The following statements were released by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin following the petira of Elie Wiesel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 2 June 2016), issued the following statement on the passing of Elie Wiesel:

PM Binyamin Netanyahu

“The State of Israel and the Jewish people mourn the passing of Elie Wiesel. Through his unforgettable books, moving words and personal example, Elie personified the triumph of the human spirit over the most unimaginable evil. Out of the darkness of the Holocaust, Elie became a powerful force for light, truth and dignity. His life and work were a great blessing to the Jewish people, the Jewish state and to all humanity.

I feel fortunate to have known him and to have learned from his prodigious wisdom. On behalf of all the people of Israel, Sara and I send condolences to the entire Wiesel family. May the memory of Elie Wiesel, a towering spirit who taught us all to remember, be forever blessed.”

President Reuven Rivlin

President Rivlin this evening spoke of his sadness on the passing of Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. He said, “Tonight we bid farewell to a hero of the Jewish People, and a giant of all humanity. Elie Wiesel, of blessed memory, embodied the determination of the human spirit to overcome the darkest of evils, and survive against all the odds. His life was dedicated to the fight against all hatred, and for the sake of man as created in the image of G-d – he was a guide for us all. One of the Jewish people’s greatest sons, who touched the hearts of so many, and helped us to believe in forgiveness, in life, and in the eternal bond of the Jewish people. May his memory be a blessing, everlastingly engraved in the heart of the nation.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)