent Palestinian civilian deaths, why can't we criticize Elie Wiesel over his silence? After all, he's a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He's supposed to stand out to say something if his some of people is now doing something horrible.

-- Toytoy

I agree. I put in a small mention of Wiesel's "zionism," but I don't have enough information right now (other than some of Finkelstein's writing) to add a section to this article. However, the fact that Wiesel is a supporter of Israel, which is explicitly a racial state (it's illegal for anyone in the Israeli govt. to deny that Israel is a state for "the Jewish people," according to the same law that "forbids" racism.) and, in recent policies, quite similar to Nazi germany (the deportation of palestinian spouses, breaking up families in the name of "jewish identity" etc.) while he should, of all people, oppose it, is very much worth noting. He's held up in most schools in the US as a great human rights activist (Night is required reading), so these contradictions should be pointed out. He's not an angel.

Atomsprengja 00:02, 13 June 2006 (UTC)


 * That is an opinion, (and a rather anti-Semitic one at that). It violates numerous Wikipedia policies, including neutrality, and has no place in this article. Rudy Breteler (talk) 20:04, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible to critise Israeli policy without this lable? It seems like a very cheap shot to call anyone who you disagree with an anit-semite. If you disagree, argue the point, don't name call. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.36.29.1 (talk) 00:31, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Kosinski's Hoax
I am moving the section on the Kosinski Hoax here. Given the total length of the article I don't think this subject warrants more than a couple of sentences, what was written seems like a rant written by someone who cares about Wiesel only because he is somehow related to this kosinski guy. It is very badly written and although I don't know anything about the content, it seems very POV. The article it links to has been marked for POV GabrielF 00:45, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * Elie Wiesel played an important role in Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird (novel) hoax.
 * The book describes Eastern European peasants engaging in incest, drowning, and meaningless violence - such as eyeballs being plucked out. Kosinski shows his deep hatred toward peasants and his complete ignorance about their life. He describes them using the same paint as Anti-Semitic books described Jews.


 * The real wartime experiences of Jerzy Kosinski were as follows: he survived under forged identity in the family of Catholic Poles in relatively safe and warm conditions. A Catholic priest had issued a forged baptism statement, that was the common practise in the Polish Catholic Church during the WW2. He was reunited with his parents after the war, but he has never showed any gratitude towards his rescuers. According to Kosinski's biographer, his family survived the war by pretending to be Christians, and this may have instilled in him a from hist'') (added author ip: &hellip; G u y  M &hellip; (soapbox))

Completely biased, added by dimwitted Slavic editor Cautious (198.82.71.55 from hist) (added author ip/struckout Cautious: &hellip; G  u y  M &hellip; (soapbox))

The editor that added the last comment, please sign it by your name. I added rephrased version to the main article. Cautious 00:14, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I removed the bit about Noam Chomsky because I can't find a citation for it anywhere and, frankly, it doesn't sound like something he would say. I replaced it with a cited bit from Norman Finkelstein. If someone can track down and verify the source, please feel free to put it back. AaronSw 08:58, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)


 * I take issue with the Finkelstein section. What Finkelstein said was unreasonable and unfair. Maybe its because I come from a tradition where ad hominen attacks on survivors are considered extremely unjust or maybe because my Dad knows Wiesel slightly and considers him a tremendously nice guy but Finkelstein's criticisms just don't seem to be all that notable. Are we really obligated to include every nasty thing someone has said about the subject of an article? Chomsky I can understand, he's a household name and his criticisms were at least intellectual in nature, but a guy who makes a quip "There's no business like Shoah-business?" Are we really obligated to include that? I don't want to censor the article, I have no problem presenting criticism of Wiesel, but can we at least present legitimate criticism from legitimate sources? GabrielF 05:45, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)


 * Well, even though Finkelstein's criticisms on this, and most topics, are more hysterical than factual, he has a following, and is reasonably well-known. Jayjg |  (Talk)  17:38, 25 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Noam Chomsky's criticism
Is there any particular reason why the paragraph about Noam Chomsky's criticism was deleted? Bogdan | Talk 11:35, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Please see AaronSW''s post above. The article was largely rewritten recently and although I carried over the Chomsky section in the rewrite AaronSW felt that Finkelstein was more appropriate. If Chomsky agrees with Finkelstein, as the original version indicated, than please feel free to add this, but lets try to keep the criticism section in a reasonable proportion to the rest of the article. GabrielF 15:09, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * Hmm... It appears that Chomsky was quoted saying that in a letter submitted to the Jerusalem Post by Prof. Daniel McGowan, Professor of Economics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY, in 1997. and from there, it was quoted in other sources. AaronSW is right, unless a better quotation is given, it should not be written in the article. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Chomsky actually said that, since he often sympathise with the people that fight the establishment, etc. Bogdan | Talk 15:43, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

More on the criticism section
I've reworked the criticism section. I know that some of these changes may be controversial so I'd like to explain them one by one. 1. In the previous version the first paragraph began by talking about criticism of Wiesel over Israel and then led into Finkelstein's criticisms, I've separated these into two paragraphs so that it is organized a little better. 2. I removed the specific charge of "$25,000 and a limo" per lecture. I asked my Dad, who has arranged for Wiesel to speak on a number of occasions what Wiesel charges (without mentioning Finkelstein) and he quoted a figure thats a fraction of Finkelstein's claim with fees varying for the type of institution that asks Wiesel to speak (a college vs. a fund-raising organization). He hadn't heard a request for a limo. He also mentioned that Wiesel is part of a speakers bureau which sets up his events and also sets the fee and collects a substantial portion of the proceeds. This means that even if Wiesel wanted to set a fee of $1 a speech he couldn't unless he handled all the logistics himself. Since Finkelstein''s figure is at best misleading, and since I'm not about to use my Dad as a source in wikipedia to counter Finkelstein's claim it seems best to simply say that Finkelstein thinks that Wiesel is charging excessive fees for speaking and is turning his solemn work into a business. 3. I wanted to put Finkelstein's claims in context by adding the NYTimes review. This review represents the reaction of the "mainstream" Jewish community (as Finkelstein says, the rest of the mainstream media pretty much ignored his book) so I don't think its way out there. I think its important to present the fact that Finkelstein's claim is not a majority opinion but the observation of a lone activist which has drawn a great deal of criticism. I might have preferred to use Wiesel's words but I could not find a reference to Finkelstein in his memoirs or "Conversations with Elie Wiesel."

Clearly I have a strong POV here, but having put considerable effort into this article I'd like it to be as NPOV as possible. I hope that I've done a good job representing Finkelstein's POV and I hope that the criticism section has an overall neutral tone. GabrielF 01:49, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I think the ad hominem attack on Finkelstein is simply irrelevant and uninformative. If you want to say something like "the mainstream Jewish community disagrees with Finkelstein" or "Finkelstein is a controversial figure", fine -- it seems kind of obvious, but fine. But quoting something calling his work "sad", "warp[ed]", "[a] perversion", "indecent", "juvenile", "self-righteous, arrogant and stupid" -- without explanation -- is a completely unwarranted personal attack and it doesn't add anything to the section. As to the Chomsky/Finkelstein questions above, Finkelstein and Chomsky are very close friends, it's just that Finkelstein tends to specialize on the Middle East. AaronSw 16:49, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Elie Wiesel and Irgun
User:Pyrop removed the allegation that Elie Wiesel used to work for Irgun on the ground that "how could he be in France and Israel at the same time?" I think this removal is not well-researched. If that argument is valid, then how could anyone not located in Langley, Virginia be a CIA agent?

Elie Wiesel's Irgun connection has been raised multiple times in the past. For example, in a letter published in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, it says:


 * Perhaps it is because he decries terrorism, yet never apologizes for the bloody terrorism perpetrated by his employer, the Irgun, for whom he worked from November 1947 to January 1949 in Paris as a journalist for Zion in Kanf.

You cannot disprove it with something like "how could he be in France and Israel at the same time?" -- Toytoy 16:12, August 21, 2005 (UTC)


 * Wiesel's job with the Irgun was as a translator for their newspaper in France. He joined this paper after the Jewish Agency turned him down. I don't see a problem including this fact in the body of the article, but it has to be done in a way that addresses the complexities of the issue. The text that JayJG removed associates Wiesel with the King David bombing (which is incorrect) and is framed in a very POV way. More research is needed on what Wiesel felt about the Irgun at the time, the extent of his involvement, and how he feels about their actions now. It is not sufficient to simply label him a terrorist and be done with it. GabrielF 15:06, 22 August 2005 (UTC)


 * This is not a criminal case where beyond a reasonable doubt would be used to prove someone's guiltiness. This is about a man's conscience. This is about a Nobel Peace Prize winner's conscience. This is an ex post facto test to tell a true humanitarian from a shameless POV salesman. I think Wiesel fails the test miserably. He simply has no integrity.


 * Most German people did not know at least so much about the mass-murders before the end of the war. But they always tell you they are sorry. You might have to work for someone to buy foods to feed your family but that's not an excuse to justify the fact that you've been working for an organization which had done the King David Hotel bombing just a year ago. At a minimum you have to say sorry for that.


 * We are not talking about a bigot drinking beers in a cheap bar, aren't we? -- Toytoy 23:18, August 22, 2005 (UTC)


 * Your opinions about Wiesel are interesting, but the fact remains that he apparently worked as a translator for their French newspaper after being turned down for another job. What this has to do with the King David Hotel bombing, and particularly the wording used in your insertion regarding it, is difficult to understand. Jayjg (talk)  23:26, 22 August 2005 (UTC)


 * Some facts:


 * 1946: Irgun did the King David Hotel bombing -- an act of terrorism.
 * 1947: Elie Wiesel worked for an Irgun newspaper (I don't know much about his actual involvement).
 * All the time: Elie Wiesel critizes other people's past fault.


 * To be fair, Elie Wiesel shall be examined under the moral standard applied on typical ex-Nazi members who are unrelated to war crimes. -- Toytoy 00:28, August 23, 2005 (UTC)


 * No, Elie Wiesel should be "examined" according to Wikipedia standards and policies. The important ones in this case would be No original research, Neutral point of view, and Cite your sources.  If you want to criticize Wiesel, you need to cite significant and relevant sources, and write the criticisms in a NPOV way. What you certainly cannot do is "infer", base on your own analysis, that he is not "sorry" for something. Jayjg (talk)  14:34, 23 August 2005 (UTC)


 * Toytoy, if you want to do your own research you have to publish it elsewhere in a reliable newsletter or something and cite it. if you can't produce a reliable source, sorry, out of luck. --Makuta 19:33, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Missing info
There seemed to be a lot missing from the Life in the United States section. I added some info on his academic career and political advocacy, but I think there's still more to do. 68.125.62.126 02:08, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. There should definitely be a mention of Wiesel's visit to the White House in the '80s when he begged Reagan not to visit the military cemetery at Bitburg, West Germany. --Micahbrwn 05:04, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Wiesel was first to use the word Holocaust
Does anyone have a source for this?

