US House approves resolution honoring Elie Wiesel

WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives on Monday unanimously approved a resolution honoring the life and work of Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and prolific writer who died July 2 in New York at the age of 87.

The resolution “reaffirms Elie Wiesel’s efforts to preserve the memory of those who perished and to prevent the recurrence of another Holocaust, to combat hate and intolerance in any manifestation, and to never forget and also learn from the lessons of history.”

Three members of the US Holocaust Memorial Council — Representatives Steve Israel, Patrick Meehan and Ted Deutch — introduced the resolution.

“After surviving one of the darkest moments in history, he spoke up and offered a voice to the voiceless,” Israel said on the House floor before the vote. “He offered hope to people without hope.”

People embrace outside the Fifth Avenue Synagogue during the funeral for Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel on July 3, 2016 in New York. (AFP PHOTO / KENA BETANCUR)

Last month, a Jewish organization in the former Soviet Union inaugurated an exhibition in Moscow on Wiesel’s life.

Titled “Elie Wiesel, from Sighet to Moscow via France and Israel,” the show was opened by Limmud FSU, which organizes Jewish learning conferences in over a dozen countries with large populations of Russian-speaking Jews.

Prominent figures from Russian Jewry, including the country’s two chief rabbis, Berel Lazar and Avraham Shayevich, attended the opening at the Israeli Cultural Center. The display features dozens of photos from important stations in the life of Wiesel,