Our deepest condolences to the family on the death of honorary Lithuanian consul in South Africa Ivor Feinberg, whose family came from Panevėžys. Our condolences to his wife Miri, children Shirley Dorfan and Josi Feinberg and his brother Alfie.
Daughter’s Dedication Speech for Saul Kagan Welfare Center
Julia Kagan Baumann, the daughter of the late Saul Kagan, delivered the following speech at the Lithuanian Jewish Community on the occasion of the opening of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center there on May 24, 2022:
I am deeply honored to be here at the dedication of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center at the 5th Litvak World Congress in Vilnius, the city of my father’s birth. I speak for myself; for his sister, Dr. Emma Kagan Rylander; for my beloved stepmother Eleanor Kagan, who is 97; for my cousin Dr. Frances Koblenzer, who is here today from my mother Elizabeth’s side of the family, which embraced my dad. And also for my family of marriage, the Baumanns, who were from Strasbourg in France. My late husband Philippe’s father, Raymond Baumann, co-founded ARIF (the Association for the Restoration of Jewish Works and Institutions in France) to support the Jewish community of France during and after World War II from America. My stepdaughter, Andrea Baumann Lustig, is ARIF’s current president.
Ger Tzadek Count Potocki Story Likely a Myth
Abraham ben Abraham (Hebrew: אברהם בן אברהם, lit. “Avraham the son of Avraham”) (c. 1700 – May 23, 1749), also known as Count Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki (Pototzki or Pototski), was a purported Polish nobleman (szlachta) of the Potocki family who converted to Judaism and was burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church because he had renounced Catholicism and had become an observant Jew. According to Jewish oral traditions, he was known to the revered Talmudic sage, the Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Elijah Ben Shlomo Zalman [1720–1797]), and his ashes were interred in the relocated grave of the Vilna Gaon in Vilna’s new Jewish cemetery.
Although the Orthodox Jewish community accepts the teachings about Abraham ben Abraham, including the involvement of the Vilna Gaon, secular scholars have largely concluded that it is a legend.
Jewish Traditions
The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) was according to the Jewish tradition a mentor to Abraham ben Abraham.
Fifth World Litvak Congress Participants Visit Panevėžys, Pakruojis, Šeduva
A delegation of participants from the Fifth World Litvak Congress travelled to Panevėžys May 25 and were met there by members of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and the local municipality.
Panevėžys city municipality deputy director of administration Žibutė Gaivenienė said: “It is nice to welcome today guests arriving in Panevėžys from the Fifth World Litvak Congress and members of the city’s Jewish community. Panevėžys has long been a multi-ethnic and multicultural city, and the Jewish community has played an important role in the life of the city and the whole district. At certain periods of history Jews constituted a very significant part of the population of the city and were active participants in the city’s economic and service sectors. A larger Jewish community formed in the city in the second half of the 18th century. In the mid-19th century Jews constituted about 60 percent of the city population, and in the early 1920s Jews accounted for about 35 percent of the population. So the Jewish community’s contribution to the development of Panevėžys, and especially its transformation into a modern city, is a great one, and the Jewish legacy in different forms still operates in our daily life.”
Tour of Žiežmariai Wooden Synagogue and Wanderings of Moses Exhibit
The Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community is sponsoring a free tour of the wooden synagogue in Žiežmariai and the exhibit of works of art by Daumantas Todesas currently being held there. Daumantas Todesas himself will lead the tour. Transportation will leave the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, June 7. Registration is required by calling lead secretary Liuba Šerienė at (8 5) 2613003 or by calling+370 685 06900, or by sending an email to office@lzb.lt. Please note that the exhibit of artworks is scheduled to end June 9, so this might be your last opportunity to view it.
Ben Tsiyon Klibansky: Lithuanian Holocaust Perpetrators Turned into Heroes
Lithuanian State Television and Radio LRT.lt interview with Ben Tsiyon Klibansky
Lithuanians are still heroizing people who took part in the Holocaust, regrets historian and author Ben Tsiyon Klibansky. It’s up to the nation’s leaders to start a long-overdue conversation about these painful pages from the country’s history.
