News

Holocaust Commemoration in Pabradė

Holocaust Commemoration in Pabradė

A Holocaust commemoration was held September 23 in Pabradė, a town in eastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. September 23 is Lithuania’s Day of the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews. The event was held under the umbrella of the Memory Road civic initiative in cooperation with the Švenčionys Jewish Community, the Pabradė Municipal Culture Center, the Pabradė aldermanship and 6th, 7th and 8th graders from the Rytas Gymnasium in Pabradė under the tutelage of history teacher Danguolė Grincevičienė.

Participants walked the path along which Jews were marched to their deaths to the mass murder site there. Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro and history teacher Danguolė Grincevičienė spoke to the students about the former Jewish community there.

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Remembering the Holocaust in Nemenčinė

Remembering the Holocaust in Nemenčinė

A ceremony was held in Nemenčinė (Nementchin, Niemenczyn) just north of Vilnius Friday at the site of the former synagogue to remember the approximately 500 Jews from that once-thriving shtetl murdered in the Holocaust.

Those attending the ceremony included Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Israeli ambassador Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein, Tammy Nguyen representing the US embassy, Lithuanian MP Rita Tamašunienė and Vilnius regional administration mayor Robertas Duchnevičius, among others. Students from the Sholem Aleichem school in Vilnius staged brief presentations. The participants proceeded on to the mass murder site several kilometers away where Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom prayed for the victims.

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Condolences

In deep sadness we report the death of Fania Brantsovskaya on September 22 in Vilnius. She was born in 1922.

Fania was a Jewish partisan who originally served as a courier. Several films have been made about her life. She was one of only a handful of Jewish partisans who remained in Lithuania after the Holocaust. In her later years she continued to speak out publicly and teach younger generations about what happened in Lithuania.

Our deepest condolences to her family and many friends.

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Condolences

We report in deep sadness the death of Yuri Smirnov on Septmber 20, 2024. He was born in 1935 and was a member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community and a client of the Saul; Kagan Welfare Center.

Yuri was born in the Pskov region. He, his mother, two brothers and sister were sent to the concentration camps in Panevėžys and Šiauliai during the Holocaust. He survived thanks to his mother.

An active member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community, he served for many years as deputy chairman there.

We extend our deepest condolences to his grandson Viktoras and daugher-in-law Jovita.

Birthday Party for LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky

Birthday Party for LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky

Here are some snapshots from a very special birthday celebration for Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky last week. A big thank-you to everyone who attended and made this afternoon birthday party a success, including the German embassy, the US embassy, the Polish embassy, the Lithuanian Government, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, the Lithuanian parliament, the Lithuanian Department of Ethnic Minorities, the Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community, the Kaunas Jewish Community, the Palanga Jewish Community, the Ukmergė Jewish Community, the Švenčionys Jewish Community, the Klaipėda Jewish Community, the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, Northway Medical Centers, the Vilnius regional administration, Bella Toscana, Lithuanian Makabi, the Prabudimo orkestras, Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium, Cvi Park Israeli street food kiosk and performance space, the Šiauliai Jewish Community and many others too numerous to name.

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Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club Annual Sporting Spectacular

Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club Annual Sporting Spectacular

The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club is holding its annual sporting spectacular for athletes, family and friends. This year’s program includes a number of branches of sports and new challenges.

The event is free to all who register and to approved contestants. The program includes volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, soccer, chess, orienteering and a krav maga class with a professional trainer. Snacks and drinks will be served as well.

The celebration begins at 12:00 noon and carries on till 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 29.

To register, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlBOoVrQUbr4RtJF2g-dLs93YtS87uBREjgIYnDA6xyMYlyA/viewform.

Picnic on Sunday

Picnic on Sunday

The Cvirka Park Israeli street food kiosk and performance space across the street from the Lithuanian Jewish Community will host a picnic this Sunday with food and beverages on sale, chess matches, badminton and ping-pong. Čižas, Puppystyle, Kajus, Zemenu, Herman Drowning and Ryo Ishimoto.will perform music. So far the weather looks good.

