Announcements

LJC Children’s Clubs Re-Open

The children’s clubs of the Lithuanian Jewish Community will hold a ceremony September 16 to open the new fall season.

Children and parents are invited to attend the Dubi -Mishpakha Club for children aged one-and-a-half to four at 10:30 A.M. on September 16 in the Dubi Club on the first floor.

The ceremony for the Dubi Club, for children aged 4 to 6, and the Ilan CLub, for children aged 7 to 12, will be held at 2:00 P.M. on the third floor.

The program includes games, a lottery, Rosh Hashanah treats and more and will be directed by our great team of counselors.

For more information contact Sofja at +370 672 57540 or sofja@lzb.lt

Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue

Program for Rosh Hashanah at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius

Sunday, September 9

7:00 P.M. Mincha/Maariv, holiday prayers, kiddush, buffet

Monday, September 10

9:30 A.M. Shacharit (morning prayer)

12:00 noon blowing of the shofar

12:30 P.M. Musaf (prayer)

6:00 P.M. Tashlich (prayer by the river at Bokšto street no. 9, Vilnius)

6:30 Rosh Hashanah celebration: blowing of the shofar, presentation of new calendar for 5779, holiday meal

8:43 P.M. Maariv prayer

Tuesday, September 11

9:30 A.M. Shacharit

12 noon blowing of shofar

7:00 P.M. blowing of shofar

American Virtuosi Return for Concert Tour

The American Virtuosi are back in Lithuania for another series of concerts. They are to play a concert to celebrate the 120th birthday of Righteous Gentile Jonas Paulavičius in the Great Hall at the Catholic Theology Faculty of Vytautas Magnus University, Gimnazijos street no. 7, Kaunas, at 5:30 P.M. on September 10, 2018. Admission is free and the event is being supported by the US embassy in Vilnius, the Goodwill Foundation, the Lithuanian Jewish Community and others.

At 5:30 P.M. on September 11, 2018, the virtuosi are set to play the Panevėžys Art Gallery in Panevėžys, Lithuania. Price of admission is 2 euros.

Statement Regarding False Information in the Media on Protection of Jewish Cemeteries and Mass Murder Sites

The Lithuanian Jewish Community (LJC) is disappointed to report that the text “On the Old Jewish Cemetery Located at Žalgirio street no. 3 in Šiauliai” containing false information was posted on social media and sent to official representatives of the Lithuanian state on August 29, 2018. The text was signed by representatives of the Šiauliai District Jewish Community, the Panevėžys Jewish Support Association, the Kaunas Jewish Religious Community, the Klaipėda Jewish Community, the Ukmergė Regional Jewish Community, the Klaipėda Jewish-Judaic Religious Community and the Vilnius Jewish Community.

The text, among other things, claims a court has found the LJC leadership to be illegitimate. The LJC notes there is no court decision which found the LJC leadership was elected illegitimately. The intentional propagation of this text with false information harms the LJC’s reputation, insults the Jewish people and possibly violates article 154 of the criminal code of Lithuania, and the LJC reserves the right to defend its interests in the manner prescribed by law.

The text also takes a position on the protection of Jewish heritage. In reply, the LJC notes that over many years of consistent cooperation with the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (hereinafter Committee) official positions and assessments have been provided on issues surround the protection and maintenance of Jewish cemeteries and mass murder sites. The cooperation which has come about is founded on the high competence, expertise and experience of the Committee and is beneficial in the attempt to insure the protection of Jewish heritage and to insure that all conservation work would meet the requirements of Jewish law. The state and municipal institutions engaged in protection of Jewish heritage sites also need the expertise and judgment which the Committee provides.

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European Days of Jewish Culture 2018

Everyone who’s interested is invited to attend European Days of Jewish Culture. For several years now European Days of Jewish Culture are held beginning on the first Sunday in September. The theme for the next year is chosen as soon as the Days have concluded so that organizers have time to prepare. This year the theme is “Jewish Stories” allowing for broad interpretation and broad public education on Jewish heritage with a special emphasis on true stories, jokes and visual work.

