Ynetnews reports: Elie Wiesel never lived in Israel, but on Sunday the country mourned the death of the esteemed author and Nobel peace laureate as though it had lost a national icon.
A frequent visitor who was fluent in Hebrew, Wiesel was a confidant of prime ministers and a towering cultural figure so revered that two premiers considered nominating him to be the country’s ceremonial president.
His unwavering support for Israel proved divisive at times, with critics arguing that he ignored the Palestinians’ situation and backed Israeli construction in disputed territories.
He also waded into last year’s debate over the nuclear deal with Iran, attending an address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US Congress that angered the White House.
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