A Dinner Honoring the 2009 Recipients of the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal

This is a thank you letter dated October 7, 2008, from Marion and Elie Wiesel of The Elie Wiesel Foundation For Humanity to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Wiesels express their gratitude to Senator Clinton for her "beautiful words" shared via video at Elie Wiesel's 80th birthday celebration, held at the 92nd Street Y. They praise her mix of "deep feeling and humor" and thank her for her kindness.

This letter from Brady Forseth, Executive Director of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, invites Mr. and Mrs. Elie Weisel to the 15th annual So the World May Hear Awards Gala on Sunday, July 26, 2015, at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota. The letter highlights the gala's purpose of celebrating the spirit of giving and honoring humanitarians, as well as raising funds to provide hearing aids globally. It mentions previous honorees like President Bill Clinton and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and a list of past performers. The document also reports on the success of the 2014 gala, which raised over $8.7 million and supported providing more than 175,000 hearing aids. The letter concludes by emphasizing the collective effort to make a better world and offers travel accommodations for attendees.

This letter, dated March 20, 1989, is from Barbara Bush of The White House to Elie Wiesel. Bush expresses her regret that she cannot accept the invitation to attend the March 30 benefit dinner for the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. She also states her inability to present the first Humanitarian Award to Madame Danielle Mitterrand, expressing admiration for Wiesel's compassionate philosophy and work. Bush praises Madame Mitterrand's efforts for disadvantaged people worldwide, conveying deep respect and congratulations from herself and the President. The letter concludes with a handwritten postscript where Barbara Bush expresses her personal wish to be with Elie Wiesel and her great admiration for him.

This document is an invitation and program for the 2009 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal ceremony, hosted by President and Mrs. Obama at The White House on Thursday, February 25, 2010. The document lists the recipients of the National Medal of Arts, including notable figures such as Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Maya Lin, Rita Moreno, Jessye Norman, Frank Stella, Michael Tilson Thomas, John Williams, and organizations like The Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The School of American Ballet, along with a brief description of their achievements. It also lists the recipients of the National Humanities Medal, such as Robert A. Caro, Annette Gordon-Reed, David Levering Lewis, William H. McNeill, Philippe de Montebello, Albert H. Small, Theodore C. Sorensen, and Elie Wiesel, detailing their significant contributions to the humanities. The program serves to recognize and honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding impact on American culture, arts, and intellectual life.

Elie Wiesel expresses his regret for not being able to attend the Prix Galien award ceremony in Lyon due to prior engagements in the United States (university courses, conferences, meetings). He emphasizes the importance of the Prix Galien, noting that his friend Bruno Cohen is responsible for the award in France, Israel, and America. Wiesel praises the pharmaceutical industry, whose members fight against human suffering, acknowledging that while life with suffering is inevitable, their work, efforts, and dedication make it tolerable. He references the biblical teaching 'U-baharta bachaim' ('and you shall choose life'), interpreting it as an ideal to always side with life and the living. Wiesel concludes with a personal reflection that a human being is always immortal, even a minute before death, and expresses his gratitude for the laureates' quest.