Evening to Remember Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė in Kaunas

Evening to Remember Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė in Kaunas

The Kaunas Jewish Community invites you to an evening to remember Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė at the Vincas Kudirka Public Library, A. Mapu street no.18, Kaunas at 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 19.

Author of a biography in Lithuanian and researcher Rimantas Stankevičius will speak at the event hosted by the historian Linas Venclauskas. Rokas Makštutis will provide musical accompaniment.

Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews in Panevėžys

Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews in Panevėžys

You’re invited to attend a commemoration of the Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews to be held in in Panevėžys, Lithuania, starting at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, September 23.

Program:

1:00 P.M. Opening ceremony and wreath-laying at “Sad Jewish Mother” statue on Memory Square on Vasario 16-osios street.

1:30 P.M. Trip to mass murder site in Kurganava Forest.

2:00 P.M. Trip to Holocaust memorial site in Žalioji Forest.

3:30 P.M. Screening of Yad Vashem film about the Holocaust at Panevėžys Jewish Community

Please indicate your intention to attend by calling the chairman of the Panevėžys Jewish Community at 8 611 20882 or the administrator at 8 610 17608.

Holocaust Commemoration at Ponar

Holocaust Commemoration at Ponar

September 23 is the Day of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide and the Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to attend a commemoration ceremony at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius to remember the more than 70,000 people murdered there.

There will be a bus to ferry participants from central Vilnius to the memorial complex and back. Those wishing to ride the bus are required to register by sending a request to info@lzb.lt including your name and contact information. The bus will leave promptly at 12:15 P.M. on September 23 from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium at Kraševskio street no. 5 in Vilnius and will not wait for late arrivals.

Time: 2:00 P.M., September 23
Place: Ponar Memorial Complex, Agrastų street no. 15A, Vilnius district

Sydney Jewish Museum Cancels Lithuanian Holocaust Event

Sydney Jewish Museum Cancels Lithuanian Holocaust Event

The Sydney Jewish Museum in Australia has taken down from their webpage an announcement for an event called “Remembering the Holocaust in Lithuania” without explanation.

The event had been scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on September 29 and was billed to include USHM resident historian and professor emeritus Konrad Kwiet and Lithuanian ambassador to Australia, former ambassador to Israel and South Africa Darius Degutis who was supposed to speak on ongoing efforts to insure the Holocaust be properly remembered and commemorated in Lithuania at the current time.

Sources close to the Museum said ambassador Degutis’s appearance had been cancelled due to the Lithuanian state’s ongoing Holocaust distortion and a recent finding from the Lithuanian Genocide Center exculpating Lithuanian Nazi leader Kazys Škirpa.

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Australian Internet Legislation Aimed at Fighting Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, Not Anti-Semitism

Australian Internet Legislation Aimed at Fighting Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, Not Anti-Semitism

by Geoff Vasil

The Jerusalem Post reported last week the Australian Government under the Labor Party prime minister Anthony Albanese had sent legislation to parliament “to combat hate crimes and doxxing, with severe penalties for offenders. The move comes in response to a rise in anti-Semitic incidents.”

A casual look at Australian news and politics over the past year shows clearly the legislative package isn’t aimed at fighting anti-Semitism but is intended to add legal teeth to the Albanese Government’s attempts to control both facebook and twitter content.

On October 9, Australian time, before the IDF had even completely quelled Hamas’s invasion into “mainland” Israel, pro-Hamas activists stormed the Sydney Opera House chanting “gas the Jews.” A single Israel supporter was stopped there by police before he could unfurl his Israeli flag and was detained by New South Wales police for the crime of supporting Israel. A later investigation by NSW police claimed the bloodthirsty mob had actually chanted “Where’s the Jews?” despite fairly clear audio to the contrary. As if “Where’s the Jews?” were some sort of attempt at Borat-like Judaeophobic humor rather than yet another, not much different call to genocide.

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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

We wish LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky a very happy birthday today.

Dearest Faina,

Your life sets an example and is an inspiration to so many people. Thank you for your work and sacrifice for the betterment of the Community and the entire country. May this birthday bring you joy, love and health, and may the coming year be filled with new opportunities and happiness. Mazl tov. Bis 120!

