President Barack Obama listed Elie Wiesel, a Boston University professor of religion and philosophy, as one of the new members to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council on Friday.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was among five Holocaust survivors and human rights activists to be elected to the council by the governing body of the national Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., according to an Oct. 28 White House press release.
“These fine public servants both bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles,” Obama said in the release.
Wiesel served as founding chairman of the council when it was established in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter’s mandate to create a Holocaust memorial, according to the Holocaust Memorial Museum website.
Holocaust activists aim to use the commission to “reach and transform as many human beings as possible,” Wiesel wrote in a report to Carter. “We hope to share our conviction that when war and genocide unleash hatred against any one people or peoples, all are ultimately engulfed in the fire.”
In addition to his work with the council, Wiesel has many White House awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. At BU, his political activism and his critically acclaimed memoir “Night” have earned Wiesel the honor of being the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at BU.
The other appointees for membership to the council included Birthright Israel Executive Committee member Joseph Gutman, American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Chairman Roman Kent, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience member Howard Unger and Rwandan genocide survivor and speaker Clemantine Wamariya.
“Our nation will be well-served by these men and women, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” Obama said.