On June 22 Gediminas Čepulis, the mayor of Joniškis, Lithuania, received a  party of guests: founder of the Šeduva Jewish Memorial Fund Sergėjus Kanovičius, fund director Jonas H. Dovydaitis and a group of Jews from abroad who all came to see how the Jewish heritage is being protected in Joniškis and the surrounding region, and to learn about the land where their ancestors lived.

Guests were given a tour to the Red and the White Synagogues and Joniškis Museum of History and Culture museum specialist Darius Vičas provided a brief overview of the history of the Jews in the local area. He said more than 2,200 Jews lived there before World War I. He also spoke about work to restore the two synagogues and expressed pride in the work already done to restore the Red Synagogue.

More information available in Lithuanian HERE