Opinion  Nahum Barnea
Elie Wiesel: Why should I be president?
Nahum Barnea
Published: 01.06.14, 11:31
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29 Talkbacks for this article
1. Yeah....the great Eli Wiesel would
Israeli 2   (06.01.14)
be a real fitting president for Israel. He would be writing more books all day long, never be seen as if Israel has no president. Bibi wants him because he would fit the mold of Peres and Livni. But I guess Wiesel is as smart as Einstein was.
2. If Bibi says Good Morning open window see if sun is shining
miki ,   tampa   (06.01.14)
3. would have been great choice
Larry ,   LA (formerly)   (06.01.14)
Weisel would have been a very smart choice: he is not into Israeli politics, he is respected by all, Jews and non Jews, religious Jews and anti-religious Jews and all in between. I feel sorry for us that he did not accept.
4. 86 years young and counting...
ASTRONAUT ,   SC, USA   (06.01.14)
No disrespect to Elie, but for goodness sake: at 86 he needs to take on the tsouris of a high visibility political post? Surely there are HUNDREDS of young Israeli men or women, who have served in the IDF, who have had their boots on the ground for their entire lives, who would stand tall as qualified Presidential candidates. AM YISRAEL CHAI!
5. He should have asked :"Why not?"
Ayala ,   Israel   (06.01.14)
Couldn't he contribute in anything anymore?
6. #2
(06.01.14)
Insult Netanyahu if you must, but he is not so bad. Everyone agrees that Shamir was Israel's last great PM, but let's compare Netanyahu to his competitors. Sharon, Olmert, Barak all vie for "most corrupt PM in Israeli history", and each one had stupid policies that led to more than 1000 dead people. We do not know if they are personally corrupt, but Rabin and Peres brought us "stinking deal", "propellors", Shas and Goldfarb. As for wars, although during their regime less than 1000 people died, they set the stage for Olmert, Sharon and Barak.
7. Wiesel is smarter than Bibi.
Saba Avraham ,   Netivot area   (06.01.14)
Elie Wiesel is a very wise man to say no, Bibi was using him.
8. What a difference - blackmail of article and its subject...
Miron ,   USA   (06.01.14)
Peres won't be forgiven for his legal murder of Katzav to grab powers he shouldn't have craved in the first place.
9. Snake!
Robert Haymond ,   Teko'a, Israel   (06.01.14)
Bibi is a "snake"; he's our "snake" but a "snake" nonetheless. He manipulates; he shifts from end to end; he placates; he antagonizes; he crawls underground and then reappears suddenly and strikes. He is superb at all the foregoing. The only thing Bibi doesn't do well is lead. He neither inspires nor creates confidence in our ability to survive and subsequently thrive. In other words, he is an expert at being mediocre. Eli Wiesel had him pegged; Eli Wiesel is much the superior man.
10. #6
sharon ,   israel   (06.01.14)
Bibi is one of the worst prime ministers this country has ever had. Shamir wasn't far behind. Bibi does nothing, is a liar, not trustworthy and whatever he says can't be believed the second after it comes out of his mouth. The country is running in spite of him and not because of him. He is weak and bringing the country to a one state solution with an Arab majority. Anyone is better than him! I'd vote for Mickey Mouse before him.
11. Likud, are you listening? BIBI MUST GO!
Chaim ,   Israel   (06.01.14)
Barnea is a radical leftist, who seldom has anything worthwhile to say. This time he does. Likud, are you listening? Bibi was so determined to stop a loyal Likudnik from being Israel's president, that he tried to recruit an American for the job!! Bibi disgraced Israel many times by freeing terrorists, racist building freezes etc. Bibi caps off this horrid performance with an attack not only against Rivlin. But against Likud itself. BIBI MUST GO!
12. Maybe because you're one of them, Elie ;) ,... ,...
split ,   US   (06.01.14)
You don't become a multimillionaire living of government grants and handouts unless you're crook ,...
13. Won't miss him, no Sir ,...
split ,   US   (06.01.14)
He lives in New York, made his fortune in US but funds institutions for children in Israel like there're no needy kids in US - Welcome to Jewish definition of loyalty and and sense of gratefulness to the nation that provided him with asylum and roof over his head. It can't get any more Jewish than that, no sir ,... There're tens of thousands of needy children of dead and maimed soldiers his neo-con homies sent to fight wars in M. East if you happen to miss it.
