Journalist Hernán Feler Wins the 2023 Simon Wiesenthal Award

December 5, 2023

“He brought the fight against terror and anti-Semitism to every home”

Buenos Aires - Since 2021, the Argentine Professional Football League and the Wiesenthal Center have awarded a distinction to anyone in the world of football who highlights the values of the fight against racism, discrimination, xenophobia, terrorism and anti-Semitism.

On this occasion, both institutions awarded the journalist Hernán Feler. Since October 7, at the beginning of the broadcast of each sporting event, Feler repudiated the action of the terrorist group Hamas and asked for the return of each of the kidnapped people, especially his aunt Ofelia. (you can hear his comments here and here.

Little by little, his aunt became everyone's aunt and giving a name and face to each of the kidnapped people caused the public to empathize with the request for their release.

Ofelia's release during the truce in the conflict was received with emotion by everyone in Argentina and Feler promised to continue until the last of the kidnapped returns to his house.

Listen to Feler's Speech

Francisco Duarte, CEO of the LFP, greatly moved by the event, expressed: “For us it is an honor that Hernán belongs to the media and that he has fought to spread the message of peace everywhere. With the people of the Wiesenthal Center we believe that the values that he transmitted are those that we proudly proclaim every time we can detach ourselves for a while from the maelstrom of football organization. Thank you, Hernán, for your example. And thank you Wiesenthal Center for your commitment to highlighting these behaviors.”

“With his commitment, Hernán took the fight against terror and Antisemitism to every home. His message made it clear that terrorism once again hit Argentines, in this case, living in Israel. Fellow citizens were murdered, women were raped, and our people were kidnapped. The youngest of the kidnapped, Kfir Bibas, was only 9 months old when he was taken, he has Argentine citizenship and Hernán asks for his release in each story. He also asks that every viewer be active and not be silent. This makes him more than deserving of the 2023 Simon Wiesenthal Award,” concluded Dr. Ariel Gelblung, Center's Director for Latin America.

For further information, please contact Dr. Ariel Gelblung at +54 9 11 49695365, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).