Dear readers,

March 11, 1990, meant rebirth for the Jews of Lithuania. When the country regained independence, the surviving Jewish community began to unite. This was the beginning of restoring our ethnic identity, of active ethnocultural life, and finally we all began to talk openly about the Holocaust and the role played by ethnic Lithuanians.

We have rights and freedoms in independent Lithuania. We speak courageously about what isn’t right, and we initiate change. We host guests and we travel. Our children and grandchildren live here and the whole world is now open to them. Our home is here and we are an integral part of Lithuania.

So congratulations and greetings on this holiday which belongs to all of us, March 11.

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community