I went ahead and removed the sentence "He was the first to use the term "Holocaust" from the 1st paragraph. " Since it's definitely not true that he was the first to use the term (see Holocaust). It is possible that Wiesel was the first to use the term to refer to the Nazi genocide, but I haven't been able to find a source for that. 68.127.109.54 22:40, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

I remembered reading something about this in Wiesenthal's second memoir And the Sea is Never Full, however the text is actually inconclusive -
 * "Some scholars contend that I was the first to give the term 'Holocaust' a modern usage by introducing it into our contemporary vocabulary. Why did I choose that word over another? At the time I was preparing an essay on the Akeda, the sacrifice of Isaac, the world ola, translated as 'burnt offering' or 'holocaust' struck me, perhaps because it suggests total annihilation by fire and the sacred and mystical aspect of sacrifice, and I used it in an essay on the war. But I regret that it has become so popular and is used so indiscriminately. Its vulgarization is an outrage." (Page 18)

My reading of this is that Wiesel was one of the first but that he cannot prove that others didn't coin the term independently. I recommend that we say "Some historians credit Wiesel with giving the term 'Holocaust' its present meaning, but he does not feel that the word adequately describes the event and wishes it was used less frequently to describe less significant occurrences such as everyday tragedies."

GabrielF 23:59, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

That seems like a lot of detail about a relatively minor point for the opening paragraph. Maybe we can find somewhere else to mention it? Otherwise I'd suggest we just leave it out -- I think it's really interesting, but maybe not appropriate in a short discussion of his life and contributions. 68.127.109.54 00:03, 30 November 2005 (UTC)


 * You're absolutely right, I put it in the section on his life in the US. GabrielF 00:10, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
 * "Credited by many as being the first person to use the term "holocaust," "The term Holocaust was coined by Elie Weisel, a Holocaust survivor, writer, peace activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner."  Jayjg (talk) 00:11, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

Movie
Does any know what his connection was to Schindler's list? I couldn't find anything in the entry for the movie or on IMDB.

I've been using Amazon's Search Inside a Book feature on Wiesel's two memoirs (All Rivers Run to the Sea and And the Sea is Never Full) in research for this article. I'd recommend it to everyone editing this article. Wiesel doesn't mention Schindler's List in his memoirs, thats not conclusive of course, but I also couldn't find a connection between the two using google either. I suspect someone added the link to Schindler's List as a general reference to the Holocaust. It should probably be deleted pending further research. GabrielF 00:57, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

Vandalism.
Is there anyway we can protect this page? The vandalism is frequent, and quite shocking. Gareth E Kegg 22:57, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

"After the war, Wiesel was placed in a French orphanage where he started stealing valuable items from other inmates and gradually was transformed into the heinous criminal and con-artist of today. In 1948, Wiesel began studying philosophy at the Sorbonne but he was caught cheating and was expelled from the University. He taught Hebrew and worked as a choirmaster before becoming a professional gangster. As a journalist he wrote for Israeli and French newspapers, including Tsion in Kamf (in Yiddish) and the French newspaper, L'arche. However, for eleven years after the war, Wiesel refused to write about or discuss his experiences during the Holocaust. Like many survivors, Wiesel could not find the words to describe his experiences. However, a meeting with François Mauriac, the 1952 Nobel Laureate in Literature, who eventually became Wiesel's close friend, persuaded him to write about his Holocaust experiences."

I've remove~d the entire paragraph, expecting to someone to fix it properly. It's outrageous how people can do this to Wikipedia. Wintceas 15:07, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


 * We appreciate your efforts to combat vandalism. Rather then removing sections altogether, a better method is to revert the changes made by the vandal (do this by going to the history tab).  Be sure to report all vandals also.  Rudy Breteler (talk) 20:09, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Will someone please edit the section about "The Trial of God." (All the way at the bottom of the page) It seems to have been vandalized. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stereotonic24 (talk • contribs) 00:57, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Armenian Genocide Paragraph
I'm moving this to the talk page because I don't believe its entirely true, even if it is, it needs to be sourced and put in a section other than criticism. GabrielF 23:06, 18 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Wiesel has also stated repeatedly that the Armenian holocaust should be refered to as a holocaust and that what happened to the Amenians should not be called genocide. Wiesel also said that the disabled, gypsies, gays and other gentiles killed in the camps during the holocaust should not be thought of in the same respect as jews killed in the holocaust, even though their treatment at the hands of the Nazis was sometimes far worse, because only 5 million gentiles were murdered compared to 6 million jews.

True. Wiesel and his Foundation have pushed for the recognition of the Armenian genocide. Redman5578 (talk) 23:55, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Memoir or Novella
I think the reference to Night being a novella should be removed. A novella is by definition fiction, and it is evident from all the press the new translation is receiving that this is not a work of fiction.

---

Personally, I see a novella as being a book which is shorter than a normal novel, but longer than a short story. His novella was not very long, but still long enough to not be a short story. I dont think that whether its fiction or not has anything to do with it. Besides, many novels are fiction, in fact, most are.


 * Look in a dictionary. All novels are fictional. If it's not fictional, it's not a novel. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 14:32, 27 March 2006 (UTC)


 * you are right, it should be listed as a short autobiography, not a fiction novel. Rudy Breteler (talk) 23:21, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

--- Correct! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.239.209.92 (talk) 01:08, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Misc.
I did a little to add to an article that made little sense. Much more work needed here.....DW

The caption under the photograph is wrong. Elie Wiesel is eighth in the photograph, starting from the left. The photo lists him as being Seventh. You can compare the eyes in the photo to the photo of him as a young man. They are clearly the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.239.209.92 (talk) 01:04, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Gabbi is the best

Can someone with the proper privileges change the caption on the main photo of him? The wording is really awkward.

-Yes, I'd like to add to that, concerning this caption (it may be different from the one mentioned): "Buchenwald, 1945. Wiesel is on the second row from the bottom, seventh from the Calvin." What is a Calvin? I'm not aware of its meaning here, and only found in wiktionary:

"a surname of French and Spanish origin, meaning a bald person"

Still doesn't make sense... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Neuenglander (talk • contribs) 10:12, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

The external link entitled "1945 Buchenwald photograph from USHMM" is broken.Ian Glenn 04:49, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Without intending in the least to diminish the stature of Wiesel, the category "Biblical scholars" doesn't fit him. He is surely richly familiar with the Bible, and is acknowledged as a scholar, but his relation to the field of biblical scholarship is tangential. Wikipedia risks misleading a casual reader to idenityf him as a "biblical scholar."Akma 01:50, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Jewish decent
Can the lead line about Wiesel be improved to conform to more "standard" biograpgical usage? It sounded like he is a Jewish novelist, not the clearest verbage.Backroomlaptop 05:30, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Agree it is unclear and not in line with WP:BIO. I will edit this.

Beganlocal (talk) 21:41, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Father's Name
I read the book "Night" and his father was refered to as "Chlomo". I realize that Shlomo is probably intended to be the Americanized version, but should I change it to "Chlomo"? KSava 20:22, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Chlomo is the french spelling for Shlomo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.155.94.51 (talk) 19:59, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Why does it say that his father's name is "Sholomo"? There is no such Hebrew or Hungarian name. It should be "Shlomo" or in Hungarian "Slomó". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.0.231.142 (talk) 21:28, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Oprah
I added a part saying that he traveled to Auschwitz with Oprah, please add when he did so, etc. KSava 20:29, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Night
The book he wrote- night, was so chilling, I read it in only a few days and it was a quicker read, but no the less as chilling. The saddest part was when Elie and his father pulled into the first of many constration -(spelled wrong)- camps and he decribed the smell of people, of flesh burning, (accualy) (sp) the smell of burning human hair. Another really sad part was when Moshe the beedgle(?)(correct me if i'm wrong) was telling Elie about how some Nazi were throwing babies in the air and using them for target practice. It was an extremly well written account. And if someone wanted to read this book, they should definitely spend a long time reading it, let it sink in as you go. Stop before each chapter and reflect on what you had just read. (That would be the best advice to you, from me who just read it.) Laurathebora23

Why should anyone be interested in the lies of a professional Liar? Yeah of course, babies as target practice. You believe just anything do you? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.178.92.172 (talk • contribs).

Yea how could anyone believe such lies? Of course, The nazi's killed Jews and conquered most of Europe, you believe in anything don't you? Is that what you mean?- Moshe Constantine Hassan Al-Silverburg | Talk 21:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

How do you know that he is lying? Do you have true, believeable proof that he is lying? Really, a website, or book, or even examples? And-- How would you know?Laurathebora23 18:24, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

The only reson I restrained myself from deleting the two insulting, bigoted, and ignorant comments above was so that viewers of this site could see exactly why the work of Mr. Wiesel and other humanitarians like him will never be done. I cannot help it if you hold hateful and uninformed beliefs, but I must ask you not to foul this site's more intelligent critism with them. You are probably very angry as you read this, but I ask you to restrain yourselves from writing replies, just as I restrained myself from deleting your comments. May this embarassing exchange end here!Person who likes to think 14:25, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I am sorry, like now for replying, but I truly would like to see some proof of where they get their opinions from. Laurathebora23 21:26, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

I wasn't refering to you, Laurathebora23.

The best proof that Elie is a liar is the fact that he, an eye witness, contradicts the orthodox Holocaust story - therefore he is a Holocaust denier and a liar. He even fails to mention the gas chambers in his book Night - a charlatan is the best you can say about him.

Maybe the reason that he didn't add any details about the gas chambers is because he didn;t want to have that be his main focus in the book, if you have read it, and will think back, then you will remeber that he talks frequently about the crematorie. Perhaps that was a single point that he wanted to convey to his many reader. Laurathebora23 18:42, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Very sorry about the confusion - I thought Night was a historical book, wiki says it was published as a novel. In a novel I guess you can elaborate or leave out anything you want. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

If you weren't so ignorant, you would realize that someone who went through something like that wouldn't need to elaborate. Kforcrazy 23:22, 10 May 2007 (UTC)KforCrazy

Man i wish we didnt have to resort to namecalling here. things like calling others "ignorant" and "charlatan" really adds nothing to an arguement. please guys, lets agree to disagree. there will always be disagreements about the holocaust, anything where that many people are involved in such a tragic manner will always be very contentious. lets leave it where it is before anyone gets really upset about it all, please.

