by Canaan Lidor, Times of Israel, June 6, 2023

The decade-long controversy surrounding the Snipiškės (Shnipishok) Jewish cemetery in Lithuania’s capital appears to have reached a resolution: instead of building a convention center atop the burial ground, the Vilnius municipality will turn it into a monument for Lithuanian Jews.

The decision announced Thursday by Lithuanian National Art Museum director and former Lithuanian minister of culture Arūnas Gelūnas puts to rest concerns about disturbing the remains of Jews believed by some to be buried under a Soviet-era building authorities wanted to tear down and replace. The plan set off a highly publicized legal fight between some Jewish community members and authorities and Jewish groups.

“It’s a hugely welcome outcome to a dispute that has been going on for too many years,” Michael Mail, chief executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage non-profit working to preserve such sites in Europe and the Middle East, told Times of Israel Monday.

“We would have liked to see it resolved much sooner,” he added.

Mail’s organization Tuesday published two reports that he described as a road map for municipalities, cultural preservation activists and other players on how to avoid the pitfalls that have turned the Snipiškės cemetery dispute into a protracted and costly saga.

The reports, whose publication date was not connected to the latest development in Lithuania, feature recommendations on how to turn at least 1,700 Jewish cemeteries in seven countries including Lithuania into centers of education about Jewish and local heritage and simultaneously attract tourists and their revenues to those sites to provide locals with an income.

The recommendations include creating regional ties across national borders in neighboring countries to offer tourist packages that combine several Jewish heritage sites. They also recommend cultivating a commitment to Jewish heritage sites in the municipalities where they are located to guarantee an active, constant involvement in preservation efforts.

Full story here.