Elie Wiesel Quotes

What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. Not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are responsible for what we do with those memories

The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Indifference creates evil. Hatred is evil itself. Indifference is what allows evil to be strong, what gives it power.

Even in darkness it is possible to create light.

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.

To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.

All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior.

Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.

Every moment is a new beginning.

Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.

Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.

Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to life as long as God himself

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.

Today, as yesterday, a nation is judged by its attitude towards refugees.

The philosophers are wrong: it is not words that kill, it is silence.

Life is not a fist. Life is an open hand waiting for some other hand to enter it.

In order to fly, you have to give up the ground you are standing on.

A destruction, an annihilation that only man can provoke, only man can prevent.

I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people has such an obsession with memory.

Why is war such an easy option? Why does peace remain such an elusive goal? We know statesmen skilled at waging war, but where are those dedicated enough to humanity to find a way to avoid war

One person of integrity can make a difference.

Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.

In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see.

Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.

Will you join me in hearing the case for keeping weapons from those who preach death to Israel and America?

I write to understand as much as to be understood.

Think higher, feel deeper.

We are all teachers, or should be. Anyone who relays experience to another person is a teacher. Not to transmit your experience is to betray it.

Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.

There is much to be done, there is much that can be done... one person of integrity can make a difference.

Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.

When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.

In the word question, there is a beautiful word - quest. I love that word.

Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

For us it's not easy to be conformist, I cannot stand to be conformist, I don't accept what it is, I like to say no. If I see an injustice I scream.

Once upon a time refugee meant somebody who has a refuge, found a place, a haven where he could find refuge.

Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming.

Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love.

I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest. Sometimes I've been closer to him for that reason.

Emphasis must be put on learning: there is no substitute to education. It can be briefly formulated in a few words: always, whatever you do in life, think higher and feel deeper.

An indifference to suffering makes humans inhuman

To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.

Education in the key to preventing the cycle of violence and hatred that marred the 20th century from repeating itself in the 21st century.

You’re shaking … so am I. It’s because of Jerusalem, isn’t it? One doesn’t go to Jerusalem, one returns to it. That’s one of its mysteries.

Once you bring life into the world, you must protect it. We must protect it by changing the world.

Peace is our gift to each other.

Mankind needs peace more than ever, for our entire planet, threatened by nuclear war, is in danger of total destruction. A destruction only man can provoke, only man can prevent.