Since the book NIGHT carries several clear hoaxes a link to Alex Cockburn's exposure of these fallacies should be included in the article:

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn04012006.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.36 (talk) 14:53, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Intro
I removed the unsourced criticism from the intro per WP:BLP. SlimVirgin (talk) 00:25, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Unsourced? Ok, maybe having just one source isn't enough to qualify as being sourced, and I'll admit, it was a pretty shaky source. I'll add some more and put it back. If there's another problem, then we can fix it and everything will be great all the better for it.

Atomsprengja 06:16, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Romanian/Hungarian Criticism
Can someone please provide a source for the paragraph on criticism from Romanian intellectuals? Additionally the criticism needs to have some sort of context (what exactly did Wiesel say, when did he say it, etc.) and be more NPOV. If nobody will source this it should be deleted per WP:BLP. GabrielF 02:23, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Since nobody has come forward to source this accusation, I've removed it. GabrielF 15:27, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Wiesel and religion
This article needs more information about Wiesel's work in religion. In one of my college classes we watched a video where Wiesel was giving a deep commentary on the first 3 chapters in Genesis, and some of the books in our list of books are obviously about the bible, so obviously he has done a lot of work in this area. In our class we also had a discussion about how he became an atheist during World War II and then eventually became more connected to Jewish faith. Can anyone add more information about this? Academic Challenger 03:05, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Date of birth
Some anon keeps changing his date of birth. If people want to do this they're going to have to cite reliable sources. Britannica apparently says it was September 30, 1928. If there are other sources, we can have a footnote. &mdash; Khoikhoi 03:11, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

IHR about Wiesel
This should be added under criticism: http://www.ihr.org/leaflets/wiesel.shtml Wiesel seems to be one of those many Holocaust survival miracles.


 * ''Institute for Historical ReviewSite of the world's leading Holocaust denialorganisation. Many articles from its journal (founded in 1980) are reproduced, and also includes a few general ...

www.ihr.org/ - 68k - Cached - Similar pages ''71.63.15.156 (talk) 23:52, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

IHR is not a credible source due to their agenda and organizational links. Redman5578 (talk) 23:56, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

"IHR is not a credible source due to their agenda and organizational links."

This could be more easily said about Elie Wiesel himself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.36 (talk) 14:55, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

RED WEEK
In Red Week a Romanian writer acuse Wiesel of telling lies on a French tv station. He said that in 1944 he and his family were arested by Romanian Police. And that is a big lie because at that time NV of Transilvania was under Hungarian control: see Viena Diktat!

What about this? i cant find that in the article:                                         "Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate - healthy, virile hate - for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the dead." -Elie Wiesel, Legends of Our Time, p.142
 * did he say that? that totally seems to contradict his statement that "The Jewish people have never had recourse to hatred, even in their struggles for survival....If we had to hate all our enemies, we would have little time or energy for anything else." (Preface to A Passover Haggadah, 1993).It definitely seems worth putting in. --Makuta 19:37, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Romanian-Hungarian Jewish novelist?
Shouldn't that be Romanian-Hungarian-French-American-Israeli Jewish? :) Of course he was born in Romania and had some degree of Hungarian descent (and was a subject of this country during the Holocaust), but he is much more than that. Dpotop 14:15, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

About all that, what is his native language and what languages does he currently speak? I see he is an american citizen so English. He wrote in Un di Velt Hot Geshvign in Yiddish. He learned Hebrew and he's from Romania, so Romanian. But he was hungarian and Sighet was annexed to Hungary so hungarian. He was learned french after the war so French. So would it be English, Yiddish, Romanian, Hebrew, Hungarian and French? It's quite confusing, so can anyone clear it up? -- Sergiusz Szczebrzeszyński    '  ' ' '' 04:14, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Sighet was annexed to hungary in 1940 and was set free in 1944. So I don't thinks it makes any difference. What matters is that wiesel was hungarian, jewish-hungarian (living in Romania). --Eres 00:34, 11 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Elizer Wiesel was born in Sighet, which at the time belonged to Romania, however, it was part of Hungary for almost a thousand years, and it was again annexed by Hungary in 1940. Therefore, if you really want to define his origins before he was taken to Auschwitz, I would say he was a Jewish-Hungarian living in Transylvania. Most likely his native language was Yiddish, but he grew up speaking both German and Hungarian which were the dominant languages in Transylvania at that time. In Night, it is clarified that both he, and his father spoke German, and since he was living in a mainly Hungarian part of Transylvania, it is almost certain that he spoke Hungarian as well. I, myself, also speak those languages because my heritage is almost the same. (Eddie 03:46, 8 May 2007 (UTC))

I corrected the lead per WP:MOSBIO and other examples. I xplain my edits: What do you think of this explanation? Dpotop 12:03, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
 * 1) the guy was born in Romania, and lived there for some time
 * 2) he became known while in the US, so I presume "American" is his nationality
 * 3) he was of Jewish descent and culture, in its Hungarian specific form


 * From memory, I was told at his Sighet memorial house that on his return he did not speak Romanian to avoid errors. So it seems that his Romanian is rusty enough that he does not feel comfortable. --Error 17:10, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Why should we assume he spoke Hungarian? john k 17:42, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

John K, If you knew and understood Hungarians, whether they be in Hungary proper or in Transilvania, you wouldn't ask such a silly question! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.2.29.39 (talk) 09:14, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

In Hungary, Wiesel is universally regarded a Hungarian Nobel laureate (that is, not Hungarian-Romanian, not Hungarian-Jewish, simply Hungarian). See, e.g, here: The 12 Hungarian Nobel prize winners.62.112.210.136 (talk) 19:10, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Criticism
I just want to point out the absurdity of including criticism by Finkelstein. A good analogy would be that one included "Heinrich Himmler criticized Wiesel for being alive." Okay, so what? Finkelstein is among the least reputable reactionaries in America, and I just don't see how his views could be relevant to this article. - Anon, April 17, 2010

In addition to the lead change detailed above, I also added sources for 2 items in the "Critic" section. The two items were deleted by someone a while ago as unsourced. However, the sources were one click away and quite reputable (by Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein, respectively), even if not quite mainstream. :) Dpotop 12:07, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
 * The sources were, in fact, dubious. marxists.de and zmag are not good enough sources when it comes to negative material about living people. In addition, the New York Times Book Review by Omer Bartov was certainly a reliable source, but it didn't make the claims attributed to it. Jayjg (talk) 23:43, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Pronounced?
How, exactly, is his name pronounced? I've only ever seen it written down. Thank you very much, 82.27.28.115 21:35, 17 July 2007 (UTC) the W is pronounced like a V, actually 132.170.34.216 04:43, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Eh - lee - We - zell GabrielF 14:25, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Weasel, but more of a semi-Z sound instead of an S sound.Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 03:52, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

The phonetic transcription of "Wiesel" is incorrect. The vowel in the second syllable should not be a schwa but rather an epsilon, as in the transcription of "Eli."76.173.64.255 (talk) 00:12, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Criticism section removed
The entire criticism section was removed, due to lack of sources, and lack of neutrality. The "windbag" quote was uncalled for. Name-calling does not belong in any encyclopedia. The Chomsky and Finkelstein passages were saved below if you're interested. -Rich 68.239.48.188 23:49, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

(removed from Criticism):

Noam Chomsky also noted Wiesel's moral response to the Sabra and Shatila massacre with the following remarks:

Wiesel's position was that "I don't think we should even comment on [the massacre in the refugee camps] since the [Israeli judicial] investigation is still on." "We should not pass judgement until the investigation takes place." Nevertheless, he did feel "sadness," for the first time, he explains; nothing that had happened before in the occupied territories or in Lebanon had evoked any sadness on his part, and now the sadness was "with Israel, and not against Israel" - surely not "with the Palestinians" who had been massacred or with the remnants who had escaped. Furthermore, Wiesel continues, "after all the Israeli soldiers did not kill" - this time at least; they had often killed at Sabra and Shatilla in the preceding weeks, arousing no "sadness" on Wiesel's part, even "sadness with Israel". Therefore, Israel is basically exempt from criticism, as were the Czar and his officials, military forces and police at the time of the Kishinev massacre, by his exalted standards.

In a radio interview scholar Norman Finkelstein accused Wiesel of cheapening the moral coinage of the Nazi Holocaust by asserting its uniqueness while profiting from public fascination with it:

Elie Wiesel is always wheeled out, and with his long face and anguished heart and cinematic eyes, he always says: "Oh, do not compare." I beg your pardon, I think you should compare. Otherwise, if you don't want to compare, what's the point of it? What are you going to learn from it? ... He says the only thing we can do before the Nazi Holocaust is silence. Well if silence is the only answer, why are you charging $25,000 a lecture? And what are you going to learn from silence? I mean, this is sheer nonsense. "

Criticism section restored
The removal of the criticism section was inappropriate because (a) the section adhered to Wikipedia's standards and (b) the rationale furnished for its removal did not even make sense. To wit:

'The entire criticism section was removed, due to lack of sources, and lack of neutrality.'

In point of fact:

(1) all three passages cited were cited with sources; and

(2) If all criticism needed to be 'neutral' before being deemed acceptable, then it would scarcely be criticism.

(3) The remover failed to even to define 'neutral'.

Please do not attempt to insulate Mr. Wiesel from criticism: otherwise his Wikipedia entry will degrade into little more than a politically 'cleansed' hagiography.

(Happy to discuss with anyone who disagrees.)


 * Criticism is very important. I didn't object to the removal of that section when I saw it erased, because I viewed the complete blanking of it as an enormous improvement of the article.  Four paragraphs of Hitchens' writing to two sentences of Wiesel's; are we really going to pretend that was a balanced view of Wiesel?