The story-telling tradition remains current in the Jewish collective memory. Stories come from the Torah, and there is a rich oral tradition from the shtetlakh. Stories is an inclusive theme which offers a number of opportunities. All European Days of Jewish Culture coordinators are free to choose and propose their own topics and organize this interesting event. This is what the Lithuanian Jewish Community is offering this year:

September 2

2:00 P.M. Richard “Sco” Schofield’s installation “Back to Shul” at the Zavel and Levinson synagogue, Gėlių street no. 6, Vilnius

September 6, LJC

3:00-5:00 P.M. The Bagel Shop Café invites you to come learn how to make challa. Registration: goo.gl/bstFEC

6:00 P.M. Presentation of the 5779 LJC calendar

September 7

4:00-5:30 P.M. Concert by Vitalijus Neugasimovas, Gėlių street no. 6, Vilnius

September 9, Leipalingis, Lithuania

11:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M. The Bagel Shop Café presents Jewish dishes on the eve of the Great Autumn Holidays, Leipalingis manor square, Leipalingis, Lithuania

Q&A on Ceremony for Writing of New Torah

What you should know about the ceremony at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius for writing a new Torah to be held Tuesday, September 4, at 6:30 P.M.

1. What are we celebrating?

The unique beginning of writing a new Torah for the first time since World War II. A sofer with special calligraphy skills will write the new Torah on parchment with a special quill and special ink. It will take about a year.

2. Who may participate in the ceremony?

All Jews, men, women and children.

3. How do I participate?

Come to the synagogue at 6:30 P.M. Tuesday.

4. How much does it cost to participate?

It’s free.

5. How does the ceremony work?

Each person individually or with their family may join the sofer and write a letter on the new Torah scroll. The sofer will also write your name on a piece of parchment which you may take home as a keepsake.

6. Where will the new Torah go when it’s written?

It will be used at the Choral Synagogue.

Pope Francis to Honor Holocaust Victims in Vilnius

According to the Lithuanian Government’s planning committee for the visit of Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church will honor Holocaust victims in the Vilnius ghetto after returning from Kaunas on September 23.

On September 23, 1943, the final destruction of the ghetto took place. In Lithuania September 23 is marked as the Day of Genocide of the Jews of Lithuania.

Sugihara Week in Kaunas to Include Japanese Culture Component

Sugihara Week celebrations and events will take place in Kaunas from September 3 to 9 this year and will include concerts, a symposium, film screenings, lectures, creative workshops and other events. Visitors will learn more about Japanese culture and friendship between Lithuania and Japan.

The program begins Monday, September 3, with a concert called “Improvisational Music” performed by Japanese and Lithuanian musicians at the Kaunas State Philharmonic.

On September 5 an international symposium called “Diplomats Who Saved Jewish Lives” will be held in the Small Hall at Vytautas Magnus University with speakers from Israel, the USA, Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

More information in Lithuanian here.

Please Help

Dear Community members,

Today we ask for your help for a single mother raising four children, a client of the LJC Social Programs Department.

The family needs a computer for the children to do schoolwork. They also have no television and go to the neighbors’ to watch news. They have a washing machine which they have taken good care of, but it is already 13 years old. The mother is worried it will break down any moment and she doesn’t know where to wash her children’s clothes and bedding if it does.

The family lives in an old house which lacks utilities and infrastructure.

If you or someone you know can help this family by donating a used or new computer, television or washing machine, please contact Rashele, program coordinator for the Family Support Program of the LJC’s Social Programs Department, by telephone at 8 652 13 146 or by email at asheles@sc.lzb.lt

We are extraordinarily grateful for your active support. No good work goes unnoticed!