Ben Tsiyon Klibansky teaches at Tel Aviv University and researches Eastern European Jewry. This is now a lost world, and the Jews of Lithuania were the cornerstone in this world, Klibansky tells LRT.lt, something he feels it to be his duty to research.
You were born in Lithuania, Vilnius, but now, you live in Israel. Could you tell me more about your connection to Lithuania?
My family was a traditional family. My grandfather was a spiritual leader of the community. … I was a student at the Antanas Vienuolis School for two years, then my parents got permission to leave Lithuania and immigrate to Israel, which had been their dream for many years.
You should understand that it wasn’t because they hated Lithuania, but because of the prophecies of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel, who promised one day we will return to the land of Israel and settle there again. They tried to get permission to leave Lithuania and go to Israel, but it was Soviet Lithuania and the Soviets didn’t let them to go. It took them 13 years, from 1956 when they returned from Siberia until 1969. …
After I finished high school in Israel I started studying at Tel Aviv University. I studied electronic engineering. I joined the army and served for many years. I was a high-ranking officer in the army and when I finished my army service, I got a very good contract in the industry.
Vilnius Municipality, Goodwill Foundation, Lithuanian Jewish Community Sign Memorandum on Great Synagogue
The Vilnius city municipality, the Goodwill Foundation and the Lithuanian Jewish Community have signed a memorandum for commemorating the Vilnius Great Synagogue site by mid-2026. The synagogue site and surrounding area which was home to the synagogue complex will become a Vilnius Great Synagogue memorial square with a Lithuanian Jewish Community information center telling the story of the grand synagogue complex to the wider society.
“Many Vilnius residents know why Vilnius is called the Jerusalem of the North. Faded inscriptions in Hebrew, commemorative plaques and monuments on and around buildings in the former Vilnius ghetto recall the history of Jewish spirituality and learning. We have agreed how we will create a new center of attraction for Lithuanians and foreigners at the site of the Great Synagogue destroyed by the Soviets,” Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius said.
Archaeological investigations of the Great Synagogue site began circa 2010. Archaeologists at the digs discovered part of the bimah, the foundations for two of its columns, the two mikvot ritual bath sites, the location of the large external wall at the back of the synagogue and a portion of the original flooring in the main chamber of worship. They also discovered inscriptions engraved on the walls next to where the bimah stood, naming people and quoting from the Book of Genesis and lines from hymns.
Fania Brantskovskaya on Film
In 2014 a group of German filmmakers travelled to Lithuania to document the amazing life story of our resident Jewish partisan soldier and long-standing member of the Community who recently celebrated a milestone birthday. The film was released in 2015 and is available on DVD and may be booked by cinemas anywhere in the world (see contact information at the bottom of this post). Here are the liner notes from the DVD released in 2015:
Fania Yocheles-Barntsovskaya was about to begin her studies when on June 22, 1941, the Germans invaded her hometown of Vilnius, known at that time as the Jerusalem of the North.
Fifth World Litvak Congress Commemorates Holocaust Victims at Ponar
Participants at the Fifth World Litvak Congress commemorated Holocaust victims at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius today. The commemoration included paying respects and reciting kaddish for the dead.
Lithuanian Jews Still Avoiding Country’s Holocaust Distortion
by Efraim Zuroff, Times of Israel
photo: Grant Gochin and Silvia Foti, June, 2020.
What a shame that those who work to bring Lithuania’s large-scale participation in Holocaust crimes to light cannot be honored by the Jewish community there
This week the Lithuanian Jewish community is hosting the “Fifth World Litvak Congress” in Vilnius (Vilna) from Sunday, May 22 until Thursday, May 26. In theory, the event is open to any Jew of Lithuanian origin and anyone who has a meaningful connection to the history, politics or culture of Lithuanian Jewry.