 * I'll try to cut back the criticism to make it reasonable; hopefully I'll strike a happy medium. DBaba (talk) 04:03, 24 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The current criticism section is really grating. Of course criticism needs to be presented in a conservative and distanced fashion, but it crosses the line into subtly mocking the critics. For instance, it is written that "Hitchens implied that Wiesel had an association of some kind with the militant Palestinian Jewish organization Irgun in the 1940s, an organization which Hitchens characterizes as having 'employed extreme violence against Arab civilians.'" But Wiesel himself acknowledges, in his memoirs, that he wrote for the Irgun house organ Zion in Kampf, and characterizes his role as a "militant journalist, fighter for Jewish freedom." And that the Irgun employed extreme violence against Arab civilians is not Hitchens' or anyone's opinion but incontrovertible fact. The summary given of Norman Finkelstein's remarks is even worse. Finkelstein said that Wiesel earned speaking fees by having the eyes of a moving star and is plotting to diminish the importance of the genocides of communists? WHAT? This is so sloppy that it has to be deliberate (and it borders on a WP:BLP violation against Finkelstein.) Seriously, cut it out. You know why Finkelstein criticizes Wiesel, you don't have to agree with him, just summarize their views neutrally, fairly, and accurately. &lt;eleland/talkedits&gt; 04:20, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Is Elie Wiesel vegetarian?
I found Elie Wiesel listed as a vegetarian in several sites (for example here), but didn't find any reliable source that says so. Can someone help? Thanks. -- Gabi S. (talk) 20:56, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Daniel A. McGowan
A relatively obscure activist writing a letter to the editor is not notable. The criticism section is not supposed to be laundry list of everyone who dislikes Wiesel. Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein, although misguided, are well known figures and have published their views in books and the media.

If you want, you can place this citation on McGowan's own wikipedia page (since that page is solely about him). But it does not belong here.(Hyperionsteel (talk) 22:39, 1 October 2008 (UTC))

Edit on 10-4-2008
Corrected number of pages listed for "Un di velt" and cited reference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.91.117.248 (talk) 23:39, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

criticism again
It seems to me that the criticism section has what I believe you would call "undue weight". I have enjoyed being a regular reader of Wiki for some time but have not contributed much. I can't compete with your "weasel words", "original research", "3 revert rules", "NPOV", and "edit wars" etc' etc'.... but I do know that this article makes a man whom most agree is worthy of great respect sound questionable at best. I did try to remove the section a week or two ago in the hope that somebody better suited than me would write a more balanced criticism section,(if indeed one is needed at all; couldn't any relevent criticism be spread throughout the article?), but no one was given the chance as within moments it had been reverted and I was accused of carrying out some kind of "test" (?), and that I should be careful removing anything. Okay then. I took that in Good Faith, and I will leave the thing alone, but I would like to suggest that somebody who knows how to improve this without getting administrators on their case, could perhaps have a go at it. If not, then who am I to criticise? After all, I don't know a 3RR from a POV.212.84.124.97 (talk) 00:42, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Trying to fix an edit
I don't care for being called a sock puppet, which I am not, when all I am trying to do is post information on an academic dispute that is relevant to the article. Redman5578 (talk) 23:44, 3 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Have you edited Wikipedia under another username? If so, can you say which one or ones? Thanks. IronDuke  23:55, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

No, Long time reader first time editor (hence my ref link troubles with the article ;-) ). Redman5578 (talk) 23:59, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

To head off any edit wars, would "Dispute with" be a fair way of headlining Wiesel's critics? Please advise. Redman5578 (talk) 00:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
 * (edit conflict) Thanks for your quick reply. Can you say if you came here on your own, or if someone suggested you check it out? Thanks again. IronDuke

Anyone know Hungarian?
Apparently there have been new reports about Elie Wiesel in the Hungarian press which might be worth including a reference to. I don't consider myself professionally qualified as a translator, but if someone else is up to the job then they could better evaluate it. The articles appear here:

http://www.haon.hu/hirek/magyarorszag/cikk/meg-mindig-kiserti-a-halaltabor/cn/haon-news-FCUWeb-20090303-0604233755 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.139.134 (talk) 13:28, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

My wife, fluent in Hungarian thinks this report linked above should certainly not be dismissed but investigated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.2.29.39 (talk) 10:32, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

As a native Hungarian, I made and hereby I give you the translation of the linked report. The report appeared on HAON aka Hajdú Online which is the central news portal of Hajdú-Bihar county in Hungary. The raw translation is as follows (maintaining formattings of the original):


 * The Death Camp haunts him still


 * Nyíregyháza - The holocaust survivor from Nyíregyháza proves: the Nobel Laureate is not the person who he poses as. He even contacted the FBI as well and reported: "This Elie Wiesel is a con man". He was asked to wait for 14 days - but never ever got any response.


 * He sacrified the last twenty years of his life to uncover the fate of his friend Lázár Wiesel, whom he was acquainted with in the Auschwitz Death Camp, and who was deported from Máramaros at the age of 31, and to investigate how did his [Lazar's] ID tattoo number A-7713 get to the man known by the name Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate of 1986...


 * Miklós Grüner was deported from Nyíregyháza in 1944 together with his family, and as he was losing his relatives one by one, his life was saved byt the Wiesel brothers in the camp. A forty years after his liberation, in 1986 he was invited to Sweden to meet his old friend Lázár, aka Elie Wiesel but the man proved to be a stranger. But Miklós efforts to tell everybody that this person is not identical to the real Lázár, nobody was in position to listen to the truth. Miklós Grüner initiated a private investigation and published the collected information in a book.


 * Nobel Laureate with fake personality?


 * - Miklós Grüner, born in Nyíregyháza, searched for his once helper and friend, Lázár Wiesel for the past twenty years, and being escaped from the Hell of Auschwitz, he wa shocked to face that an unknown stranger man became world famous on behalf and in the name of Lázár. He shared the story of the search with us.


 * Uncle Miklós uncovers the painful preceding parts of the story: "I was deported with my family in 1944, I was 15 years old then. From the concentration place in Nyírjes w were trasported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in May 1944, despite that we were promised to remain in Hungary to do forced labor. My mother and my little brother was selected out immediately which meant they were taken to the crematory at once. Me, my older brother and my father got numbers, tattooed on our left lower arm, and we were taken to a factory named Buna. We had very hard work to do there, my father could cope with it for six months, then he was selected out as well."


 * "Soon after my brother was taken to Mauthausen", he continues, "so I was left alone. At this time I asked for help from the friends of my father: Lázár and Ábrahám Wiesel. Lázár was born in 1913 and his ID number was A-7713 (Ábrahám's, who was born in 1900, got the number A-7712), and when they saw me being left alone, took care of me, as far as the circumstances made it possible. I was liberated together with Lázár which also assisted us to became good friends: as the Germans were retreating, the camp was forced to march to Glivice first, in the hail-showered January of 1945, lots of us died in the exhausting march. After three months, we were crammed in open freight wagons but until we reached Buchenwald, more than half of the people died, including Ábrahám."


 * An unknown man


 * "We stayed here until 8th April 1945 and were liberated here the occupying American units. On the photo made of the camp and published worldwide, I am visible as well. I was examined, my weight was below 30 kilos (66 pounds), and tuberculosis was also diagnosed. I was sent to a sanatory in Switzerland where I was cured, then I settled in Australia, while my brother found work and home in Sweden."


 * "In 1986 I got a phone call from a South-Sweden newspaper, asking whether I'd like to meet an old friend of mine, Elie Wiesel. They would even pay my plane ticket. At first I did not understand who were they talking about but they said: 'Well, he is Lázár Wiesel, my inmate friend, with the number A-7713'. I became very happy and flied to Sweden on 14th December 1986 but I was shocked to see an unkown man standing in front of me, who even could not speak Hungarian, and even English he speaks with a strng French accent. Within ten minutes the meeting was over. As a farewell gift, he signed me a book titled "Night" of which he told me he has written it. I accepted it but told everybody that this man is not the one who states he is."


 * "The doubt allowed no rest for me: the number A-7713 was on Lázár's arm. How did it get to Elie Wiesel who denies to show his arm to anyone, saying it's his body and he shows it to nobody. He made an exception only once, for a star journalist from Israel, an even he was allowed to cast only a short blink on it, and he told me that he could not read the number but he did see indeed that it was not a tattooed mark. I searched in all places I could, and discovered that the person who calls him Elie Wiesel, was never in a concentration camp because he is not listed in the official recordings."


 * "The world famous book was published in Paris, by Lázár, my earlier friend under author name Eliezer, titled "The World is Silent". In 1958 this was transcribed to French, titled "La Nuit" and to English, titled "Night", with the cooperation of Francois Mauriac (also a Nobel Laureate writer) - but at this time the originally 250-paged book was already 115 pages only, and Elie Wiesel was indicated as author. This became world success, 10 million copies were sold and he received a Nobel peace prize for this. This was followed by several rewards, among others Elie Wiesel received the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic in 2004, and became a KBE in England. Meanwhile, my friend Lázár got simply lost, though I searched for him all over the world."


 * Neither responded the FBI


 * "Elie Wiesel wanted never again to see me. He became a successful, rich man who helds 45 minutes lectures for 25 thousand dollars. The official organizations did not want to hear about the whle story, neither. I contacted the Immigration Office of the United States where is no recordings of neither Lázár, nor Elie Wiesel. I reported to the FBI as well: 'This Elie Wiesel is a confidence trickster'. They asked me to wait 14 days for the answer - but they never ever responsed to any request. My story was kept secret by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as well, and both American and Swedish media remained ignorant. Even..."


 * "I started to receive anonymous phone calls telling that I could easily get a bullet if I don't stop. But I was in the mouth of Death once, I have no fear, and anyway, I have deposited manuscripts and documents to be published at my death in four countries. So far I am okay but the Wolrd must learn that Elie Wiesel is a confidence trickster. I, the boy from Nyíregyháza, am back, and I tell the truth." Thus finished Miklós Grüner his rather strange story, and he also wrote the whole story in a book, titled "A Story of the Stolen Identity of a Nobel Laureate".

