The Sabbath begins at 4:40 P.M. on Friday, February 2, and concludes at 5:57 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Elon Musk Expresses Shock about the Holocaust
Elon Musk expresses shock about the Holocaust after Auschwitz visit that was “incredibly moving, and deeply sad and tragic that humans could do this to humans.”
Elon Musk took a private tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern Poland on January 22 as he defended his social platform, X, against accusations of spreading anti-Semitism.
“It was incredibly moving, and deeply sad and tragic that humans could do this to humans,” the billionaire Tesla, Inc. chief and X owner said on Monday of the site where an estimated 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Musk was seen carrying his son on his shoulders in a photo of the tour, as he stood alongside Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the chairman of the European Jewish Association, Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev, and Ben Shapiro, a controversial conservative media pundit. Shapiro later hosted a discussion with Musk organized by the EJA in nearby Cracow.
Full story here.
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.
Annual Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai
The annual Liova Taicas memorial tournament organized by the Šiauliai Jewish Community and now the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will take place for the 14th time on February 4 at the Šiauliai Athletics Gymnasium. Šiauliai Jewish Community chairman Sania Kerbelis said with Makabi’s involvement they expect to receive athletes from Makabi clubs in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and other cities and towns this year.
Participants will contend in indoor soccer, 3-on-3 basketball and volleyball. Those wanting to participate should call Rašella at 869910621.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
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.
General Meeting of Makabi Club Members
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will hold a general meeting and conference of members at 11:00 A.M. on Sunday, February 25, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.
Agenda:
1. Report by president
2. Report by revision commission
3. Election of members of executive board
4. Topical and operational issues
International Holocaust Day Marked at Paliesius Manor with Concert
The Paliesius Manor house in the Ignalina district of Lithuania hosted a concert to mark International Holocaust Day on January 27 by maestro Gidon Krember and the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra. Many thanks to all those who made this possible, including Gidon Kremer, Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, the Paliesius Manor estate, professor Julius Ptašek, LJC board member Ela Gurina, Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium principal Ruth Reches, LJC executive director Michailas Segal, Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble director Larisa Vyšniauskienė, LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė, Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro, Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman and everyone who attended.
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.
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.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 4:26 P.M. on Friday, January 26, and concludes at 5:45 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Friday is also Australia Day and Saturday is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust proclaimed by the United Nations in 2005.
#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
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.
#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
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.
Gregory Kaplan Photography Exhibit
The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is marking International Holocaust Day with an exhibition of photographs by Gregory Kaplan from Israel featuring the Mea Shearim enclave/neighborhood of Ultra-Orthodox believers in near the Old City in Jerusalem. The exhibit opens at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, January 31, at the Samuel Bak Museum inside the Tolerance Center located at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.
In their press release, the Vilna Gaon Museum quoted Kaplan and stated:
“Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem, an island of the past enduring a world of triumphant artificial intelligence. ‘I take pictures with a Nicon [sic]. I am a loner, and my works are short stories that I hope are interesting not only to me but to others too.’ (Gregory Kaplan).”
Book Drive for Tu b’Shvat
The administration and library of the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius is holding their annual book drive to celebrate Tu b’Shvat. In a letter to parents and the community, school administrators wrote:
Dear reader,
Tu b’Shvat is drawing near, the New Year of trees. The Gymnasium is continuing our tradition and is asking the community to mark this holiday by donating books to the school library. In this way we pay respect to the trees which have been made into books, passing on from generation to generation to us the knowledge, wisdom, beauty and dreams of the whole world. Let us be as trees: firmly connected by our roots to the past and continuing to draw strength from that past, always growing slowly but resolutely, ceaselessly growing towards heaven.
We are a Jewish school, Jews are the People of the Book, and we must strive to have a rich library! Therefore we call upon students, parents and teachers to take part in this campaign and to donate books to the library.
The campaign is scheduled to run from January 16 to February 2.
What we need and further information:
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.
Tu b’Shvat Celebration
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and Bnei Maskilim invite you to come celebrate the greenest of Jewish holidays, Tu b’Shvat, on Wednesday, January 24, starting at 6:30 P.M. at the LJC in Vilnius, located at Pylimo street no. 4. The cost is 5 euros per person. Registration is required by sending an email to viljamas@lzb.lt or by calling (+370) 67250699. Everyone is welcome.
Tu b’Shvat
This Thursday, January 25, is the Jewish holiday of Tu b’Shvat, the 15th day of the month of Shvat, the New Year for trees also known as Israeli Arbor Day. It is traditional to eat of the shvat ha’minim (seven species endemic to the Land of Israel): wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Hag sameakh!
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.