FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        
 May 19, 2005
 
Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel Keynote Speaker for Jewish Federation of Ottawa's 2006 Campaign Kickoff
 
"I have six million reasons to give up on the world, to give up on any other person, to give up on God, on faith, on religion, on words, and in spite of that, I must have faith in the other person. I must have faith in words, in language. I must have faith in the possibility of every human being to remain human in spite of everything."  - Elie Wiesel.

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Boston University Professor, and author will be the keynote speaker for the Jewish Federation of Ottawa's Annual Campaign Kickoff on Wednesday, September 7, 2005 at Ottawa's Westin Hotel.
 
Professor Wiesel has worked on behalf of the oppressed people for much of his adult life.  His first-hand witnessing of the Holocaust has led him to use his talents as an author, teacher and storyteller to defend human rights and peace throughout the world.

Wiesel's efforts have earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Liberty Award, the rank of Grand Officer in the French Legion of Honour, and in 1986, the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We are thrilled that the esteemed Professor Wiesel is coming to Ottawa for our Campaign Kickoff," says Neil Shinder, the Federation's Campaign Chair for 2006.  "Professor Wiesel is a remarkable individual who has dedicated his life to educating and enlightening the world community to the horrors of oppression and human injustice."

Tickets to hear Elie Wiesel are $18 for adults (including seniors) and $10 for children and students.  Tickets will go on sale in June.  For further information, please contact 798-4696, ext. 227 or www.jewishottawa.com/kickoff06 <http://www.jewishottawa.com/kicloff06>.
 
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 Francine Greenspoon
 Director of Communications and Community Relations
 (613) 798-4696, ext. 255