UNLV undergraduate Ian Jankelowitz was honored Dec. 4 at New York City's Harvard Club for placing third in the annual Elie Wiesel Ethics Prize Essay Contest. Noted author and Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel presented Jankelowitz with his award and a $1,500 scholarship.
Jankelowitz's essay, "From Oppressed to Oppressors: The Ethical Issues of Post- Holocaust Jewry in Apartheid South Africa," was selected from 582 entries submitted by students from more than 400 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.
In his essay, Jankelowitz explores the role that post-holocaust Jews played in the persecution of the black population in apartheid South Africa. The essay can be read in its entirety at .
A native of Sydney, Australia, Jankelowitz is currently a junior pursuing a double major in music education and art history. He was also recently named a recipient of a UNLV University Forum Fellowship.
The annual essay contest is sponsored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, an organization designed to advance the cause of human rights and create forums for discussion and resolution of urgent ethical issues. The essays were judged on the basis of depth of feeling, originality, eloquence, intensity, and unity. The panel of judges for the contest included Wiesel, who is currently a professor of humanities, philosophy, and religion at Boston University.