14. How to be a good President
PaulD ,   Jerusalem, ISrael   (06.01.14)
and why Peres wasn't. 1) Don't promote Oslo 2) Don't promote co-existence with Arabs who are addicted to Jew hate. 3) Don't pretend the US gives a damn about a 'Jewish Homeland', or any other Western nation. 4) Have Israel's interest in mind, not your own.
15. #8
sharon ,   israel   (06.01.14)
That is about the dumbest thing I've read in a long time.
16. Wiesel
Steve Gure ,   Coconut Creek USA   (06.01.14)
As A holocausty survivor, I see eli Wiesel as nobody special. He is in my opinion no friend of Israel.
17. @3
Mathilde   (06.01.14)
"would have been a very smart choice: he is not into Israeli politics" Excusez moi, i do not understand your logic. It is politics. Unless you believe Shimon Peres is a philosopher lol Ps: all my respect to all the candidates In contest, but i still believe Dalia Itzik is great to represent Israel Presidency Shavua Tov, Shalom
18. #10
(06.01.14)
I gave a very brief explanation why Netanyahu was far better than most Israeli PMs. In response, you make a backhanded slap at Shamir who defeated PLO, saved the economy, and almost brought peace, make 8(!) ad hominem attacks, with zero substance. Your response is straight out of Alinsky's Leftist playbook and proves what psychiatrists say about Leftists.
19. the real problem is: which else behind-the-curtain actions
Aaron   (06.01.14)
the gang is cooking; and people [not honest like Elie Wiesel] say yes we do and what happens than with our Jewish Homeland... american colony and finished ?!
20. TODAY'S WINNERS ARE:
Israeli 2   (06.01.14)
#9: Robert Haymond #10: Sharon #11: Chaim Congratulations to you. Remain vigilant and active. Israel is changing.
21. #10. No Arab majority in The Israeli Solution.
Chaim ,   Israel   (06.02.14)
#10. You've been reading too many "Palestinian" and leftist hoaxes. Arabs are a declining majority in our land. Both Israeli and American studies prove this. Israel must also cut off lunatic support for Fictional Palestine and help "Palestinians" leave.
22. Israel's future president
Harold ,   USA   (06.02.14)
Eric Cantor is the best choice to take over from Peres because of backing Israel from all angles.
23. Fully Agree Eli Wiesel Ethicist and Historian
Zechariah   (06.02.14)
Eli Weisel is a Historian and Ethicist and not into Parties and Politics .He is Proud there is a Jewish State within its Ancient Boundaries that is Militarily Strong but is not responsible for Representing every Israeli Policy .
24. Elie Wiesel for president of Israel
Judy Doryt ,   Israel   (06.02.14)
He is a very brave and good man but, you can't become a president overnight because BB doesn't want an other Israeli! Go on doing your work in Amerca and the world. Let someone, who has lived here and gone thru the growing pains and wars. There are several other good choices in Israel, men or women!
25. #21. Arabs are declining minority in our land.
Chaim ,   Israel   (06.02.14)
I made a mistake in post #21. I meant Arabs are a declining minority in our land. Moreover, Judea and Samaria belong to Israel, make Israel viable and are huge demographic assets for Israel.
26. Read my lips, 'Natan Sharansky'!
Joseph ,   London England   (06.02.14)
27. #6
sharon ,   israel   (06.02.14)
Your answer is so typical of the "righties". Anyone who doesn't agree with you is crazy or whatever. You are a sad and pathetic lot.
28. Elie Wiesel
ARTH ,   Gotham   (06.05.14)
in 1948, the distinction between "Jew" and "Israeli" was more ambiguous. After all, most of the leaders of the new state were born and raised in Eastern Europe and spoke Yiddish, just like their counterparts who had emigrated to other places in the world. Bibi is not quite an Israeli either, having grown up in the USA and speaks English like an American and even Hebrew in a not quite Israeli way. The draw for him to be an Israeli is more than to be merely an Israeli, it is to be a leader of "The Jewish People" and herein is his crisis. Bibi was hoping to find a way to bring the issue of Israel back to the post-war survivor of the Holocaust narrative, a Jewish narrative rather than an Israeli narrative. Away from "occupation" and "settlements" and the "peace process" and back to the existential threat of "The Jewish People" which for him always means Iran. To return the automatic congruence between "Israel" and "The Jewish People" which has been obfuscated over these past years. He thought that would raise his own prestige and the significance of his message and why not use Elie Wiesel to do just that?
29. Additional Point...
ARTH ,   Gotham   (06.05.14)
.and force him, now that he would be embedded in Israeli politics, to force him to support his positions.
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