History of the Jews in Lithuania

Happy Birthday to Fania Brantsovskaya

Happy Birthday to Fania Brantsovskaya

Today we wish a very happy birthday to Fania Brantsovskaya, Vilnius ghetto inmate, Jewish partisan and living eye-witness to the Holocaust in Lithuania.

In the name of the entire Lithuanian Jewish Comuunity, chairwoman Faina Kukliansky extends our birthday greetings:

Dear Fania,

Your strength and tenacity in overcoming the most difficult obstacles and your passion in defense of the memory of Holocaust victims has become an example for all of us and inspire us to exert all efforts that future generations might learn the lessons of the past. We are so grateful to you for this, and wish you health, warmth, love and of course many more years to come.

Mazl tov! Bis 120!

Yom HaAtzmaut Today

Yom HaAtzmaut Today

Israeli celebrates its 76th birthday today on Israeli independence day, or Yom haAtzmaut. Israel’s Memorial Day or Yom haZikaron was marked Monday in Israel, the day of remembrance of all those who have fallen in defense of Israel, including Jewish partisans from Lithuania.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky issued a special greeting for the holiday:

“Today Israel marks Independence Day for the 76th time. It is darkened by the shadow of the lives of thousands of our dear people taken by the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists and our thoughts for the 132 hostages still held in Gaza.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with them, the fallen soldiers and the victims to whose loved ones we send our deepest condolences and support.

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LJC Invites Holocaust Survivors and Veterans to Commemoration Ceremony

LJC Invites Holocaust Survivors and Veterans to Commemoration Ceremony

Last Wednesday Lithuanian Jewish Community programs director Žana Skudovičienė invited so-called was children, now senior citizens, to a commemoration and celebration of the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies in 1945.

As in past years, the LJC invited Holocaust victims and our veterans to celebrate the end of the Holocaust in early May, on Victory Day, celebrated on May 8 and 9.

Participants lit candles in memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the victims of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 and in hope for the safe return of Hamas’s Israeli hostages.

Liba Britanishkina and Samuil Retznik, both now in their nineties but still extraordinarily active, and our centenarians Jewish partisan Fania Bratzovskaya and Aleksandr Asovski, were singled out for special attentions and presented gifts and flowers by LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky who visited them personally.

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Chagall, Ernst and Picasso Exhibit Opens in Vilnius

Chagall, Ernst and Picasso Exhibit Opens in Vilnius

The Museum of Applied Art and Design in Vilnius opened an exhibit of mainly tapestries based on the artists’ sketches and ceramic works by Marc Chagall, Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso on April 25. The exhibit will continue until September 30, 2024. The museum is located at Arsenalo street no. 3A in Vilnius.

Victory Day

Victory Day

May 8 and 9 are celebrated as Victory Day, marking the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany which came into effect at 12:01 A.M. on May 9, 1945, Lithuanian time.

Dig Resumes at Shulhoyf

Dig Resumes at Shulhoyf

Archaeological digs have resumed at the Great Synagogue site in Vilnius this summer. With no local press coverage the team of archaeologists placed blinds around the eastern edge of what was a school and are excavating the fill used to protect the discovery of the bimah made several years ago. In past years South African Litvak Jon Seligman from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Hartford University and biblical archaeologist Richard Freund led the dig. Richard Freund passed away in 2022 at the age of 67.

Yom HaShoah Observed in Lithuania

Yom HaShoah Observed in Lithuania

While air-raid sirens blared in Israel to mark the Israeli Holocaust remembrance day Yom haShoah, in Lithuania a cantor performed kaddish for the dead. Beyond remembering the victims, the day also commemorates the Jewish heroes, the partisans who took up arms against the Nazis in World War II, as well as the prisoners of the ghettos who undertook spiritual resistance, creating literature, art, plays and music, in part laying the foundation for the future Jewish state. This commemorative day has never been more important and meaningful than it is today, where we see daily outbreaks of anti-Semitism around the world. Thank you to everyone who took part in our humble commemoration.

