Lunch with Elie Wiesel

My life changed on March 30, 2011. I was invited to be one of 20 college students who had the privilege of sitting down to lunch with Nobel Laureate and esteemed author Elie Wiesel. Mr. Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor and the author of "Night," an autobiographical account of the atrocities he and fellow Jews suffered in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. He is a man who has journeyed from a loss of faith in God to become one of the leading scholars on religion and peaceful coexistence.

Recently, Mr. Wiesel was appointed a Distinguished Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, and he spent a week visiting classes in religious studies, history, French, and literature. However, on that Wednesday, Mr. Wiesel sat down with a group of students from the Interfaith Council, Model United Nations team, Disciples on Campus, and the Honors program. Rather than having a scheduled topic, this lunch was special as it allowed students to ask Mr. Wiesel any questions in an open forum. The questions ranged from the situation in Jordan to "If human beings had to give one reason to an alien race why they should not be obliterated, what would it be?" Professor Wiesel took each of these questions in good spirit and a wide smile on his face. As one student stated about what he learned speaking to Professor Wiesel, "life is a series of contradictions — and that's not a bad thing. It leads to questions, and every question leads to still deeper questions. So there's always more to know about everything that happens in life."

When asked about associations between Jews and Germans following the Holocaust, Professor Wiesel explained that there should not be corrective guilt, but also not corrective innocence. Unfortunately, it has been the youth in Germany who have taken on the guilt of their fathers and family members who were members of the Nazi party, and Wiesel explained that the youth should not feel guilty for the deeds of their fathers, but neither should the old feel absolved from their crimes. As Wiesel stated, "Only the guilty are guilty. The children and grandchildren of killers are not killers." Wiesel also explained that while some Germans may have a "negative past," that does not give Jews the right to assume that every German they associate with has a negative past as well. In fact, Jews should actively work together with the young generation of Germans to create an environment that is open and welcoming to people of all different kinds of groups.

Another question Professor Wiesel spent time discussing was a solution to peace in Israel. While the students had a variety of opinions ranging from fixing the education system to interfaith dialogue, Professor Wiesel took the stance that hate must be taken out of the classroom, in both Palestine and Israel, in order to create an environment for the youth which is not based in hate and intolerance. Earlier in his life, Professor Wiesel offered to fund the removal all hate-filled books in Palestine regarding the Jews, and in Israel regarding the Palestinians from the classroom, but he was turned down. Another student spoke of how the stereotype of a constant battle being waged in Israel must be broken. He instead spoke of walking down the streets in Israel/Palestine and being unaware of who was Jewish and who was Muslim. As a Jew he cherished the time he spent haggling in the Arab market, as well as the time he spent with his fellow Jews in Israel. His solution was to bring the two groups together through peaceful discussion and dialogue of a positive past based in coexistence. The president of the Muslim Student Association stated it best, "Jews and Muslims are like brothers. They have such a close bond, but like brothers when they erupt in a bad fight they may not speak for years. Sometimes you just want to yell at them to cut it out and hug already."

I was lucky enough to spend one hour listening and participating in an inspiring dialogue between Chapman students and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. How many people will be able to say that had an experience such as this? I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to dine with Professor Wiesel; it was a luncheon that touched my heart and soul and one I will never forget.