The Lithuanian Jewish Community will host a special chess tournament in honor of world champion Emanuel Lasker at 3:00 P.M., Sunday, January 21. FIDE master Boris Rositsan will direct the tournament. For more information, email info@metbor.lt or call +370 6 55 43 556.
Hanukkah at the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium in Panevėžys
For more than 10 years now the Panevėžys Jewish Community has been doing educational work and participating at events held by the Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium’s Tolerance Center under director Genutė Žilytė.
Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman together with Žilytė, who is also an historian, told pupils the story of the Jewish struggle against the Greeks of Syria and the main points in that history. Steady work in education has borne good fruit in pupils’ understanding of Jewish history. The students asked many questions of all sorts, including for an explanation of the Lithuanian Jewish athletics club Makabi, and wondering what other Jewish organizations which existed before the war used the same name.
Students in the upper grades and their teachers made latkes for everyone. At the close of the event Rožynas Pre-Gymnasium principal Aida Adiklienė thanked everyone who participated, students, teachers and others, for their tolerance towards Jews.
Chess Tournament in Memory of Algimantas Butnoris
A chess tournament in memory of Algimantas Butnoris will be held at 3:00 P.M. Sunday, November 19, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community. For more information please write info@metbor.lt or call 370 6 55 43 556.
Makabi Tennis Tourney
The now-traditional Makabi doubles tennis tournament took place November 12.
Three pairs tied and the final winners, Anatolijus Faktorovičius and son Norbertas Faktorovičius, were decided by number of games won. The family team took first place for the second time. Kęstutis, Faktorovičius’s other son, also took part in tournament successfully and demonstrated a great swing. Danielius Merkinas and Aleksandra Miller took second and Lorensas Baliukonis and Laima Urbšienė took third in fierce competition.
Makabi Athletics Club Teaches Jews How to Shoot
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club held a target-shooting contest at the GSKA gun club in Vilnius October 8 in three participation categories: men, women and young people. Contestants shot a pistol 25 times (including five practice shots) at concentric targets 20 meters away.
The Fish family won in all categories. The brothers Fish, Adomas and Nojus, took first and second place in the youth competition with 139 and 116 points, respectively. Their mother Kristina with 109 points beat out Laimina Gurvičienė with 55 points and Marina Balderman with 40 to take the women’s. Julius Fish won men’s with 132, followed closely by Algirdas Malcas with 122 and Boris Kirzner with 116 points.
All contestants won participation medals and the actual winners got handsome trophies. The event was organized by Artiomas Perepelica and refereed and supervised by Anatoly Kapustin and Aleksej Slyčkov.
Congratulations to all the contestants and organizers for a fine showing!
Makabi Fun Run October 15
All Makabi members and supporters are invited to a Fun-Run this Sunday, October 15, at Vingio park in Vilnius.
We think everyone can run the 3 kilometer or 1.5 kilometer course and have a good time together. All funds received will be used to support and expand Makabi Club activities.
Registration:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jtjruTVnoN22B7EWUF-W0qKusHSvlHemXMkVdgCuHEk/viewform?edit_requested=true
or by sending an e-mail to liovixasas@gmail.com
Program:
10:00 A.M. Opening
10:30 A.M. 1.5 km run
11:15 A.M. 3 km run
12:00 noon awards
Makabi Club Swimming Championship
Goal and Tasks of Competition
–to popularize swimming among Makabi Club members;
–to select the best swimmers to compete at the international Maccabiah Games.
Time and Location of Competition
The competition will take place from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on September 17, 2017, at the Girstutis Multifunction Sports and Entertainment Complex at Kovo 11-osios street no. 26 in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Happy Birthday to Semionas Finkelšteinas
Dear Semionas,
We are so happy to be able to celebrate your birthday together. We wish you the greatest success as head for 28 years now of the Makabi Lithuanian Jewish Athletics Club. After you completed your studies in economics at Vilnius University, you were one of the initiators behind the reconstitution of the Makabi club in Lithuania and have been its president since 1989. And you have been active in the work of the Lithuanian National Olympics Committee. May athletics always remain important in your life. You have won so many laurels in long distance, as a sprinter and a light athlete, and in the summer of 1990 we remember you together with a group of just over a dozen or so Lithuanians who ran around the Baltic Sea! The years together have been happy and meaningful, and with all our heart we wish success and great health will follow you closely forever!
Mazl tov!