Endowment Fund of the Good Will Foundation

By a decision of the Board of Directors of the Good Will Foundation, funds that have been set aside from the annual payments by the Government to the GWF will now be invested as allowed under the law and according to the recommendations of the Good Will Investment Committee. The Investment Committee (Daiva Gerulytė, Harold Paisner, Krzysztof A. Rozen and Rokas Grajauskas) has proposed equally dividing these funds (now approximately 9 million Euro) between passive, long-term investments and an active investment portfolio managed by a reputable financial advisor. The goal of this Endowment Fund is to provide for the continued support of Lithuanian Jewish communal life once the annual payments have ceased. The Investment Committee will continue to monitor the progress of this investment strategy and recommend changes when and if necessary.

Events to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Destruction of the Vilnius Ghetto


Programme

September 18

2:00 P.M. Reading of the names of prisoners of the Šiauliai ghetto, library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Žygimantų street no. 1 (time subject to change)

September 21 

3.00 P.M.  Ceremony to unveil memory stones commemorating Lithuania’s Righteous                   Gentiles, Garden of the Missionaries, Mairono street.

September 22

6:00 P.M. Premiere of the play Ghetto, Kaunas National Drama Theater, Laisvės prospect no. 71

September 23

10:00 A.M. Reading of the names of Vilnius ghetto prisoners, Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39
12 noon Readings from the diary of Yitzhak Rudashevski in the former ghetto (location to be announced)
2:00 P.M. Commemoration ceremony at the Ponar mass murder site, Ponar Memorial Complex, Agrastų street
* Pope Francis to honor Holocaust victims in ghetto territory in Vilnius Old Town
6.00 P.M. World Premiere by Giedrius Kuprevičius “Under David’s Star”, Vaidila Theatre, A. Jakšto street no. 9

September 26

6:00 P.M. Tenor Rafailas Karpis, pianist Darius Mažintas and poet Sergejus Kanovičius present “Embrace the Past Tense.” Can Yiddish and Lithuanian meet under one roof? Is it possible to recognize a lullaby if it is sung in unknown words? Is dialogue possible between those singing in Yiddish and those reading their work in Lithuanian? Can love, longing and shared grief meet in memory? The Old Arsenal, Arsenalo street no. 3

September 27

6:00 P.M. Evening of Vilna Ghetto songs by Marija Krupoves, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4

September 28

Commemorative Sabbath, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4

October 4

6:30 P.M. “Heroism against Destruction,” an evening of creativity by Nechama Lifshitz Ensemble (Israel) dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Theater Hall, Vilnius University, Universiteto street no. 3

For more information write info@lzb.lt or call +370 672 40942

Court Order to Hand Documents Over to Vilnius Jewish Community Invalidated

The Vilnius Jewish Community has been involved for some time now in trying to demand through the courts certain documents–namely the membership rolls of the Vilnius Jewish Community and a collection of financial accounting documents–from Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, who served as chairwoman of the Vilnius Jewish Community as well until May of 2017.

The annual reporting and election conference of the VJC on May 25, 2017, resolved not to consider the agenda item of confirming the VJC financial and activities report for 2016, and the new VJC leadership was elected without giving account to VJC members of the use of funds in 2016. The new leadership of the VJC was obligated, of course, to take on all functions in connection with managing VJC financial and membership issues.

It remains unclear on what basis and for what motivations the new VJC leadership attempted to demand from LJC chairwoman Kukliansky a signed draft of the VJC’s financial accountability if it wasn’t considered and confirmed at the May 24, 2017, conference by those who drafted it, now the leadership of the VJC executive board. Currently a portion of the membership of the VJC are also challenging in court the legitimacy of that conference’s decisions.

On June 6, 2018, the Vilnius City District Court issued a decision ordering Kukliansky to turn over to the plaintiff the list of members of the VJC and the draft financial accounting statement for 2016. On July 31, 2018, the Vilnius City Regional Court annulled this decision, stating the lower court had misapplied procedural legal norms and had failed to take into account all the circumstances of the case. It was noted the alleged lack of the outdated list of VJC members and financial accounting draft documents didn’t present any objective barriers to the current VJC leadership in carrying out institutional activity.