#IzraelioAmbasadaLietuvoje #JAVambasadaLietuvoje #NyderlandųKaralystėsAmbasada #PrancūzijosAmbasadaLietuvoje #VilniausŠolomoAleichemoORTgimnazija

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Bar and Bat Mitzvah Ceremonies

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Ceremonies

Last week the Lithuanian Jewish Community held bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies for young adults from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium under the tutelage of Rabbi Nathan Alfred who arrived from Geneva and Bnei Maskilim founder Viljamas Žitkauskas.

Sholem Aleichem principal Ruth Reches said during the ceremony: “Today’s ceremony is a crucially important step in the child’s life. It is crucial for us as a school to raise your children–although we call them ours sometimes–together, to unify our values, because we spend the most important part of children’s lives with them, the period when they come of age, become adults, from childhood through adolescence. We’ll only find out later how we did. So at school we are surrogate parents, and we love them so much and are so proud of them.

“Children, remember this moment, what you are like now, not just how well you’re dressed, but how spiritually exalted you are. Take this feeling and go with it for the rest of your lives. Whenever you’re tempted to wander from the path of truth, remember this moment, remember your parents and teachers and with what love they looked upon you, and then you’ll realize that behaving badly isn’t for you, it isn’t your level, because you are those we see today and want to see every day for the rest of your lives,” she said.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky congratulated participants as did Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein and the teachers in attendance.

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Lithuanian Constitutional Court Recognizes Anti-Semitic Statements Violate the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania

Lithuanian Constitutional Court Recognizes Anti-Semitic Statements Violate the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania

April 26, 2024

PRESS RELEASE

Statement from the Lithuanian Jewish Community:

Lithuanian Constitutional Court Recognizes Anti-Semitic Statements Violate the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania

The Constitutional Court of Lithuania has ruled that the continuous anti-Semitic statements made by one politician attacking Israel and Lithuanian Jews are a breach of his parliamentary oath and a gross violation of the Lithuanian constitution.

In its decision on April 25 the Constitutional Court acknowledged that through statements posted on his social media platforms, which included derogatory, dignity-diminishing, and mocking descriptions of Jews, inciting intolerance, and belittling the tragedy of the Holocaust, MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis systematically and deliberately demonstrated hatred based on ethnic origin.

Following the decision chairman of the Constitutional Court Gintaras Goda emphasized to gathered journalists that while the constitution provides the right of a person to hold beliefs and express them freely, it prohibits demeaning the dignity of others, violating their rights and demonstrating disrespect or hatred.

This ruling of the Constitutional Court does not by itself trigger any legal accountability (including criminal) for these actions by MP Žemaitaitis. Based on the finding, however, the Lithuanian Parliament may form an impeachment commission which would present its findings, after which members of parliament could vote in a secret ballot whether to revoke Žemaitaitis’s status as an MP.

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Commemoration of Herman Perelstein in Kaunas

Commemoration of Herman Perelstein in Kaunas

A plaque commemorating Herman Perelstein was unveiled in Kaunas Wednesday. He was the celebrated founder of the Ąžuoliukas boys’ choir and would’ve celebrated his 100th birthday last year. Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas, the makers of the plaque and a representative from the city of Kaunas spoke at the unveiling ceremony.

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Plaque Commemorating Herman Perelstein to Be Unveiled in Kaunas

Plaque Commemorating Herman Perelstein to Be Unveiled in Kaunas

The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to a ceremony to unveil a plaque commemorating Herman Perelstein this Wednesday.

Last year we celebrated the 100th birthday of the amazingly talented teacher and professor Herman Perelstein. His Ąžuoliukas boys and young men’s choir became and is a Lithuanian cultural phenomenon.

The plaque commemorating this Lithuanian musical legend was made by Gediminas Pašvenskas and will be located on the building where Perelstein lived, which now houses the Museum of the Amsterdam School, at Vytauto prospect no. 58 in Kaunas. The unveiling ceremony will include a performance by the Varpelis boys’ choir. Everyone is welcome.

Time: 12:00 noon, Wednesday, April 24
Place: Vytauto prospect no. 58, Kaunas

Condolences

We are sad to report the untimely death of Gediminas Kirkilas. Born in 1952, he was a politician, a social democrat, served as prime minister and was a true friend of the Lithuanian Jewish Community. At the heart of the government and in opposition he was instrumental in Lithuania’s efforts to address the enduring injustice of the Holocaust and in compensation payments for lost, destroyed and nationalized Jewish communal and religious property. Our deepest condolences to his many friends and family members.