LJC and Israeli Embassy Thank Makabi Athletes
On August 4 the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Israeli embassy to Lithuania held a special thanksgiving event to thank Makabi athletes who competed so well at the Maccabiah Games in Israel from July 4 to 8. The Lithuanian Jewish delegation won six medals at the so-called Jewish Olympics this summer.
Lithuanian Makabi Athletes Return Home with Gold, Silver, Bronze Medals
Members of the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club delegation to the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel returned home on the evening of July 18 and Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon met them at Vilnius International. The athletes come home with six medals, including two gold. Congratulations to the entire team!
Lithuanian Makabi Makes Successful Showing at Maccabiah Games
A delegation of 28 athletes from the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club participated at the 20th quadrennial Maccabiah Games in Israel from July 4 to July 18. The Lithuanian team took part in 7 different sports and won six medals, two gold in the youth singles competitions and with Israeli table tennis athlete Janin Karmazin in doubles, won by Lithuanian table tennis player Neta Alon. She won another bronze medal in women’s doubles matches with teammate Vanesa Ražanskytė.
In badminton Mark Šames took silver in singles matches and Daniel Tarachovskij with Ukraine’s Natalija Ruzgaizer won bronze in mixed doubles matches.
Chess master Eduardas Rozentalis won another bronze for Lithuanian Makabi.
Our mini-soccer team (top rated among European teams) took a very respectable fifth place, defeating Mexico 6:6 due to a penalty on July 16. During matches the Lithuanian Makabi mini-soccer team beat Cuba, Gibraltar and Sweden, lost to Australia and tied with Brasil but failed to secure the right to compete for bronze because of an overall worse proportion of goals.
During the Maccabiah Games members of the delegation, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and leaders of Litvak organizations in Israel participated in a meeting with Lithuanian embassy consular officer Aleksandras Kubada.
The official closing ceremony for the 20th Maccabiah Games takes place July 17.
Semionas Finkelšteinas, president
Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club
Lithuanian Makabi Mini-Soccer Team Ties with Mexico July 16
In the battle for fifth place, the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club mini-soccer team won against Mexico in penalty kicks July 16, repeating their achievement back in 1989. Falling behind 1:4, the boys rallied and Mexico was tied with Lithuania 6:6. Markas Plineris made the winning goal in penalty kicks.
News from the Maccabiah Games
The Lithuanian Makabi mini-soccer team’s match with Brasil at the “Jewish Olympics,” ended in a tie, 3:3.
Neta Alon Takes Two Gold Medals at Maccabiah Games
Neta Alon won a gold medal in singles youth table tennis competition and another gold medal in mixed doubles youth play with Israeli Janin Karmazin. Congratulations!
Lithuanian Makabi Take Silver, Bronze at Maccabiah Games
Table tennis team-play competition medal winners Neta Alon and Vanesa Ražanskytė.
Markas Sames took silver in one-on-one youth badminton competitions.
Danielius Tarachovskism won a bronze medal in mixed doubles youth badminton.
Photographer Dovydas Fligelis captured a moment from a mini-soccer match between Lithuania and the USA (3:1).
Lithuanian Embassy in Israel Honors Lithuanian Maccabiah Athletes
The Lithuanian embassy to Israel held a reception for the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club delegation attending the 20th annual Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv.
Lithuanian Makabi Carries Lithuanian, LJC Flags at Maccabiah Games
On Lithuanian Statehood Day, the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club delegation carried the flags of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Jewish Community at the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel.
The “Jewish Olympics” opened Thursday, July 6, with 10,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries. The opening ceremony at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem was watched by 30,000 fans in the stands.
This is the eighth Maccabiah Games to which the Lithuanian Makabi club has sent a delegation. Back in 1989, at the 13th Maccabiah Games, Lithuanian Makabi carried the flag of the Republic of Lithuania, which was only then beginning to break away from the Soviet Union. Club president Semionas Finkelšteinas and club athletes remember the event well.
Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club Leaves for 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel
Lithuanian Makabi team at 13th Maccabiah Games opening ceremony, Israel, 1989
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club delegation is leaving for the 20th Maccabiah Games, held once every four years, in Israel, where more than 10,000 athletes from 80 countries will compete.
This will be the 8th Maccabiah Games attended by the Lithuanian team. In 1989 the team was the first to carry the Lithuanian national flag at the opening ceremonies as the country sought independence from the Soviet Union. Club president Semionas Finkelšteinas and club athletes remember well the event.
