Global Celebrities Join to Celebrate Marion Wiesel’s 90th Birthday in Support of Visionary Program Educating and Empowering Ethiopian-Israeli Children

 

                                                   The virtual event will spotlight The Beit Tzipora Centers in Israel, created by Marion and Elie Wiesel as part of their longstanding commitment to civil rights in America and Israel.  

 In celebration of Marion Wiesel’s 90th birthday, The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity (EWF) and Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) will hold a star-studded virtual event with a musical performance by Idan Raichel on January 27, 2021, at 7 PM EST. The celebration, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, will honor Marion’s living legacy, including her visionary work alongside her late husband and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel to establish the Beit Tzipora Centers in Israel. 

The Centers are a key highlight of Marion Wiesel’s more than six decades of social and racial justice work. After arriving in the United States as a refugee in the early 1950s, Marion joined the NAACP, marching for civil rights and speaking out against discrimination in the segregated South. Four decades later, she became deeply involved in supporting the growing community of Ethiopian refugees in Israel. An ardent Zionist, Wiesel wanted to ensure that the Jewish state served as a model of racial equality and equal opportunity. 

The Wiesels founded the Beit Tzipora Centers in the mid-1990s in memory of Elie’s sister Tzipora, who perished in the Holocaust, to support the education of Ethiopian-Israeli children and families and provide opportunities for them to participate fully in Israeli society. The Centers are now managed by WIZO and provide a range of educational services and enrichment programs for over 700 children annually.

“We are thrilled that so many dear friends are coming together to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday and her life’s work fighting intolerance and injustice and supporting education and equality,” said Elisha Wiesel, Marion, and Elie Wiesel’s son. “This event will powerfully convey the life-changing work of the Beit Tzipora Centers — and raise funds to ensure that they continue to thrive for generations to come. There is no 90th birthday present that could be more meaningful for my mother.” 

“As a refugee who spent her childhood fleeing violence and persecution, I learned firsthand the great challenges of finding your footing in a new land. My husband and I founded the Beit Tzipora Centers to provide support and educational opportunity for Ethiopian children and families in Israel. I am honored to spend my 90th birthday sharing the stories of these families — and highlighting the remarkable impact that this program continues to make year after year,” said Marion Wiesel. 

This event is open to the public. More information about how to register or make a donation (and view gift levels) can be found at https://beittzipora.org/.

About The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity: Elie Wiesel and his wife, Marion, established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity soon after he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace. The Foundation’s mission, rooted in the memory of the Holocaust, is to combat indifference, intolerance, and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding, and equality. To learn more, visit: https://eliewieselfoundation.org/

About WIZO: The Women’s International Zionist Organization is a nonparty/apolitical international movement dedicated to the advancement of the status of women, welfare for all sectors of Israeli society, and encouragement of Jewish education in Israel and in the Diaspora. To learn more, visit: https://wizousa.org/

New York Jewish Guide