Announcement

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky receives visitors from 10:00 A.M. to 12 noon on Wednesdays. Community members and other interested parties should register beforehand with LJC secretary Liuba Šerienė by telephone at (8-5) 261-3003 or +370 685 06900.

Regarding Jonas Noreika

The Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrating this year our 30th anniversary along with celebrations of the Lithuanian independence movement, and commemorating the 75th anniversary of the destruction of the Vilnius ghetto, is concerned by continuing discussions on the commemoration of the memory of Jonas Noreika, aka General Vėtra.

Information has come to our attention demonstrating Noreika was a direct and enthusiastic participant in perpetrating the Holocaust in Lithuania:

a. “…extant documents signed by Noreika for the concentration and isolation of Jews…”

b. On August 22, 1941, Noreika sent a letter to all the aldermen and town burgermeisters [mayors] of the the Šiauliai district for the removal of all Jews and half-Jews from the rural districts, towns and cities to ghettos. This was supposed to be accomplished between August 25 and 29, with Jews also sent to a ghetto in Žagarė. Inventories of property left behind by the Jews was to be delivered to the administrator (Noreika) by August 29. (Lithuanian Central State Archive f R-1099, ap.1, b1,l 156).

c. Noreika administered seized Jewish property. His letter of September 10, 1941, titled “Orders for the Liquidation of Tangible Property of Jews and Communists” was sent to district aldermen and burgermeisters. He wrote a portion of the property (good furniture, rolls of cloth, unused bedding) was to be preserved until a subsequent order on their allocation, a portion was to be sent to schools, rural districts, post offices, shelters, hospitals and other institutions, and a portion was to be used for victims of the war, to be sold at auction. Farm inventories were to be rented out to temporary tenants. Monies generated from the sale of property was supposed to be sent to the treasury of the Šiauliai district administration (Lithuanian Central State Archive f. R-1099, ap. 1, b. 1, l 239). On December 3, 1941, the burgermeister of Žagarė reported to the head of the district of Šiauliai (Jonas Noreika) on progress in dealing with Jewish property seized (Lithuanian Central State Archive f. R-1099, ap. 1, b. 9. 136-137).

This information proves Noreika collaborated with the Nazi regime and contributed to the persecution of Lithuanian Jews, and this person can in no way be portrayed as a Lithuanian hero.

We believe the Lithuanian people, now celebrating 100 years of statehood, are mature enough to accept the whole of historical facts and the state is capable of accepting responsibility for this public display of disrespect to historical truth.

The LJC is concerned that until now a commemorative plaque to Jonas Noreika is still displayed prominently on the outer wall of the library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in central Vilnius. According to the information available to us regarding the circumstances of erecting this plaque, it seems it was done illicitly, without regard to standard procedures used in such instances.

It doesn’t surprise us that the director of the Adolfas Damušis Center for Democracy (Adolfas Damušis was a minister in the pro-Nazi Provisional Government of Lithuania in 1941 and a member of the leadership of the Lithuanian Activist Front), Vidmantas Valiušaitis, has undertaken a defense of Noreika in the public sphere.

The active and systemic apologetics for the anti-Semitics actions of the Lithuanian Provisional Government and the LAF have misinformed and desensitized the Lithuanian people, degrade Lithuania’s reputation and have become a stimulus for the development of propaganda campaigns by states not friendly to Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community asks the institutions responsible to take quick action to solve this political, ethical and legal problem and to pay due respect to the victims of the Holocaust. We are asking for the plaque to Noreika to be taken down before the Lithuanian Day of Remembrance of Jewish Victims of Genocide on September 23.

Bima Found at Great Synagogue Site in Vilnius

The international team of archaeologists from the USA, Canada, Lithuania and Israel working at the site of the former Great Synagogue in Vilnius have located the central feature of the synagogue, the bima, as well as the outer back wall and part of the synagogue floor.

The bima is the central feature of synagogues. It is the platform upon which the rabbi reads the Torah and leads prayer, to which and from which the Torah scroll is taken from the Ark and returned to it.

