The Lithuanian Jewish Community, the elite chess and checkers club Rositsan and Maccabi invite young and old to  LEARN AND PRACTICE PLAYING CHESS.

Chess masters and experienced trainers will conduct the lessons. There will be tournaments and simultané, where one player takes on a group of opponents. Lessons to be held twice per week. Entry is free.

The first lesson and meeting will take place at 6:00 P.M. Wednesday, September 18, 2015 in the Jascha Heifetz Hall at Pylimo No. 4 in Vilnius.

Please register with FIDE master Boris Rositsan by telephone at 8 655 43556 or by email at INFO@METBOR.LT. Registration is open until September 16, 2015.

Association “Shamir” and Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust museum invites you to visit the exhibition “Missing Identity” of the artist Silvia Levenson. The exhibition will open on September 9 and will last until September 27. The exhibition is devoted to the problem of militarization. Silvia Levenson wrote:
“I was part of a generation that fought to change an unjust society in which military dictatorships and short civil governments alternated. In March 1976 the military made their last and bloody military coup. I was 19 years old and in August that year my daughter Natalia was born. She is the same age that other young people whose identity the military stole. With unprecedented cruelty pregnant prisoners were killed after giving birth to their children and newborns were illegally given up for adoption.
In Missing Identity I investigate the space these children, today adults, have left in their original families and the society.

Dear readers,

You are coridally invited to attend the events of European Jewish Culture Days in Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer), Lithuania on September 6.

The Jewish Heritage of Žiežmariai: A Bridge from the Past to the Future

September 6, 2015, Žiežmariai, Kaišiadorys region

PROGRAM

12:15 – 1:00 P.M. Honoring the memory of Holocaust victims at the Jewish mass murder site at Bačkonys village (access from the Vilnius-Kaunas highway at the 60 kilometer mark)

1:00 – 1:30 P.M. Registration, viewing the exhibit (Žiežmariai Cultural Center, Vytauto street No. 13)

1:30 – 1:45 P.M. Opening of seminar, keynote speech

1:45 – 3:30 P.M. Seminar lectures (to be delivered in Lithuanian):

• Rolandas Gustaitis “Žiežmarių žydų bendruomenės istorija” [“History of the Jewish Community of Žiežmariai”]
• Olijardas Lukoševičius (Kaišiadorys Museum) “Žiežmarių miestelio istorija” [“History of the Town of Žiežmariai”]; presentation of exhibit
• Dr. Vilma Karvelytė-Balbierienė (Architecture and Urban Planning cathedral, Kaunas Technological University) “Žiežmarių urbanistikos ir architektūros paveldas” [“The Urban and Architectural Heritage of Žiežmariai”]
• Dr. Rasa Bertašiūtė (Lithuanian Folk-Life Museum) “Žiežmarių medinės architektūros išsaugojimo galimybės” [“Prospects for Preserving Žiežmariai’s Wooden Architecture”]
• Presentation and discussion of preliminary results of the project to study and renovate the Žiežmariai synagogue by the state enterprise Lietuvos paminklai [Lithuanian Monuments]

3:30 – 4:00 P.M. Discussion

4:00 – 5:00 P.M. Tour of Žiežmariai

PARTNERS:

Kaišiadorys regional administration, Kaišiadorys Museum, Lietuvos paminklai, Lithuanian Folk-Life Museum

PROJECT FINANCED BY:

The Cultural Heritage Department under the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture

The Goodwill Fund

This time the Israeli Embassy invites everyone to the bicycles ride in a beautiful Vilnius! Accompanied by the slogan “Have fun, safe ride” we will ride in the streets of Vilnius dressed in specially for this event designed T-shirts. In the end of the trip we will taste apples with honey: to meet the upcoming Jewish new year.

More info at Facebook

The mayor and active citizens of the region of Kaišiadorys (Koshedar) are calling for more people to volunteer their time and labor to clean up the old Jewish cemetery in Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer) on Friday, August 21. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky invites members of the community and especially youth to take part in the effort. Tools will be provided.

Work begins at 10 A.M. and those who want to go should contact the Lithuanian Jewish Community by 5 P.M. on Thursday, August 20.

for more information, see: Facebook Event 

According to the Lithuanian newspaper and website Lietuvos žinios [News of Lithuania], the town of Žiežmariai is first mentioned in the historical sources in the 14th century and received charter rights as a city in 1792. Besides the Old Jewish Cemetery, the town has other attractions such as buildings surviving from the 16th century, a monumental neo-Gothic church and a unique wooden synagogue from the 19th century. The Old Jewish Cemetery contains hundreds of burials witnessing to the bustling Jewish life there until World War II, when almost all remaining Jews of Žiežmariai were murdered.

The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum and the Embassy of the United Kingdom to Lithuania

kindly invites you to the opening of the exhibition

„Scots Jews: Identity, Belonging and the Future“,

 photographs by J u d a h P a s s o w.

The opening reception will take place on the 25th of August, 2015, at 5.30 p.m.,

at the Tolerance Center (Naugarduko Str.10/2, Vilnius).

 A unique and contemporary photography exhibition on Scottish Jewish life from world-renowned documentary photographer Judah Passow, brought for the first time to Lithuania.  The exhibition, from 2013, captures the complexity and diversity of Scottish Jews at the beginning of the 21^st century.  The Scottish Jewish community dates back to at least the 1700s and has produced scientists and doctors, judges and Members of Parliament, artists and writers, farmers and foresters, kilt makers and whisky distillers! The story of this community and how it maintains its traditions, while fully embracing Scottish culture is a fascinating one.