The program features an opening event in the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), cultural events, as well as visits to Kaunas (Kovno), Panevezys (Ponevitch), Seduva (my grandmother’s birthplace), and other sites of Jewish interest. The congress will also be addressed by Lithuanian politicians, such as Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilyté-Nielsen, the patron of the congress, foreign experts on combatting anti-Semitism, such as European Commissioner Katharina Von Schnurbein and former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, as well as scholars who are experts on aspects of Lithuanian Jewish history, such as American Professor David Fishman and Israeli Dr. Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky.
What Is a Litvak?
by Birutė Vyšniauskaitė, lrytas.lt
Jews in Lithuania: a still undiscovered or an already-lost shared history? Human rights, modern anti-Semitism. Recording Lithuanian Jewish culture for posterity. These and many other topics touching on Lithuanian Jewish culture, the Holocaust and culture were discussed the current Fifth World Litvak Congress.
The Congress was supposed to have been held two years ago on the 300th anniversary of the birth of Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman, the Vilna Gaon, the renowned rabbi, kabbalist and student of the Torah and Talmud. …
[I asked] Faina Kukliansky, the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community who was born and grew up in Lithuania, what it means to be a Litvak.
“My dad used to say his grandchildren were born in Lithuania and therefore bore the seal of quality, and were fit for export,” Kukliansky joked.
Lithuanian Jewish Community Opens Saul Kagan Welfare Center
The Lithuanian Jewish Community has just opened the long-awaited Saul Kagan Welfare Center, paying tribute to the long-serving director of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany by renaming the Community’s social care and welfare center after him. Staff and clients attended the ceremony where LJC executive director Michail Segal and the Center’s first director Simas Levinas spoke. LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky unveiled the new plaque commemorating Saul Kagan. Arie Buchesiter from the Claims Conference, Saul Kagan’s daughter Julia Kagan-Baumann and Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Yossef Avni-Levy also attended the event. The Fayerlakh group performed a concert at the event.
Fifth World Litvak Congress Begins at Lithuanian Parliament
15min.lt, BNS
The Fifth World Litvak Congress kicked off at the Lithuanian parliament Monday.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said this congress sends the message that Jewishness isn’t just a thing of the past in Lithuania.
“Today we invite you to an open discussion on the future of Litvak culture and the importance of passing this culture on to our children and grandchildren,” she said. “I am certain the Lithuanian state has an interest in making all Litvaks from around the world feel at home in their native land.”
Parliamentary speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen used the opportunity to talk about the Ukraine.
Besides the academic conference Monday, an exhibit called “Almanach of Litvak Culture in the 21st Century” was also opened. Topics at the conference included fighting anti-Semitism, Litvak history and education, among others.
Wanderings of Moses: An Exhibit of Works by Daumantas Lovas Todesas
An exhibit of works by Daumantas Lovas Todesas called “The Wanderings of Moses” opened at the Žiežmariai synagogue located at Vilniaus street no. 6 in Žiežmariai on May 23. The exhibit will run till June 9. Visitors can visit from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on weekdays, or arrange a different time for touring the exhibit and synagogue by calling +370 682 19944. This exhibit was jointly organized by the Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Žiežmariai Cultural Center.
Watch Almost Live: Opening Ceremony for Fifth World Litvak Conference at Lithuanian Parliament
The Fifth World Litvak Conference is taking place from May 23 to May 26.
Registration has been closed for the opening ceremony at the Lithuanian parliament. If you want to register for the other events concluding on Sunday evening, register now.
The registration form is here.
Watch the opening ceremony almost live here:
Israeli Street Food and Cultural Oasis Returns to Vilnius
“Cvi in the Park” is once again welcoming the citizens of Vilnius and city’s guests! The project was set up during the corona virus pandemic in order to continue the operation of the famous Bagel Shop Café under strict government-imposed restrictions. This is how the new open-air café “Cvi in the Park” was born, which is now reopening for the summer season.
