History of the Jews in Lithuania – Page 8 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

Trudeau Did Invite Nazi After All

Canadian state media outlet Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other Canadian media are reporting Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau did issue an invitation to Ukrainian Waffen-SS solider Yaroslav Hunka to attend an event on September 22, 2023, after all.

Hunka was given a standing ovation at the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa that day. Honoring the Nazi at parliament was widely seen as an insult to Canadian Jews and Holocaust survivors around the world. It also detracted from the Canadian brand as a multi-cultural oasis of tolerance in the world, and shone a light on Canada’s practice of providing haven to Nazi war criminals on the lamb from justice, including the Butcher of Kaunas, Helmut Rauca.

Speaker of parliament Anthony Rota from Trudeau’s own Liberal Party apologized for the incident and took “full responsibility,” announcing his resignation September 26 to take effect on September 27, 2023.

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Interview with LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky

“As the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, I see my greatest assignment as not letting others forget we are Jews, and not letting Jews forget they are Jews,” LJC chairwoman and attorney Faina Kukliansky said in an interview Arkadijus Vinokuras conducted in Lithuanian for the Jewish discussion club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai he founded and leads.

In the interview they discussed Community activities, money, protection of wooden and other synagogues, relations with ethnic Lithuanians, Holocaust and Righteous Gentile commemoration policies and the lack thereof, care for senior citizens including Holocaust survivors, cemetery maintenance, relations between the regional Jewish communities in Lithuania, a new kosher food outlet in Vilnius, anti-Semitism in the EU and Lithuania as well as the Lithuanian bureaucracy, the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum’s new Litvak identity museum and the future. The full interview in Lithuanian can be found below. Duration: 54:20.

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LJC Requests Protection from State after Latest Act of Vandalism

Monday evening security cameras at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius recorded a person who threw a rock at the building and broke the glass above the main entrance. Police were contacted immediately.

This is yet another unprovoked anti-Semitic attack against Lithuanian citizens of Jewish descent reflecting inimical attitudes in society which perhaps have been escalated by anti-Jewish rhetoric in parliament and by propaganda from supporters of the Hamas terrorist group.

The LJC is not a political organization. We are an organization which is concerned with the social and cultural life of the Jews of Lithuania. Among our activities are infant, child and youth clubs and the Saul Kagan Social Welfare Center which takes care of our senior citizens with home-care and activities at the Community. Fortunately enough, when the act of vandalism was committed, there were no passers-by on the sidewalk outside nor people inside where the broken glass landed, and no one was physically hurt. Nonetheless, these sorts of incidents could end very badly. This is by no means the first anti-Semitic attack against Jewish communities in Lithuania. Very recently someone threw stones through the windows of the Šiauliai Jewish Community.

We have also received information concerning Nazi and White Power symbols graffitied on a pedestrian bridge in Vilnius. We contacted the police concerning this as well, since Lithuanian laws forbid the propagation of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, their ideologies and their symbols.

Just recently in January at a meeting held at the European Commission all member-states in a special working group presented progress reports on the implementation of the European Union strategy for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life. We are sad to report this strategy is being implemented very poorly in Lithuania with an ever-growing frequency of anti-Semitic attacks. And, judging from what’s going on in other countries, this is only the beginning of a rising tide of anti-Semitism. Sadly, our state is failing to insure adequate security at important Community sites, including the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius, the LJC, the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius and the Salvija kindergarten where many Jewish families send their toddlers.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community asks the appropriate and engaged public organizations for help in this, and for security from the corresponding state institutions. The situation in other countries clearly shows we are a footstep away from real human tragedy and misfortune.

2024-02-062024-06-25

Youth from around Lithuania Gather in Ariogala to Remember Holocaust Victims

Lithuania’s International Commission for Assessing the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania and the Ariogala gymnasium staged an artistic performance/conference called “Children during the Holocaust” to mark International Holocaust Day last week, with performances and presentations by school children.

Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas told the gathering: “In these times bringing us so much sadness, darkness and hate, one of the strongest sources of hope and comfort that maybe someday someone will learn the painful lessons of history is young people and their teachers, expending their time, energy and creativity not just for achieving good academic results, but also for raising people who are good, who are sincere people, eager to learn, tolerant, civic-minded, who are not apathetic towards the problems and hurtful experiences of the world and other members of society.”

Israeli ambassador Hadas Wittenberg-Silverstein and US embassy deputy secretary and vice-consul William Kendrick attended the event, as did Raseiniai regional administration deputy mayor Mindaugas Tamaliūnas.

2024-02-01

International Holocaust Day in Panevėžys

The Lithuanian city of Panevėžys commemorated International Holocaust Day last Friday. January 27 is the day the United Nations chose for the memorial date as the day when Auschwitz was liberated. About 1.5 million people were murdered at this Nazi concentration camp located in Poland.

