by Laima Žemulienė, ELTA

“Today’s agenda for the meeting of the Goodwill Foundation was connected with Jewish heritage and its use in Lithuania. There are issues, however, which the Goodwill Foundation would like to solve with the Lithuanian Government. These include the rebuilding of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius, a Jewish History Museum in Lithuania, cemetery protection and education, especially Holocaust education. There are issues for which the international Jewish communities can make recommendations, and we are using those recommendations. Many of the people in those communities have Litvak roots. The Goodwill Foundation is in contact not just for allocating monies, but also with international Jewish organizations,” Faina Kukliansky said.

The Great Synagogue which stood on Jewish street in Vilnius was the center of the Jewish community.

“I know there are specific legal considerations which could be used for us to take ownership of that site. Our executive board decided we should go that route. The most important interest for us is how the site will be used, how it will be respected,” Rabbi Andrew Baker said.

Baker said he hadn’t examined in greater detail the issue of a Jewish museum in Lithuania, but said he did know different discussions on the idea were taking place.

“Perhaps the Congress Center could be a site for a Jewish museum, but we didn’t make any decision on that issue in the executive board meeting today. There was agreement the old Jewish cemetery is not the place for a Jewish museum,” Baker said. ELTA understood Congress Center to mean a possible reconstruction of the Palace of Sports building, built in the Soviet era on a portion of the old Jewish cemetery in the Šnipiškės district of Vilnius.

Full story in Lithuanian here.