NOBEL LAUREATE, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ELIE WIESEL AWARDED 2007 KORET PRIZE
Koret Foundation President Tad Taube presented Nobel laureate and renowned Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel with the Koret Prize on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, at a private luncheon at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
With a stated commitment to Jewish life and culture, the Koret Foundation made the award to Wiesel for a lifetime devoted to perpetuating Jewish life. The Koret Prize is awarded periodically to individuals who make extraordinary contributions in areas of interest to the foundation. The 2007 Koret Prize carries a cash grant of $250,000 to the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, established shortly after Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986.
“We are awed and inspired by Professor Wiesel’s tireless and enduring commitment to Jewish survival in every sense of the word,” Taube said. “It is an honor for us to award him with the Koret Prize.”
The author of more than 40 books, Wiesel is best known for the acclaimed memoir Night, an austere and breathtaking account of his experience as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. Wiesel was 15 years old when his family was deported to Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister perished. He and his father were later taken to Buchenwald, where his father died before the camp was liberated in 1945. The latest edition of Night, translated into English by Wiesel’s wife Marion, includes a substantive new preface in which Wiesel reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man's capacity for inhumanity to man.
Last year, Wiesel guided daytime television host Oprah Winfrey on a televised tour of the concentration camp Auschwitz; Night was simultaneously chosen as “Oprah’s Book Club” selection, catapulting Wiesel into the national spotlight anew.
About the Koret Foundation
An entrepreneurial spirit guides Koret in addressing societal challenges and strengthening Bay Area life. Investing in strategic, local solutions, we help to inspire a multiplier effect – encouraging collaborative funding and developing model initiatives.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Koret adds to the region’s vitality by promoting educational opportunity, contributing to a diverse cultural landscape, and bolstering organizations that are innovative in their approaches to meeting community needs.
With our roots in the Jewish community, we embrace the community of Israel, especially through Koret Israel Economic Development Funds (KIEDF); we believe that economic stability and free market expansion offer the best hope for a prosperous future.
At Koret, we understand our responsibility to make an impact – to honor the legacy of our founders, and to find long-lasting solutions that improve people’s lives.
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CONTACT:
SUSAN WOLFE, DIRECTOR
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Ph. (415) 882-7740
Email: swolfe@koretfoundation.org