Panevėžys deputy mayor Žibutė Gaivenienė, Panevėžys regional administration deputy mayor Edmundas Toliušis, Rožynas community chairwoman Romualda Šerplienė, teachers and students from the Vyturys school and members and staff of the Panevėžys Jewish Community attended and participated in the event.

“Today the entire world commemorates International Holocaust Day. This tragedy during World War II was planned by the leadership of Nazi Germany. Innocent civilians were murdered. The whole world recognizes the Holocaust must not be forgotten. We cannot forget the people who were brutally tortured and murdered. And to those who are trying to erase this from the memory of today’s youth: for shame!” Gennady Kofman said at the commemoration.

2024-02-01

Kaddish in Ponar

Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom performed kaddish at the Ponar mass murder site outside Vilnius on International Holocaust Day last week.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman thanked the Israeli embassy and chargé d’affaires Erez Golan, Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro, young people from the Sholem Aleichem school and all members of the community who turned out to pay their respects to the victims of the Holocaust at Ponar and who came to pay their respects to those who rescued Jews at the monument dedicated to their memory in Vilnius.

2024-01-31

Situation of Lithuanian Jewish Community Presented in Brussels

Last week the European Commission convened the fifth meeting in Brussels of a working group dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in the European Union with Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman and attorney Faina Kukliansky representing Litvaks.

It was the first meeting of the working group since Hamas’s attacks on Israelis on October 7.

The first day of meetings discussed attacks on Jewish communities in the EU and measures taken at the national and European level to address the largest wave of anti-Semitism in Europe since the Holocaust. European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas responsible for propagating the European way of life began the meeting by reiterating the EC’s resolute pledge to insure the continuation and thriving of Jewish life in the EU.

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#WeRemember

The Lithuanian Jewish Community invites all members of the public to mark International Holocaust Day on January 27 by taking part in the global We Remember campaign to keep alive the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Every year the LJC addresses the Lithuanian municipalities and educational institutions requesting they join the We Remember campaign by visiting mass murder sites, maintaining grave sites, relaying the testimonies of eyewitnesses to the Holocaust and telling the horrific story which had such tragic consequences for Lithuania, Europe and the world.

On Thursday, January 25, everyone is invited to visit the mass murder site in their location to honor the victims. In Vilnius the LJC will ferry those interested by bus to the Ponar Memorial Complex where a commemoration will take place and kaddish will be performed.

The bus will leave from Pylimo street no. 4 at 11:30 A.M. sharp Thursday morning to arrive by 12 noon at Ponar. From the parking lot in Ponar a procession will make its way into the memorial complex. Later we will visit the monument to Righteous Gentiles on Maironio street in Vilnius. Register by sending an email to info@lzb.lt.

If you are unable to attend, you can still participate in the We Remember campaign:

1. Write “We Remember” on a piece of paper, card or cardboard;
2. Take a photograph of yourself or your group holding the inscription;
3. Post on social media with the hash-tag #WeRemember;
4. Send a copy to info@lzb.lt

#WeRemember

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Vilna Gaon Museum Marks International Holocaust Day at Vilnius Ghetto Battle Site

Photo: Yekhiel Ilya Sheinboim, right, from Yad Vashem.

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is marking International Holocaust Day Sunday, January 28 in front of the apartment building on the former Strashun street inside the Vilnius ghetto, now Žemaitijos street no. 8, where the only street battle inside the ghetto between ghetto partisans versus Estonian Waffen-SS with German forces broke out during the two-week-long liquidation of the ghetto. This is where the Nazis blew up one building and barricaded streets, and Jewish partisan leader Yekhiel Ilya Sheinboim fired on the enemy from a balcony before being felled by a volley from up the street. Yekhiel was originally from Odessa and formed an underground resistance group in the Vilnius ghetto independent of the FPO, first merging with Borka Friedman’s Struggle Group to form the Yekhiel Struggle Group, and then merging with the FPO in May of 1943.

The ceremony will take place at 3:30 P.M. at Žemaitijos street no. 8, followed by a concert at the Tolerance Center at Naugarduko street no. 10 called “Windows Open to the Sun” at 5:00 P.M.

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#WeRemember

If you are unable to attend, you can still participate in the We Remember campaign:

#WeRemember

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Abisl Yidishe Vilne

The Adomas Mickevičius Public Library in Vilnius is opening an exhibit of photography called Abisl Yidishe Vilne or A Bit of Jewish Vilnius with an opening ceremony at 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday, April 2. The exhibit is to feature the works of Aleksandra Jacovskytė, Daumantas Levas Todesas, Eugenijus Bunka and others. The exhibit will run till April 20, 2024. The library is located at Trakų street no. 10 in Vilnius.

2024-01-24

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust in Panevėžys

The Panevėžys Jewish Community invites you to remember the victims of the Holocaust at a special event to mark International Holocaust Day, January 27. The event in Panevėžys is being held the day before on January 26 starting with a public gathering at ~1:00 P.M. in front of the Sad Jewish Mother monument on Memory Square in the northern Lithuanian city.