(end of translation) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.56.10.140 (talk) 17:03, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

For further important readings about the reports above and to read its detailed analysis, see: http://thoughts-in-english.blogspot.com/2009/07/holocaust-business.html (Be aware that it is NOT a Holocaust denial page.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.56.10.140 (talk) 17:20, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Elie Wiesel and Bernie Madoff
Poor Elie, he lost his faith to Hitler and his savings to Madoff. Is this not worthy of mention in this article? 98.201.123.22 (talk) 16:45, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

'The literary, theological, and Jewish contributions of Elie Wiesel'
What is this section doing in an encyclopaedia? It reads like an essay by a third-rate first-year university student. I propose it gets removed rather than improved, as it adds nothing to the page but a load of subjective opinion. Melaena (talk) 23:42, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Criticism section
I removed several supposed "criticisms" of Wiesel on WP:WEIGHT and WP:BLP grounds. Another editor has reverted, and I have redone my deletions.
 * My first deletion removes two poorly sourced disparagements per WP:BLP and WP:WEIGHT. The first is a completely unsourced statement that Norman Finkelstein criticized Wiesel of enriching himself through his Holocaust commentary, and downplaying other genocides.  Per BLP, unsourced material like this should be summarily removed and should not be re-inserted, period. Even if it were sourced that Finkelstein said this and it is a fair characterization of what Finkelstein said, there are two fundamental flaws.  For one, there is no indication that it matters what Finkelstein thinks.  Many people think and write many things on many subjects.  Finkelstein was denied tenure and put on leave by his university, banned from Israel, and had a series of high-profile run-ins with pro-Israeli authors - hardly a neutral source.  Second, the criticism here attributed to Finkelstein is a common claim widely made against any person writing about the Holocaust, or in fact any atrocity.  By publishing and lecturing on a topic the writer makes a living from it; by talking about one atrocity one ignores another.  There is no reason to believe that this common gripe has anything particular to do with Wiesel or in any way enlightens the reader about who Wiesel is and what his career is about.  It is only a single data point that a single partisan disparaged him, for an unknown reason.
 * The first deletion also removes a statement that Aaron Zelman of JPFO criticized Wiesel for favoring gun control, because Zelman thinks that gun control enables genocide - cited only to a press release by Zelman for his own publication. Self-published material is specifically excluded from BLP, and even if this could be sourced to a reliable source it suffers the same problems as Finkelstein's opinion: no indicaiton that it matters.  Further, both JPFO (a rare anti gun control Jewish group) and Zelman's position (civilian ownership of guns prevents genocide) are far off-center to the point of possibly being WP:FRINGE.  Fringe detraction is inappropriate for a BLP>
 * The second edit that was reverted is a stylistic matter, but I don't see how anyone could possibly support the material. In it the Wikipedia author speculates "Perhaps the best overall introduction to Wiesel's life and thought are..." but of course there is no sourcing that these are the best introduction or that it is a "perhaps" and not a sure thing.  That is of course unencyclopedic editorializing.  One guideline that covers this is WP:WTA.
 * The third and final edit removes a paragraph-long summary of a strongly disparaging editorial criticizing (among other things) Wiesel for supporting the early Jewish militant organizations involed in the founding of the State of Israel. The editorial, "Wiesel Words", begins: "Is there a more contemptible poseur and windbag than Elie Wiesel?".  It is by Christopher Hitchens, a polemicist, that appears in The Nation, a self-described leftist publication.  This is not a reliable source and not a suitable reference for opinions about Wiesel's credibility.  Although it is true by examining this primary source that a partisan writer disparages Wiesel, it is original research to summarize the disparagement and decide it is significant enough to include, without secondary sourcing to establish what Hitchens said, its context, and its relevance and importance to Wiesel's biography.  We do not reprint, or describe, every piece of disparagement that might have been written about someone.

I'll add that the remaining so-called criticism suffers the same problem as the others - it is unsourced and partisan, with no support of relevance or weight. It claims that Noam Chomsky criticizes Wiesel for supporting Israel, and is cited only to Chomsky's book and a citation so garbled I cannote tell what it is, apparently an interview of Chomsky. That is of course an WP:OR summary of Chomsky's opinion. Even if sourced, Chomsky is (apart from his highly respected work on linguistics) an out of the mainstream commentator, with an opinion on every possible far-left subject. That he criticizes Wiesel simply for being pro-Israel seems utterly unremarkable. One would need strong sourcing to show why Chomsky's opinion has any illustrative value or made any difference in Wiesel's life.

The whole notion of a criticism section is problematic, and goes against the usual norm per WP:CRIT. It is not our job here on Wikipedia to tell someone's life story then make a run-down of all his detractors. There has to be some reason and context of why any particular incidence is worth noting, and that is better worked into the overall narrative than presented as a list of negative items that easily becomes a WP:POV WP:COATRACK. It is almost embarrassing that a Wikipedia article describes the life of a Nobel Peace Prize winner, then devotes a section to others taking potshots at him. The one controversy that seems notable (I cannot tell if it is because the source is not online) is the mention that he and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal are rivals who had a series of run-ins. That, at least, says something interesting about Wiesel's career and might actually have affected it.

- Wikidemon (talk) 17:35, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Okay, so your opinion on the subject is worth more than Chomsky's or Finkelstein's? If you're prepared to include the plaudits, what's wrong with including some criticism? If there is compelling evidence of Wiesel taking a mercenary approach to the issue, I think it's only fair to allow readers to assess this information for themselves. The article should not be a hagiography. Melaena (talk) 21:19, 1 April 2009 (UTC)


 * My opinion is that Finkelstein and Chomsky are not reliable sources, nor has the noteworthiness or relevance of their opinions been shown. I'm not sure if you're making a proposal here, but classifying biographies as hagiographies or disparagements is not terribly useful to figuring out what belongs in an article - you have to look at each piece of content in light of our content policies.  Wikidemon (talk) 22:34, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

The way you're defining NPOV and reliable sources is not accurate. To use Finkelstein as an example, the facts that a)he was denied tenure and b) he was banned from Israel and has had run-ins with pro-Israeli authors, have no bearing on whether he is a reliable source or whether inclusion of his research complies with NPOV.

He was denied tenure not because his work lacked accuracy - there was no question of this, and DePaul actualy praised his scholarship when denying tenure - rather because DePaul felt his style of argument was not sufficiently 'Vincentian'. I repeat, nothing to do with accuracy.

I'll ignore the leap in logic that makes his run-ins with the Israeli government and pro-Israeli scholars proof of an anti-Israeli bias, and the subsequent leap that makes this 'fact' relevant, and focus on NPOV itself. NPOV does not preclude the inclusion of 'biased' views - neither you nor I have any real authority to decide whether views are biased - rather, the aim of NPOV is to ensure a balance of conflicting views within an article. In removing all criticism of Mr Wiesel, you are violating this concept.

The article doesn't necessarily need a criticism section, but it is ridiculous to systematically remove criticism with such tenuous reasoning. Melaena (talk) 16:56, 6 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Reasoning not tenuous, editor not ridiculous, removal not systematic. Sorry.  No way is a Finkelstein editorial disparagement of Wiesel a reliable source.  The question is whether it is a noteworthy criticism worthy of repeating in a bio.  Finkelstein's partisanship, repute, and the grudges he bears, are relevant to that.  Of course Finkelstein is biased regarding Wiesel.  He calls him a Holocaust profiteer.  My points there are twofold: it fails WP:WEIGHT and it fails relevancy.  Wikidemon (talk) 17:16, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Again, you seem to be missing the point. The fact that someone is 'biased' against the person in question is not sufficient reason to exclude their opinion. The line (or circle) of argument reminds me of Kafka: Wiesel has downplayed other genocides and made a lot of money from the Holocaust. Finkelstein is biased against Wiesel because he doesn't like the fact that Wiesel has downplayed other genocides and made a lot of money from the Holocaust. Finkelstein's assertions that Wiesel has downplayed other genocides and made a lot of money from the Holocaust are unreliable because Finkelstein is biased against Wiesel.

This isn't just about subjective opinions, it's about demonstrable facts. Finkelstein may have some very objectionable opinions, but judging from what you've written on the subject, you've removed opinions that are based on solid facts. If you like, I'll provide full references for Finkelstein's statements on Wiesel's self-enrichment and his uses of authority to downplay the Armenian genocide as well as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, plus the (less biased?) sources used by Finkelstein to boot.

Regarding weight, the argument that the combined opinions of Finkelstein, Hitchens, Chomsky, and many others merit not a single representation in an article of this size is indefensible, the notion that facts presented by them are also worthless, even more so. Melaena (talk) 18:12, 6 April 2009 (UTC)


 * So my position is "worthless" in addition to "tenuous", "ridiculous", and whatever else? I'm having trouble keeing track.  My original post in this section summarizes my reasons for considering the removed criticisms to be variously fringe, undue weight, not of sufficient relevance, POV, insufficiently sourced, etc., as well as the overall concern about criticism sections being unwise.  If you can find secondary reliable sourcing for any of this that you feel overcomes those concerns, please feel free to present it here.  Wikidemon (talk) 18:47, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Read again - not worthless, but indefensible. I've read through your original post, and while I agree with your view of the self-published author, I believe your line on the rest of the criticism is rather suspect, and I've noticed I'm not alone. Nobody's asking that the criticisms be presented as irrefutable truths. The problem is that you refuse to allow the article to acknowledge that criticisms from well-respected authors exist. As another editor has already suggested: 'you don't have to agree with him, just summarize their views neutrally, fairly, and accurately', and in the words of NPOV, 'the tone of Wikipedia articles should be impartial, neither endorsing nor rejecting a particular point of view'.

You reject mention of a Hitchens piece on the grounds that the Nation is a leftist publication. Again, if it was presented as a fact, I'd understand this reasoning, but it is presented as an opinion, and is not a fringe publication. Should views expressed in the Guardian be rejected on the same token?

I will draw in Hitchens' and Finkelstein's criticisms, appropriately framed and sourced, in due course, unless you have any further objections. Melaena (talk) 19:49, 6 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Not sure what you mean by "draw in" but don't re-add the material without justifying it and establishing consensus for inclusion. If you believe a detractors opinion is worth citing, please find secondary reliable sources to establish that, and propose some way it is relevant to the body of the bio rather than a criticism section.  Further, BLP violations may not be added even with consensus.  Wikidemon (talk) 19:57, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

OK - Starting with Finkelstein, I suggest that the part of 'Life in the United States' that discusses his involvement in various political causes should include a mention of his role as chair of the International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide in Tel Aviv. Finkelstein states that Wiesel withdrew 'because the academic sponsors, against Israeli government urging, included sessions on the Armenian case, [...] sought, unilaterally, to abort the conference, and, according to Yehuda Bauer, personally lobbied others not to attend.'

This is from The Holocaust Industry, 2nd ed., and Finkelstein's sources are 'The Book of the International Conference...' and Israel Amrani's article 'A Little Help for Friends' in Haaretz.

I think a description of his political activities should include his objections as well as his advocacies. If not in the Life in the US section, perhaps the information could be inserted later on the the article, to contextualize his recent condemnation of Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide. Melaena (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:47, 6 April 2009 (UTC).