Evening Dedicated to the Legendary Fania Lewando

Evening Dedicated to the Legendary Fania Lewando

Fania Lewando was a legend of interwar Vilnius, an exceptional personality, an innovator, an excellent cook and an entrepreneur, inspiring thousands of fans even after her death.. An event organized by the Polish Institute and the Lithuanian Jewish Community and held last week was dedicated to her.

A detailed account based on years of research by Magdalena Maślak, a cultural historian and the curator of the Pauline Museum of Jewish History in Poland, painted a vivid portrait of the unusually strong personality of Fania Lewando, and Alessia di Donato, a chef from Rome, an expert in Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisine, prepared risotto with white wine according to one of Lewando’s recipes and revealed all the intricacies of her vegetarian cuisine.

“I am often asked why I became interested in Fania Lewando’s recipes. In fact, I admire not only her dishes, but also her personality. She was an extraordinary woman, brave, active, full of ideas ahead of her time,” says the Italian, who has been living and working in Poland for ten years.

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Culinary Evening

Culinary Evening

You’re invited to attend an evening of discussion, demonstration and sampling of the recipes of interwar vegetarian restaurant owner and cook Fania Lewando. Lewando operated a restaurant in Vilnius with a cult following in the period between the two world wars. Artists and the city elite frequented her establishment. Chef Alessia di Donato originally from Rome will provide samples of dishes made according to the recipes Lewando left us in her cook book. Cultural anthropologist Magdalena Maślak from Poland will also tell stories about Lewando.

Registration is required by sending an email to info@lzb.lt. Everyone is invited to attend.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Thursday, April 11
Place: Bagel Shop Café, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius

Makabi Shooting Comp

Makabi Shooting Comp

The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will hold a pistol shooting competition at the GSKA shooting range in Vilnius this Sunday.

Each competitor gets fifteen rounds with the first five shots as trial shots. The shooter’s score will consist of two scores: trial shots and those which are supposed to count. Although there isn’t any strict allotment of time for each participant, in order to use our time at the shooting range wisely we’ll ask each shooter to spend not more than 3 and a half minutes on the trial shoots and 10 minutes on official shots.

Registration is required by April 12 by sending an email to info.maccabilt@gmail.com. The cost per participant is 23 euros, of which the participant pays 11 euros with Makabi subsidizing the remaining 12 euros.

Time: 10:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M., Sunday, April 14
Place: GSKA shooting range, Mindaugo street no. 43, Vilnius. Entrance from Punsko street.

Lithuanian Makabi Rep at Future Leaders Conference

Lithuanian Makabi Rep at Future Leaders Conference

Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club member Alanas Rynkevičius participated at the Future Leaders forum in Paris from March 28 to 31, a gathering of youth leaders from the various Maccabi organizations throughout Europe.

The forum addressed the topic of anti-Semitism. Other topics, strategies and projects were discussed including the upcoming European Maccabi youth games in London.

Remembering the Kinder Aktion in the Kaunas Ghetto

Remembering the Kinder Aktion in the Kaunas Ghetto

Wednesday evening the 80th anniversary of the Kinder Aktion in the Kaunas ghetto was marked in the Slobodka neighborhood of Kaunas where the ghetto gates once stood. Around 1,700 children and elderly were rounded up and murdered.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said the records for prisoners in the Kaunas ghetto had been lost and it wasn’t known exactly how many people were imprisoned there and murdered.

Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas recalled some children were smuggled out of the ghetto in bags of potatoes.

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Tenth Yortsayt for Simon Alperovitch

Tenth Yortsayt for Simon Alperovitch

This week will mark the tenth anniversary of the death of long-serving chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Simon Alperovitch. Come pay your respects, share your memories and take a look at the documentary film “Aš kažkaip laimingas žmogus” [Somehow I’m a Happy Man] made by Junona Berznicki and Gintarė Zakarauskaitė.

Time: 1:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Place: Third floor, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

For more information, contact Žana at (+370) 678 81514 or zanas@sc.lzb.lt.