Semionas Finkelšteinas:
“The Lithuanian Makabi delegation will have 28 athletes in 8 sports: badminton, swimming, mini-soccer, judo, table tennis, tennis, chess and riding. A Canadian rider who has Litvak roots was accepted on the Lithuanian team since Canada didn’t send a team of riders this year. The Lithuanian team includes three former Maccabiah medal-winners: chess player Eduardas Rozentalis who took bronze in 1989, badminton player Alanas Plavinas who won silver in 2013 and Aleksas Molodeckis who took bronze in judo in 2013.
“It’s important to us to participate in the Maccabiah and we never miss a single Jewish Olympics. Whether our team is stronger or weaker, we have always participated and won medals. This time we have five young people, three of whom expect to win medals. We have three badminton players, and the swimmer and strong table tennis player Neta Alon who could be a medal winner. Markas Šamesas and Vitalija Movšovič are our badminton players who could come home with medals. Among the adult athletes the chess player E. Rozentalis, badminton player A. Plavinas, and judo martial artist A. Molodeckij have a good chance of winning medals. Salomėja Zaksaitė, an accomplished chess player, will be competing at the Maccabiah for the first time. Our soccer team is traveling there with their new trainer Arūnas Šteinas. Three of our strong soccer players are unable to attend for various reasons. Artūras Sobolis couldn’t take time off work, Danielius Gunevičius’s trainer won’t allow him to go and Romanas Buršteinas has to attend to family matters.
“All the young people will stay at the best hotel in Haifa. They will compete in the games after which they have a separate program of activities. The swimmers will compete at the Wingate sports complex. Athletes from 80 countries will attend Maccabiah opening ceremonies July 6 and global media always give large coverage to the event, the opening ceremony is covered outside Israel by CNN, BBC and other global televisions channels. The Jewish Olympics takes place once every four years and there is a broad cultural program arranged for all participants. This event is about more than just about sports.
Four Days with the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Now with Subtitles
Welcome to the Lithuanian Jewish Community, welcome to Vilnius.
You will soon experience it for yourself. This isn’t a promotional film, it’s the reality, slightly beautified. Beautified, because you won’t see all the hard work that goes on every day and the people who do it.
I thank them. We work, we make mistakes, we fall down and we get back up and work harder. But we’re here. There are not so many of us, of course, and we are all different, and sometimes we argue, sometimes we embrace, but we are all here together and we are beautiful, able, talented, loving and dedicated. We’re the Lithuanian Jewish Community, the family of Lithuanian Jews, a part of our country. We have been here for six centuries now. We have experienced the greatest afflictions and disasters but we never gave up and we have remained.
We have to pass something on to our children and grandchildren. I personally want to pass on to them our Jewish identity, my story and deeds and those of my ancestors. I am trying to do this together with the community because I know that I alone will not succeed. I believe it is better to act and to make mistakes than to do nothing.
I wish everyone the greatest success. Let’s take pride in our Lithuanian Jewish Community.
Sincerely yours,
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
§§§
The activities of the Lithuanian Jewish Community are broad-ranging and interesting, and the makers of the following film decided to include footage from just four days in the life of the LJC. To show more would require a series of films.
One of the most important goals of the Community is listening to and taking care of our members, children, adolescents and senior citizens. Care and aid from the Community’s Social Programs Department is allocated to Holocaust survivors, the ill, disabled and socially marginalized.
An important benchmark in our work recently was the restoration and protection of our country’s wooden synagogues, unique in Europe. The opening ceremony for the restored and reconsecrated synagogue in Pakrojis, Lithuania, is included in the film. Work was conducted with the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Department under the Ministry of Culture and with local municipal and regional administrations.
If the film were continued, we would have included more young people, students, the young Jewish parents clubs, of course our regional Jewish communities and lots of fun moments from the different events and holidays put on by the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
Enjoy.
© 2017 Lithuanian Jewish Community
Makabi Athletics Club Holds Mini-Maccabiah Games to Celebrate 100th Birthday
The Makabi Lithuanian athletics club held a mini-Maccabiah May 21 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the club’s founding in Lithuania. The Maccabiah Games are an annual international sporting competition in Israel to which Lithuanian Makabi sends athletes. In the mini-Maccabiah, 74 athletes from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Ukmergė competed in five sports: indoor soccer, three-on-three basketball, volleyball, men’s and women’s table tennis and chess. Everyone received participation medallions.
The Kaunas basketball team defeated the Vilnius and Klaipėda teams. Kaunas player Elvis Ušpicas won in foul shots (9 players) with six hoops in a row.
The Vilnius team on home ground won in indoor soccer and volleyball.