Program:

1:00 P.M. opening ceremony and wreath-laying ceremony at Sad Jewish Mother monument, presentations including from Panevėžys city mayor Rytis Račkausas, Panevėžys regional administration mayor Antanas Pocius, students and honored guests.

2:00 P.M. back at Panevėžys Jewish Community headquarters, a conference with Panevėžys Jewish Community members and partners and screenings of Holocaust films.

Please signal your intent to attend by calling+370 61120882 or +370 61017608 or by emailing genakofman@yahoo.com.

2024-01-232024-01-24

Full House for Elyashev Evening of Remembrance in Kaunas

An evening to remember the Jewish writer and first Yiddish literary critic Israel Isidor Elyashev packed the house at the Art and Museum Department of the Vincas Kudirka Public Library in Kaunas last Monday, January 15.

The Kaunas Jewish Community organized the event and Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas spoke about the man and his legacy, along with others.

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LJC Rejects Jonava Cultural Center’s Anti-Semitic Activities

The Regional History Museum of the Jonava Cultural Center in Jonava, Lithuania, posted an invitation on January 18 for the public to attend an arts workshop in the run-up to the Lithuanian holiday Užgavėnės, or Shrovetide:

“We invite you to a creative workshop for adults this January 22 at 2:00 P.M. called “Making Užgavėnės Masks!” We’ll use papier-mâché on wooden frames! … The function of having fun is the basis of this holiday, it’s essence and core! This is a day when social conventions are ignored, rules are broken and ethical and moral principles are transgressed! You can do anything, but only during this time!”

Unfortunately traditional masks made and worn on Užgavėnės include grotesque stereotypes of Jews and Roma.

2024-01-22

Litvak Identity Museum Opening

Yesterday evening the Litvak Culture and Identity Museum opened next door to the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.

LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky spoke at the opening ceremony, saying the long-awaited exhibits would finally be made public and should be very interesting. She said the history of the Litvaks didn’t begin and end with the Holocaust, that we have a rich history which hasn’t gone away and that the new museum will offer the public a view of that history.

“We are neighbors, the Lithuanian Jewish Community is based right here, on the other side of the wall, in the same building, the former Tarbut gymnasium. We are alive and are celebrating our Jewish identity, and everyone who learns something here at the museum, we invite them to stop by the Community as well, to try our bagels, listen to music and participate in our events. Food, culture and other Community activities of which we are proud–these are all part of the Litvak identity,” Kukliansky said.

Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Hadas Wittenberg-Silverstein also spoke at the opening.

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Vilna Gaon Museum Opens New Litvak Culture and Identity Museum

Photo by I. Gelūnas

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum reopens its branch in the former Tarbut Gymnasium at Pylimo street no. 4a Thursday, January 18, following reconstruction and the installation of a new Litvak Culture and Identity exhibit.

The space used to house the museum’s History Department and Gallery of Righteous Gentiles, and has been undergoing renovation for several years. The third floor will now house a permanent exhibit on the life and work of Rafael Chwoles, the Litvak artist. Other exhibits feature Litvaks who found fame and achievement around the world in various fields of endeavor. The space includes four storeys accessible by stairs.

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum includes consists of several sub-museums and spaces including the Tolerance Center, the Holocaust Museum, an information space at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius and soon an exhibit inside the former Jewish ghetto library in the Vilnius Old Town.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

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Plaque Commemorating Lazaris Gutmanas to be Unveiled in Palanga

The Palanga Jewish Community is marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day a day early on January 26 by unveiling a plaque commemorating professor Lazaris Gutmanas (1875-1957) on his family home. Gutmanas was a professor at Kaunas University’s Nerve and Mental Disease Faculty and one of a number of remarkable members of the Jewish academic intelligentsia. Everyone is invited to attend the unveiling ceremony.

Time: 11:00 A.M., January 26
Place: S. Daukanto street no. 25, Palanga

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Evening to Commemorate Israel Elyashev in Kaunas

The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to an evening commemorating literary critic and writer Israel (Isidore) Elyashev.

Bal-Makhshoves as he was also known, “man of thoughts,” used that nom-de-plume in his Jewish writing at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The commemoration will be held in the former Jewish cafeteria near Elyashev’s home where he died 100 years ago on January 13, 1924. Speakers will touch upon his friendship with the painter Marc Chagall, Jewish life in Kaunas, Elyashev’s home street now known as Daukšos gatvė but formerly called Yatkever or Butcher’s street with five synagogues located along it, about the return of “evacuated” Jewish exiles in 1921 and about the shared and separate Lithuanian and Jewish cultural legacy in Lithuania’s interwar provisional capital Kaunas.

Speakers will also detail his family, including his sister Ester Veisbart who was an art critic, teacher and Lithuania’s first female doctor of philosophy who died in the Kaunas ghetto; the rest of his family who were killed in the Kaunas and Vilnius ghettos and Soviet labor camps and the members of his family to made it to Palestine and lived.

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