I'm deeply surprised to find no criticism section in this article. I've read and understand Wikidemon's argument as to why such a section should not be included, but find it unconvincing. A criticism section is common on Wikipedia; prominent academics, activists, and politicians often if not always have sections detailing the criticism of their work. Wiesel's status as a Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor, or activist for peace does not insulate him from criticism. Ultimately, if someone as prominent as Chomsky or Finkelstein have leveled a reasoned criticism of Wiesel, I see no viable explanation above as to why it cannot be included. They are both well known and respected authors, and including their views does not endorse them. Criticism should be re-added immediately. I'll wait for consensus before doing so. Dpetley (talk) 18:10, 1 May 2009 (UTC)


 * No one has responded to my suggestion regarding reinstating the criticism of Wiesel. I'd still like to wait for a consensus before moving forward, but given the amount of criticism on Wiesel from prominent academics and others, I'm going to reinstate it if there are so few objections. There seem to be more users clamoring for including the section, but I'll still wait for more comments. Dpetley (talk) 16:10, 7 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Strongly disagree - I hadn't bothered responding because the "no viable explanation" comment, after I gave a detailed explanation I consider viable, seems to be a discussion stopper. Please note that my removal was on WP:BLP grounds, among other things.  Regarding the general approach, if a particular event is noteworthy, and can be sourced as such, then on a case by case basis it may be worth working into the overall flow of the article.  However, as I explained above, a prominent person's criticism does not self-authenticate itself as being reported.  Thus, the fact that Chomsky derides Wiesel (and likely a few thousand other people) over the unremarkable fact that Wiesel supports Israel, is not helpful.  We don't pepper the encyclopedia with a note of every person Chomsky and others with relatively extreme beliefs decides to criticize.  On the other hand, if Finkelstein has a public feud with Weisel as he does with Dershowitz, and it is reported by enough major sources to overcome WP:WEIGHT concerns, that could be worked in.  Criticism and praise sections are for the most part disfavored on Wikipedia, and it is particularly unencyclopedic to attach them to biographies.  To some extent criticism (or more aptly, critique and popular reception) information is appropriate for, say, musicians, philosophers, films, politicians, reality show contestants, etc., because it is a measure of their performance.  However, an activist / scholar / writer does not exist to be praised.  The appropriate measure there would be to assess how influential he was, and what he got done.  Wikidemon (talk) 19:27, 7 May 2009 (UTC)


 * What I take issue with is Wikidemon's statement: "Criticism and praise sections are for the most part disfavored on Wikipedia, and it is particularly unencyclopedic to attach them to biographies." Quite to the contrary, criticism sections are common on Wikipedia, and I conclude from that not exactly disfavored. As for being "unencyclopedic," including information on detraction of Weisel will provide a more complete entry. Looking at the pages of some of the people we have mentioned, Alan Dershowitz, Noam Chomsky, and Norman Finkelstein, all of them have criticism or controversies sections.  Wikidemon is correct in noting Wikipedia doesn't serve as a platform to air all of Chomsky's or any other academic's grievances (the list would indeed be too long). But criticism sections are so common to Wikipedia that the criticism section in the article on Wikipedia itself has been expanded into a full article on its own, Criticism of Wikipedia.


 * Are we creating the best Wiki article here if we deny space for criticism of Wiesel? If other pages include space for controversy and/or criticism, what privileges Wiesel from the same treatment? It would be dishonest to present this or any article about a widely known academic or public figure without some mention (if not fuller explanation) of the fair criticism surrounding her/him. Melaena proposed a sensible idea above: if an outright criticism section cannot be added (though I still think it should be), at the very least it's fair and honest to include the objections raised over Wiesel's conduct and ideas as presented by Finklestein and others in some other type of section(s). Dpetley (talk) 13:15, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

This piece by David O'Connell should be referenced in a criticism section somewhere. He raises well-founded questions about François Mauriac as probably the real author of NIGHT:

http://www.culturewars.com/2004/Weisel.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.139.157 (talk) 13:41, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

I say keep the criticism section. Wikidemon's distinction between Wiesel and writers/philosophers etc doesn't hold water, and even if it did, the idea that this is a reason for not including a criticism section is completely arbitrary. Good work Dpetley or whoever wrote it. Melaena (talk) 22:44, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I removed the section lacking a citation - about a statement supposedly made in a book by Miklos Grüner - due to its verifiability issue. If a source can be cited regarding the book and the supposed claim, please restore information about it and write from a NPOV. Yourai (talk) 01:43, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

It seems that Wikidemon is alone in opposing a criticism section. It is currently very short but Wiesel is a controversial figure, with Chomsky and Finkelstein being the most authoritative sources of criticism. Items that might be covered are uncritical support for Israel and silence over Palestine, attitude to the Armenian genocide and support for wars against Serbia and Iraq. I am strongly in favour of expanding it, but I'm too inexperienced in the ways of Wikipedia to attempt it myself. Channelwatcher (talk) 22:40, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

I think this quote, mentioned by another poster earlier, should be included somewhere:

"Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate - healthy, virile hate - for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the dead."

E. Wiesel, Legends of Our Time, Schocken Books, New York, (1982), p. 142.

It is widely cited, usually critically and sits ill with his "ambassador for peace" image. I can't vouch for the source, I copied it, but it should be easy enough to check. Channelwatcher (talk) 22:52, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Wiesel and the Roma
Why is there no mention of Wiesel's (shameful, imnsho) active, long term opposition to commemoration of the Roma holocaust alongside the Jewish one? They weren't able to resolve the matter until he stepped down from the museum board.

AbuKedem -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by AbuKedem (talk • contribs) 11:53, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

If you have reliable sources I think you should add something. There seems to be a policy of avoiding including evidence of Wiesel's more questionable activities in this article. Melaena (talk) 15:44, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

After the War - removal of reference Night as an autobiography
Based on the following, I removed the description of Night as an autobiography.
 * 1. The article on Night describes it as "a work by Elie Wiesel based on his experience, as a young Orthodox Jew, of being sent with his family to the German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald during the Second World War."
 * 2. The Alexander Cockburn article "Did Oprah Pick Another Fibber" lists reasons why some parts of Night cannot or are probably not true.
 * 3. The book is often referred to as a novel.

Hope my reasons are acceptable. ZScarpia (talk) 22:41, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Not a human rights activist
A human rights activist must always be a human rights activist. They can't be a human rights activist some of the time, while giving certain human rights violators a free pass. This is the ultimate hypocrisy. Any group that is the victim of a genocide does not get to form a state, align itself with a major power bloc, arm itself as well as a major superpower, and then get a "get away with genocide free card" to commit grave human rights violations on another group. Imagine if every victim of a genocide did this? The whole world would be blind. 76.180.61.194 (talk) 21:51, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

So says you, but this isn't a place for opinion, but for facts and encyclopedic content. Extrabatteries (talk) 21:05, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Notes on the "2007 Attack on Wiesel" section
1. None of the given sources say that Eric Hunt "tried to drag Wiesel into a hotel room". Neither do most other news articles referring to the case that I could find. What they say is that Hunt dragged Wiesel out of the elevator. I did come across an article ("Holocaust scholar testifies about hotel attack", written by Terence Chea, a journalist with the Associated Press) which says, describing the incident in more detail: Hunt demanded that Wiesel come to his hotel room for an interview; when he refused, Hunt grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the elevator onto the sixth floor. Note that it says that Hunt wanted Wiesel to go to Hunt's room, but it doesn't say that Hunt tried to drag him there, only that he pulled him out of the elevator by his arm. 2. The 17 February 2007 Yahoo! News article, "N.J. man arrested in attack on Wiesel" (which is currently number 23 in the list of sources) is no longer accessible and so cannot be used for verification of the material supposedly based on it. 3. Although the Eric Hunt blog clearly shows, assuming that it is actually written by Eric Hunt, that he is a Holocaust denier, it cannot be given as a source for the last sentence in the section, where it is stated that "he continues to maintain and update a blog which denies the Holocaust and is critical of prominent Jewish people." To use it in that way is original research. 4. I think that the length of the section in relation to the rest of the article gives the incident undue weight. -- ZScarpia (talk) 14:35, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Wiesel's postwar work in Irgun
Wiesel's postwar "journalism," as the main page innocuously calls it, was for the Irgun.

Irgun was a terror organization founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who Primo Levi among others, notes was a fascist and called himself a fascist. Irgun is famously known for its commission (along with the Stern Gang) of the massacre of the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.110.16.44 (talk) 09:15, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Wiesel and his ad in the NY Times 15 April 2010
Wikidemon removed my posting about the historicity of Wiesel's claims concerning the non-reference to Jerusalem in the Kuran. I have in fact cited an excellent, scholarly secondary source (the 3rd edition of the Enclyclopedia of Islam) to correct Wiesel's contentious statement, and subsequently restored the passage in a more neutral fashion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Larryjhs (talk • contribs) 15:39, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Please correct me if I am wrong, but I assume that the the 3rd edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam is not describing Wiesel's recent ads. Does that encyclopedia cover his "view on the Koran and Jerusalem" and contrast it with Muslim interpretations or western scholarship?  If not - if it is Wikipedia and its editors who are making the contrast -- then that particular paragraph has a WP:SYNTH problem.  Per my edit summary in deleting the material initially, it sounds reasonable that Wisel's taking out a highly charged full page ad in the Times would be noteworthy, but to know that it is important and relevant enough to include in the article we need a third party reliable source to say so.  We can't just cite the ad itself, a statement by Americans for Peace Now, or an editorial in Haaretz, none of which are reliable sources.  If we're going to mention this and describe it as a controversy we need a reliable source that says it is.  I won't delete it again immediately, because I suspect those sources may be out there, but please try to find some.  This search turned up this, which does seem to be a reliable source confirming the whole account.  I know it sounds a little convoluted, but because ynetnews, a reliable source, mentions the opinions of Americans for Peace Now (a not reliable source because it is partisan), it confirms that those opinions are worth noting and are relevant to Wiesel.  So the text in this article mentioning APN's response should contain a link to the ynetnews article (or some other nonpartisan source), with a courtesy link to APN.  I hope that makes sense.  Best, - Wikidemon (talk) 05:38, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Notability of elements of the Controversy section?
Are Richard Silversteen and Max Blumenthal considered reliable sources? Also at least one section seems poorly written, as the John Hagee segment does not mention references for the controversy. Drsmoo (talk) 17:55, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Silverstein is a widely read Jewish  blogger/commentator who blogs on  [Tikkun Olam]. Max Blumental is a well-known online journalist with a detailed Max Blumenthal entry in Wikipedia. The information for the donations by Hagee and associates are both on Bluementhal's site and a suppporter's blog, cited in the entry. I have also added the press reslease from Christians United for Israel, whose founded and national chair is Hagee.Larryjhs (talk) 05:23, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Response to Wiesel's remarks on Jerusalem and Islam
I found a For Jerusalem: Answer to Elie Wiesel response here to Wiesel's claims regarding Jerusalem and Islam.