Mirages: A New Look at Old Shtetls

Mirages: A New Look at Old Shtetls

The Regional History Museum of the Jonava Culture Center has put on a new exhibit of photographs by Iveta Bajorinaitė called Mirages of the Shtetl accompanied by texts by the late Grigoriy Kanovich showcasing the Lithuanian town and Jewish shtetl then and now. Renowned Litvak writer Kanovich grew up in Jonava.

During the opening ceremony last week, Iveta Bajorinaitė spoke about her quest to locate and photograph locations in the current urban landscape which correspond to with archival photographs.

Šeduva Jewish History Museum aka the Lost Shtetl senior curator Milda Jakulytė-Vasil, Kėdainiai Regional History Museum director Rimantas Žirgulis and Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas continued the opening ceremony with a panel discussion called “How Do We Tell the Story of the Shtetls?” Among the other ideas shared, they agreed the most important answer to that question was taking the initiative and working steadfastly towards that goal. They shared their personal experiences in organizing exhibitions and events and utilizing urban spaces.

The Regional History Museum of the Jonava Culture Center’s project “Stories of the Shtetls” is financed by Lithuania’s Cultural Heritage Department and the Jonava regional administration with the Šeduva Jewish History Museum aka the Lost Shtetl as a partner in the project.

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Visitors to Panevėžys Jewish Community

Visitors to Panevėžys Jewish Community

Celesta and Harriet Sollod from San Francisco visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community recently. Their grandfather was Isaac Neviarsky who with his brother was Nathan and sister Yeta left Ponavezh in 1895 and travelled to Baltimore in the United States. Their father was Hirsh Aaron who was deported with other Jews from the Kovna guberniya during the First World War in 1915. He went to Petrograd where a maternal relative of the Semakovich family lived, becoming a renowned medical doctor to the Russian tsar.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman received the visitors and spoke to them about the history of the Jews of Panevėžys and the Community’s activities. The two women then went to view Jewish sites in the area including the Jewish cemetery and several Jewish mass murder sites.

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Pathetic State of Jewish Cemetery in Panevėžys

Pathetic State of Jewish Cemetery in Panevėžys

The state of the old Jewish cemetery in the New Town section of Panevėžys requires emergency action, according to Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman.

The cemetery is thought to have been established for the burial of the first Jewish and Karaïte settlers in the northern Lithuanian city and surrounding areas.

The Panevėžys regional administration adopted a resolution for maintaining the old Jewish graveyard back in 2019 but hasn’t followed through on the ground. Time, disregard and the weather have since taken a greater toll, which prompted Kofman to seek additional redress from the Panevėžys regional administration.

“The main section of the old Jewish cemetery in the New Town neighborhood has been abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin, with fallen trees knocking over headstones, overgrown grass and shrubbery, felled trees and branches left unremoved. We would be grateful if administration staff could come, formulate a maintenance plan and finally care for this unique historic city location,” Kofman said.

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Jewish Communities Warn of Urgent Threat amid Alarming Rise in Anti-Semitic Attacks at Austrian Parliament Conference

Jewish Communities Warn of Urgent Threat amid Alarming Rise in Anti-Semitic Attacks at Austrian Parliament Conference

September 11, 2024

Brussels, September 11, 2024–The European Jewish Congress (EJC) strongly endorses the joint statement issued at the Austrian Parliament conference addressing the disturbing rise in anti-Semitism following October 7th as an affront to democracy and human rights, and are supported by parliamentarians and policymakers from across the world.

The conference titled “Never Again? Democracy Cannot Tolerate Antisemitism” organized on the initiative of Austrian National Council president Wolfgang Sobotka convened parliamentarians from 22 nations, including speaker of the Israeli Knesset Amir Ohana, members of the European Parliament, EU officials and Jewish community leaders from around the world, to confront the escalating anti-Semitic threats with a united and decisive response.

The joint statement condemned the alarming surge in anti-Semitic violence, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and calling for stringent oversight of online anti-Semitism and reinforced security for Jewish institutions. It also underscored the pressing need to address the growing anti-Semitic climate on university campuses.

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