A special visit from Elie Wiesel

Mr. Wiesel travelled in early from New York to address the students at assembly Monday morning. The gym was packed, as Trustees, parents and guests were in attendance for this special assembly.

Mrs. Riley introduced Mr. Wiesel as "a survivor, a witness, a journalist, novelist, teacher and a statesman. He is the author of more than thirty books, including The Night Trilogy, A Beggar in Jerusalem, and a two-volume memoir: All Rivers Run to the Sea and The Sea is Never Full. Of The Night Trilogy Mr. Wiesel said: 'If I had to rewrite these three books today, I would not change a single word.' Mr. Wiesel has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States Congressional Gold Medal, the French Legion of Honor and, in 1986, the Nobel Peace Prize."

Mr. Wiesel took to the podium and started his address by saying he has often been asked to speak of the Holocaust. But for him to recount his experience appropriately he would need hours, days and more to do so, and since he only had a half hour to speak to the students he wanted to talk of hatred and indifference as the cause of great injustices in the world.

"The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.

The opposite of peace is not war, it is indifference.

The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it is indifference.

The opposite of education is not ignorance, it is indifference.

the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference," Wiesel said.

He urged the students never to treat other human beings with indifference or hatred. By learning from the mistakes and human atrocities of the past, the Holocaust should never happen again. Though still there are continued acts of genocide committed around the world, with the tragedies in Rwanda and Darfur as evidence. He also spoke of his experience in coming to America in the 1950s and the hatred and racism he found in the South, which was reinforced by racist laws. "For the first time in my life, I felt shame. I felt shame at being white. I never felt shame at being Jewish."

Mr. Wiesel told the students his advice and council are often sought by world leaders, including George Bush before going to war with Iraq. He was called to meet with Condoleezza Rice, the former national security adviser, and the former President in the White House. Mr. Bush asked Wiesel what he should do to eliminate the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Wiesel advised the President to go into Iraq "James Bond" style, to send the best covert operatives to diffuse the WMDs without any loss of human life. "You can see how they listened to me," Wiesel said.

After his address to the students, Mr. Wiesel was met by roaring applause and a lengthy standing ovation, followed by a question/answer session. As 9:00 approached, Mr. Wiesel released the students from assembly with "Off to Class." A large group of students and teachers reconvened with Wiesel and Mrs. Riley in the lower Library for two periods of discussion and questions. The room overflowed with every seat and portions of the stairs filled, as eager ears gathered to hear more of Mr. Wiesel's experience and infinite wisdom. Mr. Wiesel's visit was truly inspiring and eye-opening, and the energy was felt on campus for the rest of the day.

For more information on Elie Wiesel and The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, visit http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org.

To see coverage of Elie Wiesel's visit by the New Haven Register, visit the NH Register website.