The word “cvi” or “tzvi” itself means “doe” in Hebrew and given the divisive history of the square and the surrounding atmosphere of the park, it was decided to accommodate this “doe” in Cvirka Square, for the sake of dialogue and tolerance. We hope that this revived summer tradition will give a fresh face to this old square in front of the Lithuanian Jewish Community. We are ready to be a reliable partner to the Vilnius city municipality in the creation and development of a distinctive, sustainable identity for Cvirka Square.
At “Cvi in the Park” we offer healthy Israeli street food such as falafels, hummus, pita, etc., together with fresh vegetables grown locally and a unique blend of Middle Eastern spices and chickpeas. The menu is vegan-friendly and all organic ingredients are carefully selected based on seasonality. We hope our visitors will also enjoy the new and unique flavors of plant-based food. We are very happy to be cooperating with the craft beer experts Genys Brewing and true wine lovers New Skanu.
Happy Birthday to Fania Brantsovskaya
We wish a very happy milestone birthday next week to Vilnius ghetto survivor and Jewish partisan Fania Brantsovskaya.
You were about to begin university when the Germans invaded on June 22, 1941. When they ordered your family into the Vilnius ghetto, you crossed the street, Pylimo, to the Jewish Hospital section of the ghetto between Pylimo and Ligoninės streets. You joined the FPO, carried out sabotage missions against the Lithuanian Nazis, fought in the forests and marched into Vilnius with the Red Army when the Soviets liberated the Lithuanian capital. Although the fascists murdered your entire family, you stayed in the country and continued fight for a better future. After your husband passed away, you devoted yourself to telling the truth to the younger generations about the Holocaust and how Jews didn’t go like lambs to the slaughter, but fought tooth and nail, and prevailed against their oppressors.
We salute your bravery, your decision to fight and the life you devoted to telling the truth and serving humanity in your native land.
Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Prayer to a Seagull: Exhibition of Solomon Teitelbaum’s Paintings
The Pylimo Gallery located at Pylimo street no. 30 in Vilnius is to host an exhibit of paintings by Solomon Teitelbaum called “Prayer to a Seagull” starting May 17. The exhibition will run till June 4.
Full description in Lithuanian available at the gallery’s website here.
Saul Kagan: Litvak, Conscience of the Claims Conference and Warrior on the Invisible Front
Saul Kagan, who fled Lithuania, spent decades leading the Jewish welfare organization which was primarily responsible for restitution worth more than $70 billion to Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
Saul Kagan came the to the USA in 1940 after losing his mother and brother to the barbarity of the Nazis. In 1951 he became the director of World Jewish Congress responsible for material claims by Jews against Germany. B’nai B’rith and other Jewish organizations brought an unprecedented claim, demanding reparations from “the heirs of the state of the Third Reich,” meaning West Germany, for the Nazi genocide against the Jews of Europe.
Kagan’s agreements signed over the following fifty years demanded the governments of West Germany and Austria and a falange of fascist corporations compensate people who survived the Holocaust for the houses, homes, buildings, furniture, art and other property seized from them during the Nazi era. They also demanded the payment of pensions, stipends and aid to the elderly they otherwise would have had if they hadn’t been persecuted instead, as well as compensation for hundreds of thousands of Nazi prisoners, Jews and non-Jews, used as slave labor by Germany’s industrial giants, corporations such as IG Farben and Krupp.
Plaque Commemorating Dr. Isaac Levitan to Be Unveiled in Kaunas May 19
The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Dr. Isaac Levitan, the “angel in a white lab coat,” at 3:00 P.M. on May 19 at the doctor’s former address, Miško street no. 27 in Kaunas.
This is where Levitan set up his first private clinic in 1926. It quickly became known as Dr. Levitan’s Women’s Clinic. Amazingly, the building has stood unchanged since that time. It now houses the Christian Healing House which has delivered a large number of babies over several generations in Kaunas.
The doctor’s family didn’t fare as well during World War II. His son (also a doctor and gynecologist) and daughter-in-law were murdered in the Kaunas ghetto. Levitan, Sr., and his wife were deported by the Soviets twice. He died in exile in Krasnoyarsk oblast in 1956. His grandson Uri after many journeys finally ended up in Israel, thanks to fearless people.