The bima at the Great Synagogue site was discovered directly under the Soviet-era school built over the site in 1958.

The archaeological dig has been going on for several years and is currently being led by Israeli Antiquities Authority archaeologist Dr. Jon Seligman and Lithuanian archaeologist Justinas Račas. The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Goodwill Foundation are supporting the dig.

Earlier non-invasive archaeology revealed the presence of the mikve, or ritual bath, complex on the northern side of the site. Digging revealed multi-colored floor tiles and green oven tiles. It is believed to be a male mikveh based on historical documents.

The press and the public are invited to visit the site at 2:00 P.M. tomorrow, Thursday, July 2018, located at Vokiečių street no. 13A (formerly ulica Żydowska or Žydų gatvė no. 6) in Vilnius to get a better look at this unique site and the discoveries made there.

The archaeological group, Vilnius mayor Remigijaus Šimašius and Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky are scheduled to attend the press conference, among others.

Contacts for further information:

Dr. Jon Seligman: seligman.jon@gmail.com

Zenonas Baubonis and Justinas Račas: z.baubonis@gmail.com

Monika Antanaitytė, LJC: telephone +37067240942, info@lzb.lt

Chess Tournament

A chess tournament will be held at the Lithuanian Jewish Community at 11:00 A.M. on Sunday, July 29. Tournament director: FIDE master Boris Rositsan. The tournament is open to the public. For more information and to register, call 8 655 43 556 or send an email to info@metbor.lt

Lithuanian Jewish Community Asks Pope Francis to Remember Holocaust Victims in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Jewish Community values the upcoming visit to Lithuania by His Holiness Pope Francis as an important gesture of recognition and an historic event as our country celebrates 100 years of independence this year.

The Pope’s visit coincides with the National Day of Remembrance of the Genocide of the Jews of Lithuania, September 23. Seventy-five years ago on this day the final liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto was carried out: men, women, children and the elderly were deported to concentration camps in Poland, Germany, Estonia and Latvia and sent to the Ponar Forest to be shot. The destruction of the Vilnius ghetto is a symbol of the Holocaust in Lithuania. This tragedy not only cost thousands of Lithuanian residents their lives, but also ruined the great intellectual potential of society and deprived us of an important part of the identity of our state.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community calls upon the Lithuanian public and the leaders of global Jewish and Catholic communities and organizations to join us in asking Pope Francis to pray for the lives lost in the Holocaust and for the Righteous Gentiles of Lithuania, and to remember the innocents unfairly condemned and murdered at the Ponar Memorial Complex Jewish mass murder site on September 23, 2018.

Association of Italian Jewish Communities president Noemi Di Segni has called upon Pope Francis to commemorate victims of the Holocaust during his visit to Lithuania on September 23.

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Alanta Synagogue Hosts Memory Exhibit

by Vaidotas Žukas, Bernardinai.lt

Jews constituted the majority of the population of the towns of the Molėtai region before World War II. In 1941, however, the Nazi regime issued a verdict against the Jews, the descendants of David were to be abused, tortured and shot… And only God knows how many people from this beautiful lake country contributed to the rescue of their neighbors and vice versa, informing upon them, betraying and shooting them. The Nazis only sent a few Germans to Molėtai. Lithuanian lowlifes performed all of the arrests and shootings of Jews.

There is a bright side, though, to this tragedy: there were also several hundred rescuers of Jews in the Molėtai area, since it took the conviction, daily work and risk-taking in the face of death of several dozen people to hide and protect one Jew. Respect to them!

The Alanta synagogue is one of only several surviving wooden synagogues in Lithuania; it hasn’t been destroyed and wasn’t burned down, but it’s still not in good order and unrestored. During the Soviet era grain and fertilizer were stored there. The cut-up wooden walls of the synagogue and the tin roof still with bullet holes from the war witness to both the Holocaust and the continuing reluctant position taken towards Jewish religious and historical heritage in Lithuania.

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