Come and see for yourself this fascinating and powerful exhibition at the Tolerance Centre in Vilnius from 25 August until the 5th of October, 2015.

Producer of the Exhibition Michael Mail. 

You are invited to attend a concert by klezmer musicians to take place at 5:30 P.M., Thursday, August 6.

Klezmer Klangen is a group performing traditional Jewish klezmer music and songs in Yiddish inspired by the ineffable beauty of Jewish ethnic music. Professional musicians who make a living from their musical performances and teaching activities make up the band, a group united by more than just music: in real life they’re a family:

Dainius the father on clarinet;

Rasa the mother, vocals, contrabass, piano;

Saulė, daughter, violin, vocals;

Ramunė, daughter, violin, vocals;

Dovydas, son, vocals, percussion;

Jovita, aunt, accordion, vocals

 Dear all,

Please read, follow updates and leave your messages, suggestions, requirements concerning Jewish Culture Days in Zagare on September 9-11 on the special site:

http://zagare-jewish-culture-days.weebly.com/

Also, press Like and follow the news and related things on the event‘s Facebook account –THERE

 And THERE

6:30 P.M., July 5, 2015
The women’s choir Naama from Israel will perform a free concert
for the Lithuanian Jewish Community and friends.

The concert will take place in the Jascha Heifetz Hall on the third floor
of the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street No. 4, Vilnius.

You’re invited!

The Kaunas Jewish Community is planning to hold an event to commemorate the Lietūkis Garage mass murder at the monument commemorating these victims located at Miško street No. 1 in Kaunas at 4:30 P.M. on Friday, June 26, 2015. The ambassador and staff of the embassy of Israel to Lithuania plan to attend the event. You are invited to come as well.

Litvak Artists: the L’école de Paris period

For the first time in its institutional existence the Lithuanian Jewish Community is planning to hold an educational “en plein air” outdoor painting workshop called “Litvak Artists: the L’école de Paris period.” The workshop will serve as a forum for remembering the rich legacy of Litvak painters and their contributions to art history. It is to include members and friends of the community with an interest in art. Besides painting, the workshop will also feature drawing and ceramics.

“The Lithuanian Jewish Community includes many people with an interest in art. That gave rise to the idea of bringing all of them together and to bring in professional artists as well, to create a special creative atmosphere, to remember famous Litvak painters and to share our rich artistic history,” Junona Berznitski, the initiator and coordinator of the educational workshop, said.

The “en plein air” workshop is to take place at the Ilanka farm (http://www.ilankossodyba.lt) in Šaukšteliškiai village in the Luokesa rural district in the Molėtai region of Lithuania, surrounded by nature and far from the dust and daily routine of the city.

In light of the current wave of unrelenting attacks against Israel’s legitimacy, we the undersigned organizations have joined together to hold a rally in support of Israel.
To all who hold dear the value of human rights and democracy we call you to join us on June 29th between the hours of 12:00 to 15:00 in Geneva at Place des Nations.

Israel is the stronghold of democracy in a region where this basic value is threatened on all fronts. Today hegemony and radicalism threaten to thwart the fervent desire of all the people of the region for a better life, a thriving economy and stable and democratic governance.
At this critical time Israel’s legitimacy is being threatened on many fronts, the right to defend itself is being challenged and false allegations are being leveled in order to divert attention from true abuse of innocent civilian populations.

It is urgent for all to rally together in solidarity and show the world that we will not let agents of terror cynically abuse organizations such as the UN as a platform to wage political war against Israel and manipulate public opinion.

Your presence is urgently needed. Join us and make your voices heard.

>>FB event

Partner Organizations :

Dear Friends,

You are kindly invited to meet the Ambassador of the State of Israel Mr. Amir Maimon.

The meeting will take place in Vilnius Jewish Public Library, Gedimino pr. 24, Vilnius,

on June 18 at 3:30 PM

The main topic of the meeting is Operation Solomon where Mr. Amir Maimon took immediate participation as the Chief Campaign Coordinator (bernardinai.lt).  Operation Solomon (Hebrew: מִבְצָע שלמה, Mivtza Shlomo) was a covert Israeli military operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1991. Non-stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft, including Israeli Air Force C-130s and El Al Boeing 747s, transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours.  (Wikipedia)  The Jewish Community was threatened by the arising political and military destabilization in the country.  A historical documentary to be screened during the meeting

New York Times about the successful campaign:

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/26/world/ethiopian-jews-and-israelis-exult-as-airlift-is-completed.html

Looking forward to see you in the library!

RSVP by e-mail: info@vilnius-jewish-public-library.com ; or phone call: (8-5) 219 77 48

The Lithuanian Jewish Community, corporation number 190722117, located at Pylimo No. 4 in Vilnius, Lithuania, calls a conference of the Lithuanian Jewish Community at 12 noon on June 16, 2015.

Planned agenda for the LJC conference:

1. Annual financial report of the LJC for 2014 and report and discussion of LJC activities in 2014;

2. Presentation and discussion of audit report;

3. On additions to LJC regulations.

We warmly welcome all LJC members’ attendance at the conference. A more detailed agenda can be viewed at the LJC headquarters.

For additional information, please call (8 5) 2613 003.

Fainia Kukliansky, LJC chair

Announcement in Lithuanian for >>download