2008 Woodie Awards
Holocaust survivor accepts memorial academic Chair
Jon Martin
Issue date: 4/2/03 Section: News
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Elie Wiesel, survivor of the Holocaust and award-winning writer and humanitarian, spoke at the naming ceremony of the newly-endowed chair named for him. The ceremony was held on Monday afternoon in Gaston Hall. to establish the Elie and Marion Wiesel Chair in Jewish Civilization in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.
For all of his numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, The French Legion of Honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal, Wiesel began by speaking about the lessons of humility. He said that God pushes men away by covering them with honors. He then thanked his wife, Marion, for whom the chair was also named.
The chair was endowed by Thomas J. Ernest and his wife, Joanna Ernest. Thomas Ernest is a recipient of fourteen years of Jesuit education, including a degree from Georgetown Law School. He was an intelligence officer in the Air Force, an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, and for the past two years has been running and managing his own "health care-related" business. Joanna Ernest is working toward a master's degree in Judeo-Christian studies from Seton Hall University.
Wiesel won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner and currently teaches at Boston University. He is a native of Romania and survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. After the war he became a journalist in Paris and has authored over 40 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including his best-known work, Night.
After earning the Nobel Peace Prize he began the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity to protect and advance human rights around the world. Wiesel also played an important role in helping create the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and has earned literally hundreds of awards for his services to peace and good.
Wiesel discussed the importance of having a chair in Jewish civilization, and praised Georgetown for embracing very rich cultural tradition. He claimed, "Culture is a bridge, friendship is a bridge and education is a bridge." He hoped that anti-Semitism would be scrutinized closely, because the roots of hatred can be blurred or forgotten. He then discussed the importance of critically examining the complex and often harsh relationships which have formed between Jews and Catholics in the past. He said he hoped that this new chair will shed light on the history of hate and help break the tradition of violence and bloodshed. He then expressed hope by saying that Jewish-Christian relations are better right now than they have ever been in history.
For all of his numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, The French Legion of Honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal, Wiesel began by speaking about the lessons of humility. He said that God pushes men away by covering them with honors. He then thanked his wife, Marion, for whom the chair was also named.
The chair was endowed by Thomas J. Ernest and his wife, Joanna Ernest. Thomas Ernest is a recipient of fourteen years of Jesuit education, including a degree from Georgetown Law School. He was an intelligence officer in the Air Force, an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, and for the past two years has been running and managing his own "health care-related" business. Joanna Ernest is working toward a master's degree in Judeo-Christian studies from Seton Hall University.
Wiesel won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner and currently teaches at Boston University. He is a native of Romania and survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. After the war he became a journalist in Paris and has authored over 40 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including his best-known work, Night.
After earning the Nobel Peace Prize he began the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity to protect and advance human rights around the world. Wiesel also played an important role in helping create the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and has earned literally hundreds of awards for his services to peace and good.
Wiesel discussed the importance of having a chair in Jewish civilization, and praised Georgetown for embracing very rich cultural tradition. He claimed, "Culture is a bridge, friendship is a bridge and education is a bridge." He hoped that anti-Semitism would be scrutinized closely, because the roots of hatred can be blurred or forgotten. He then discussed the importance of critically examining the complex and often harsh relationships which have formed between Jews and Catholics in the past. He said he hoped that this new chair will shed light on the history of hate and help break the tradition of violence and bloodshed. He then expressed hope by saying that Jewish-Christian relations are better right now than they have ever been in history.