Hope, Despair and Memory

The Nobel Committee awarded Wiesel the Peace Prize at a time of global tension and widespread violence. Formerly national issues of violence and oppression had become global issues by the mid-1980s. Wiesel, for example, mentions South African apartheid, in which a white minority segregated virtually every aspect of society along hierarchical racial lines. In addition, several Arab nations continued to oppose the creation of the state of Israel with violence in various forms. Some of these events feature in the text, including the Neve Shalom Synagogue Massacre, which took place in Istanbul a few months before Wiesel gave his speech; during a Jewish service, several individuals with guns opened fire on devotees. However, Egypt had become the first Arab state to recognize Israel in 1979, and Wiesel’s speech expresses hope that others would follow. He seeks a neutral position in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemning Palestinian or Palestinian-inspired terrorist attacks while recognizing the Palestinians’ plight.

The Cold War also continued to percolate in the 1980s, even as it neared its end. In the final lines of his speech, Wiesel refers to the possibility of nuclear war between the United States and the USSR. The re-election of Ronald Reagan, who referred to the USSR as the “Evil Empire,” raised tensions between the two powers.