Would it be good to mention it, especially with regards to his views on the Qur'an not mentioning Jerusalem? Why or why not?

Bless sins (talk) 04:58, 22 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I think it's a very interesting piece that sheds light on the matter. However, as an open letter / opinion piece it is not considered a reliable source vis-a-vis Wiesel.  We would need to see a reliable source that mentions the letter in order to know that the letter is important enough to include here.  Still, I would like to see some sources that critique Wiesel's position.  The tough part is finding ones that fit the encyclopedic standard.  Best, - Wikidemon (talk) 05:48, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

I have added, I think it is in note 46, a long quotation from the Encyclopedia of Islam which is the pre-eminent authoritative scholarly resource, and such can be found in Wikpedia entry. It deals well with Wiesel's literalism--that 'Jerusalem' as a noun is not mentioned, but there are other indications, as the quote from the Encyclopedia shows, that it was referred to and alluded to in other ways- it helps to know a little Hebrew and Arabic--but I hope you can trust this source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Larryjhs (talk • contribs) 08:05, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

His father wasn't shot (WWII section)
New to editing, so sorry for any unforeseen improprieties. The article says "On January 29, 1945, just a few weeks after the two were marched to Buchenwald, Wiesel's father was shot by a Nazi as he was suffering from dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion." This is sourced to a movie. Elie Wiesel's own book on the matter, "Night," at the end of chapter 8, says "The officer dealt him a violent blow on the head with his truncheon." Also, this blow happened on the 28th, not the 29th. Mr. Wiesel then woke up on the 29th in the bunk above his father to find that his father was taken sometime during the night and carried to the crematory, possibly still alive.

In the same section, there is a requested citation for Mr. Wiesel's ID tattoo. Elie Wiesel wrote about this in "Night," near the end of chapter 3. Tried adding a source directly to the article, but it didn't stick for some reason.

Mattchuuu (talk) 07:38, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Columbus
Is Wiesel or Wiesenhtal who claimed that Christopher Columbus was a converso?

Language
What language does Elie Wiesel write in: French, Yiddish? Somehow seems not to be an insignificant question and ought to be answered early on. StevenTorrey (talk) 15:20, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Controversy over historical and religious rights to Jerusalem. The last paragraph seems to be an inference or judgment, not clear fact. Who says that Wiesel's view is inconsistent or in contrast to Muslim interpretations? I think a better source is needed. Regards Nutty Professor (talk) 14:30, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

There is a growing underground movement that claims that Elie Wiesel was never in any concentration camp and does not have a tattoo on his left arm as claimed. (In other words, he assumed some one elses identity at the end of the war.) These sources are highly suspect, of course, but their sheer volume of documentation suggests the subject might warrant a sentence mentioning the suspicion. They further claim that Wiesel will not permit his left forearm to be viewed. (Shades of the Kurt Waldheim affair!)Tholzel (talk) 18:58, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Hearing no objections from the other editors, I added the above note to the article, but it mysteriously disappeared! I don't understand--The only (mildly) negative mention and it is secretly removed?Tholzel (talk) 21:41, 9 December 2010 (UTC)


 * The claim was removed because the website you cited this too does not remotely qualify as a reliable source for wikipedia. Please read the relevant policies here: Identifying reliable sources and Biographies of living persons.  This your second questionable entry to the article, the first also citing a blog, which again is not acceptable to reliably source contentious claims about living persons, per wikipedia policy.  Professor marginalia (talk) 22:25, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

I see. So the one thing we won't do is provide readers with any facts that diverge one iota from this hagiography of a living person. Too "controversial.” Of course, I understand. And no matter how well documented these rumors might be, we do not want to offend our readers with any jarring contrary opinions.  Thus, I will specifically not say that some might mistake this for simple censorship, no matter how much that might appear to be the case.Tholzel (talk) 01:39, 10 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I've replied to your talk page. Professor marginalia (talk) 02:52, 10 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, someone wrote, "These sources are highly suspect" - i.e. unreliable, so that is more than enough reason not to use them. Slrubenstein  |  Talk 20:26, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

I have seen a recent resurgence of websites alleging that Weisel has no concentration camp tattoo, that the number he alleges actually belonged to a relative, etc. Evidently there is no photo on the internet of a tattoo on Weisel, and one (grainy and indistinct) photo of his left sleeve rolled up that does not show a tattoo. I would VERY MUCH like someone to address this matter in a straightforward way. Sussmanbern (talk) 22:05, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

Nationality
I'm confused. How does someone born in Romania end up being described a "French-Jewish novelist" and included in the infobox for Hungarian American.


 * Please sign all posts with four tildes ~ . I believe that the French nationality was adopted later in his life, when he found a home there after the war. Rudy Breteler (talk) 20:12, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

How the hell is he considered an "American" ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.199.7.85 (talk) 06:28, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

How the "hell" is he American?? Ummm...Perhaps having been a citizen for fifty-five years. That may just have something to do with it. Was that a serious question?? (24.62.126.170 (talk) 06:02, 6 September 2010 (UTC))


 * He may very well have the French citizenship. At the end of WWII, when the death camps were liberated, tens of thousands of children were left orphans. Many were so young, they didn't know their last name, where they were born, etc... Despite the horror in the camps, the kids were still kids and they teamed up in small groups as any other children would do. They older ones would rear and take care of the younger ones. As these kids came from all over Europe and they often spoke different languages, they would end up "learning" (automatically) whichever language allowed them to communicate fluently. This is how, at the end of war, many children arrived in France, simply because they knew a few words of French and it was assumed that they were French. I'm *not* claiming that this is Wiesel's case. One thing is for sure, after the war, thousands of orphans arrived in France. They were placed in public institutions and research for their families were launched. Many never found their family and they grew up in France thereby automatically acquiring the French citizenship.


 * I do however know that Elie Wiesel's wife is a French citizen (by birth). If I remember correctly, she also is a survivor. But I might be wrong on this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.57.12.119 (talk) 00:27, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * He's French because he grew up after the Holocaust in France; he's American because he's an American citizen; he's Romanian because he grew up in Romania; he's Hungarian because his home was part of Hungary between 1940 and 1944 and his father was Hungarian. Nationality is a complex thing. Has he ever made a comment on the matter? It sounds like he considers himself Jewish above all.--Prosfilaes (talk) 15:43, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Simplify second lead paragraph
Currently, the second lead paragraph of the article consists wholly of a single sentence. It's too long, especially since there are multiple quotes encased within. Perhaps the sentence can be broken down into two or more sentences, or rephrased. A NG C HENRUI Talk♨ 10:31, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Copyright problem
This article has been reverted by a bot to as part of a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See the investigation subpage) This has been done to remove User:Accotink2's contributions as they have a history of extensive copyright violation and so it is assumed that all of their major contributions are copyright violations. Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. VWBot (talk) 13:36, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Hungarian Newspaper Article
There is a |hungarian newspaper article which reports the testimony of a 100% verifiable holocaust survivor, Miklos Gruner, that Elie Wiesel was not the same person as the Lazar Weisel he knew in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, that he is a younger impostor who assumed Lazar's identity in order to tell the story related in "Night".

Gruner, who knew Lazar in the camp, related that Lazar spoke fluent Yiddish, was 10 years older than Elie, and didn't look much like Elie. Elie does not speak Yiddish, refuses to show his tattoo claiming "modesty", and is notoriously unreliable regarding camp details.

Lazar is certainly the author of the earlier Yiddish prototype for "Night". Considering Elie's overwrought and christian-pandering writing, the factual errors about Auschwitz and Buchenwald, his relentless shameless profiteering, and his lack of Yiddish skills, there's no reason to suspect that Gruner is lying.

A Hungarian newspaper is a reliable source last I checked, and if the notability isn't self-evident, the many links are evidence.38.96.141.82 (talk) 12:48, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Why do you think that he doesn't speak Yiddish? I see no reason to believe he doesn't when there is plenty of evidence stating otherwise. For instance, he spent a few years translating a newspaper from Hebrew to Yiddish. Here's my source for that: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Wiesel.html

Also, someone probably would have gotten him on copyright laws if he stole this guys work and called it his own. Besides, just because this one guy says he never saw Elie, doesn't mean he was never there. They could have been on opposite sides of the camp for all we know, and they don't know everyone by name. 76.19.155.77 (talk) 01:41, 3 April 2011 (UTC)
 * According to the newspapers there will be a legal action about it from January 2012. In HungarianFakirbakir (talk) 16:21, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Nobel prize laureate
Can someone add info about the of his Peace Nobel prize in the info? Just add:
 * awards = [[Image:Nobel prize winner.svg|20px]]
 * The info is already there. Please remember to sign your posts in talk pages with four tildes (~) . -- Alexf(talk) 10:17, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Elie Wiesel Tattoo Controversy
It should be noted that Elie Wiesel has never ublicly shown anyone the tattoo on his arm. Also, the controversy that has grown from that fact by people that are weary of his credibility is worth mentioning. I understand, however, that a large portion of the population that doubts him may be antisemitic. But that fact alone should not be the reason for refusing to include this information in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.99.156.73 (talk) 20:21, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Do you have any reliable sources that discuss this? Jayjg (talk) 20:31, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

Bibliography vs. list of works by Elie Wiesel
I recently changed the List of Works section to a Bibliography section (as I have produced a separate Elie Wiesel bibliography article), and in it, I linked to the new article using information from the original chapter. I later noticed that there is already a Bibliography section which is a mixture of works by Elie Wiesel and works about him by other authors. The works in that list by Elie Wiesel are already listed in the Elie Wiesel bibliography. Following the style of the William Faulkner article, I am going to change the second Bibliography section (list of works about Elie Wiesel) title to "References." This second Bibliography section (now "References") appears to have had some citation issues since 2009 that could use some attention. Yourai (talk) 13:34, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Additional Awards / Honors
Wiesel was awarded the Wallenberg Medal and Lecture from the University of Michigan in 1990. http://wallenberg.umich.edu/wiesel.html

Kitty4777 (talk) 22:00, 23 February 2012 (UTC) 141.211.39.55 (talk) 21:59, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Links in See Also
The_Trial_of_God has an article that should be linked to in the "See Also" section. 75.119.244.23 (talk) 13:47, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Cons the World - question
Some information stating Elie Wiesel is NOT the Lazar Wiesel shown in the Buchenwald, 1945 photo. Anyone to contradict such statements?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=thvoxnTNssM www DOT elie wiesel tattoo DOT com (URL blocked by wikipedia as "spam" ?) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.228.21.35 (talk) 10:00, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Some information stating Elie Wiesel is NOT the Lazar Wiesel shown in the Buchenwald, 1945 photo. Anyone to contradict such statements?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=thvoxnTNssM www DOT elie wiesel tattoo DOT com (URL blocked by wikipedia as "spam" ?) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.228.21.35 (talk) 10:00, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

I propose that the article be amended with a section indicating the claim of Jewish camp survivor Miklos Gruner, that Elie Wiesel is a fake. http://www.haon.hu/hirek/magyarorszag/cikk/meg-mindig-kiserti-a-halaltabor/cn/haon-news-FCUWeb-20090303-0604233755 Acorn897 (talk) 15:58, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

photo
that clearly isnt Wiesel in the photo.

