Even as she readies to leave Congress after more than two and a half decades there, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., is calling for a bust of Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and writer, to be included in the Capitol.
Ros-Lehtinen paired up with U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., to unveil the legislation towards the end of last week. Over the weekend, Ros-Lehtinen, the dean of the Florida delegation and the first female Hispanic Republican to serve in Congress, announced that she would not run again in 2018.
“Having just marked the first Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, since Elie Wiesel passed, we are reminded of the importance of his mission: sharing the memory of the Holocaust so that we can all bear witness,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “A statue or bust in the Capitol would memorialize him and ensure that we continue to share his story and remind ourselves that, as he said 'our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.' I am pleased to join Steve and so many of our colleagues in introducing this bill to pay tribute to a great man and his legacy.”
“Elie Wiesel was one of the greatest moral forces in the world,” said Cohen. “He is a member of that rare group of people who have had a major individual impact on our world, such as Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. I met Elie Wiesel when I was a Tennessee State Senator when he was being honored at Vanderbilt. It was particularly special for me to meet Elie Wiesel as he was the inspiration for my passing legislation to create the Tennessee Holocaust Commission in 1984. The addition of a bust of Elie Wiesel to the U.S. Capitol, visited by Americans and people from around the world, would be most appropriate as Elie Wiesel spent his life urging all people to never forget the Holocaust. A bust of Elie Wiesel will honor a great man and will further serve to remind us all to never forget. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen during the week of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I urge my colleagues to commission this statue to honor a brilliant, pure, honest, and courageous man.”
After decades of speaking about the Holocaust and writing more than 50 books, Wiesel passed away in July.
Ros-Lehtinen and Cohen rounded up more than 40 other members of Congress to cosponsor the proposal including U.S. Reps. Peter King, R-NY, and John Lewis, D-Ga. From the Sunshine State, Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Democrats U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch, Alcee Hastings and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are backing the proposal.