Ethnicity Jewish?
Shouldn't that say Romanian? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.64.104.4 (talk) 05:52, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Actually he came from Hungary. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Acorn897 (talk • contribs) 16:01, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

RfC
An RfC: Which descriptor, if any, can be added in front of Southern Poverty Law Center when referenced in other articles? has been posted at the Southern Poverty Law Center talk page. Your participation is welcomed. – MrX 16:40, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

where is the section on his anti-german bigotry
You got a couple days to add it, or I do.68.115.53.79 (talk) 15:31, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

The "Lazar" surname
I have removed an edit concerning the hungarian surname by 84.1.207.210 (His other contributions were removed by other people)

This is a complex issue since :

- I do not know what is the hungarian version of Eliezer but :

- Lazar (name) is not the same surname than Eliezer (not same biblical origin, not same meaning)

- Why should the hungarian (?) version be mentioned without source (??) anyway.

- The town of Sighet where he was born has changed from Hungary to Romania several times (but was romanian when Elie Wiesel was born) and its name changed also several times.

- Lazar is the surname under which Elie Wiesel (registration number A-7713) was filed at Auschwitz. Along with a clearly wrong birthdate. But with his birthplace written indeed in hungarian : Máramarossziget

- There is a controversy because of that filing. Google for "Stolen Identity Gruner Miklos".

Therefore, the issue has to be handled with great care.

Azeturf (talk) 18:55, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

The body article states that the subject was born in Transylvania, then a principality of Hungary, but the introduction states he was born in Romania. This is an anachronism. I will correct this, and would appreciate any comments here. Leegee23 (talk) 16:27, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Transylvania was NOT a principality of Hungary in 1928. At the time it was part of Romania (since Dec 1918). Actually, for most of its even medieval history, Transylvania, although ruled by Hungarian families, was an independent state. Maintaining its independence even during the ottoman occupation of Hungary after the battle of Mohacs (1526) and its transformation in "pashalic", (ottoman province).

On a different topic, I do remember reading a "criticism" paragraph of this article in 2011, disappeared ever since. Frankly I think this affects the historical objectivity. Supermaverick (talk) 14:50, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Chairman of the Council of Ir David (El'ad) settlers organization
Elie Wiesel has been heavily misled by those who lured him to become the chair of this shady organization that is mainly active in driving Arab families out of homes in the Palestinian village of Silwan. It is well known that many Arabs (from the neighborhoods of Katamon, Talbia, Bak'aa, Abu Tor, Beit Mazmeel, Deir Yassin and others, all now in West Jerusalem) left their homes as a result of Israel's war of independence during 1948-9, homes which were subsequently inhabited by Jews. Similarly, many Jews had to leave homes in several neighborhoods that had more (The Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem) or less (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah and others) Jewish inhabitants, in what became the Jordanian part of Jerusalem, and was inhabited by Palestinians. The results have been painful to both sides. But now, the settlers of El-AD Ir David Foundation are pushing to reverse this in a single direction. They ,together with the settlers of Ateret Cohanim are some of the most vicious Jewish settlers groups, creating day by day provocative situations by pushing Jewish families to the midst of a huge Palestinian neighborhood and raising the tension by bringing heavily armed security guards and police to deter and to threaten the locals. With their claiming of "Jewish property" in Silwan, they open wide the historic wounds and provoke Palestinians to reclaim the other neighborhoods of Jerusalem that they lost in 1948-9 and the whole of pre-1967 Israel. If Successful, this might lead to the destruction of Israel, which now Wiesel currently helps, being unaware of the daily tensions and clashes brought by Ir David actions. If Professor Wiesel supports Israel's existence, he should renounce the organization of Ir David, that disguises its real aims and actions by pouring enormous amounts of money into archaeological works which are not their main interest. He should therefore resign ASAP from that shady position that causes continuous clashes and turmoil. The Director of Ir David, David Be'eri, has been personally involved in an incident that became famous due to the photo and video of him hitting with his car children who threw stones at him. The involvement of Wiesel with Ir David Foundation will only provoke more clashes in Jerusalem.רסטיניאק (talk) 04:18, 30 May 2013 (UTC)רסטיניאק

Bernie Madoff loss
The bio states that Wiesel lost his life savings in the Madoff fraud, but that can't be true because the trustee has been able to find billions. I don't know the exact percentage, but I thought the recovery rate is set to be something like 50% or more. I know that there Madoff victims can sell their rights to recovery to hedge funds who are intereted in buying the rights, and as I last recall, they are offering something north of 40%. So this has to be changed - he didn't lost his life savings - he lost maybe 40% or 50% of his life savings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Betathetapi545 (talk • contribs) 21:22, 11 June 2013 (UTC)

Where can I find the 80th birthday party photo?
The one held in the Imperial Hotel in Paris, which had been Nazi headquarters, during the occupation of France. This photo captures the essence of 'payment, as much as possible, for war debt.' It was featured as a video in a PBS special, since 2010, I believe.24.253.253.251 (talk) 15:24, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

Wiesel and Iran
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/19/elie-wiesel-urges-tougher-sanctions-against-iran-in-full-page-ads-in-wsj-nyt/ Check This link ,similar to his Ads Regarding Jerusalem Wiesel pushes Likud political Positions,when The Obama Administration tries to defuse an issue This Could be added as Recent activities--2003:51:CD87:E670:FD99:A7B7:C167:32D6 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:39, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

KBE?
Does anyone have a source on this? The only mention I can find of it (other than sites that are clearly getting it from Wikipedia), is this CNN page: [//www.cnn.com/2013/04/09/us/elie-wiesel-fast-facts/] saying he received the honorary knighthood in 2006. However, the british gov't page listing these only goes back to 2013 [//www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honorary-british-awards-to-foreign-nationals] and the only other archive I found [//www.thegazette.co.uk/awards-and-accreditation/notice?end-publish-date=2007-01-01&includesupplement=1&text=Elie&start-publish-date=2006-01-01&categorycode-all=all&results-page-size=10] seems to have no mention of him. He's not listed at any of the wikipedia articles listing the recipients, so no sources there either. &#8213; Padenton &#124;&#9993;  13:24, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Miklos Gruner
there are claims that Elie Wiesel had stolen the story of a man named, Miklos Gruner. Gruner claims that he is the man in night and that Wiesel is a fraud. Im amazed that there is no section in that regard. Even if the rumors regarding Gruner are false (which i believe they are), it should still be discussed here. --67.80.63.219 (talk) 02:58, 9 April 2014 (UTC) I am responsible for the comment. I had forgotten to log in. --MarcusPearl95 (talk) 03:01, 9 April 2014 (UTC)
 * This canard spread by denialist websites and circles has already been discussed in the past (see archive page) and there is no reason to waste more time on it. --Lebob (talk) 15:24, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

I have no idea what you're talking about, but WP:FRINGE theories by no significant sample of the population are not something to be included in WP articles. Also, WP:NOTGOSSIP&#8213; Padenton &#124;&#9993;  18:04, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Criticism
There is so much criticism about Elie Wiesel, some even say he is a fraud (ie. the relation between the tattoo number "A-7713" and Miklos Grüner) so why aren't there a criticism section. Seems many other people have that section, why not here. Snowonweb (talk) 12:10, 15 January 2014 (UTC)


 * Drmies removed my additions: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elie_Wiesel&diff=658764800&oldid=658764648, saying that: "The point of these somewhat random citations is entirely unclear. please explain on talk page." It is pretty clear, considering the section I put them under.

My additions to the controversies section are as follows. In 1968 Wiesel himself wrote of his writings, stating that:

"“What are you writing?” the Rebbe asked. “Stories,” I said. He wanted to know what kind of stories; true stories. “About people you knew?” Yes, about people I might have known. “About things that have happened?” Yes, about things that have happened or could have happened. “But they did not?” No, not all of them did. In fact, some were invented from almost the beginning to almost the end. The Rebbe leaned forward as if to measure me up and said with more sorrow than anger: “That means you are writing lies!” I did not answer immediately. The scolded child within me had nothing to say in his defense. Yet, I had to justify myself: “Things are not that simple, Rebbe. Some events do take place but are not true; others are – although they never occurred.”''"


 * In April 1987, French historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet, commented that:

""Rabbi Kahane, the Jewish extremist, is less dangerous than a man like Elie Wiesel, who says anything that comes to mind. [...] You just have to read parts of Night to know that certain of his descriptions are not exact and that he is essentially a Shoah merchant [... Wiesel] has done harm, enormous harm, to historical truth."


 * In 1997, French historian Jean-François Forges, when referring to Wiesel's description of baby burning in pits at Auschwitz, stated that:

""The presence of such a pit on the ramp, within full view of the arriving deportees, is impossible. Blueprints of the area where the ramp was located, the American aerial photos, other [eyewitness] testimonies, the Germans' intention to keep the deportees in a state of calm and illusion as long as possible, all these elements invalidate this scene." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.188.112.2 (talk)


 * It's not clear at all. I read through the first one twice and I'm still not sure what it's saying. 2 is some random historian's personal opinion. 3 is also another random historian's opinion. If 3 is true, there's sure to be a reliable source that proves it. &#8213; Padenton &#124;&#9993;  01:39, 23 April 2015 (UTC)


 * To my mind, the quote by Vidal-Naquet and Forges are ok to include but not the former (Wiesel's own writing). I don't know in what context such remarks are made, but juxtaposing the former and the latter makes it out that Wiesel deliberately makes up things. For such a charge, we need a reliable source who gives this conclusion. (Naquet says it roughly, so just include it, instead of making an editorial intervention like this.


 * Perhaps write something like: "Wiesel's writings have sometimes been criticised for being historically inaccurate. Naquet says so and so. And Forges says so and so." Kingsindian &#9821;&#9818; 08:40, 23 April 2015 (UTC)