Photo: Left: Simon Karczmar and wife
The Old Town Hall in Vilnius will open an exhibit of paintings by Litvak artist Simon Karczmar (1903-1982) at 6:00 P.M. on Monday, November 6. Originally from Dieveniškės, Lithuania, Karczmar moved to Jerusalem later. The exhibit runs till November 30.
The Sabbath begins at 4:21 P.M. on Friday, November 3, and concludes at 5:34 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Police conducted home searches and confiscated phones to determine those who took part in the storming of an airport in the southern Russian region
Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced the arrest of 83 people in connection with Sunday’s anti-Semitic riots at Makhachkala Airport in the Republic of Dagestan. Police have warned that any attempts to provoke further unrest in the Muslim-majority region will be suppressed.
In a statement on Telegram on Monday, the ministry said officers had conducted over 50 searches and had seized mobile phones and other equipment to be used as evidence against those suspected of organizing and participating in the riot.
The Sabbath begins at 5:36 P.M. on Friday, October 27, and concludes at 6:47 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club will hold target shooting competitions in three age groups from 10: A.M. to 1:30 P.M. on Sunday, November 12, at the GSKA shooting range in Vilnius.
Age groups include 13 to 18, men 19 and above and women 19 and above. The competition is shooting targets at 10 meters with pistols including 6.35 mm, 7.6-7.65 mm, 9×18 mm (9 mm Para and 9 mm Luger) and 10×22 mm (.45 automatic). Pistols, ammunition and safety equipment will provided by the shooting range.
For more information and to register before midnight on November 10, send an email to info.maccabilt@gmail.com. The cost is 10 euros per participant.
Anti-Semitic Threats against Backdrop of War
by Inga Kontrimavičiūtė, sekunde.lt, October 18, 2023
One private chat group for students in Panevėžys has turned into a forum for the hatred of Jews and even for death threats.
The student who witnessed this and reported it to police was shocked to learn his fellow student who hurled anti-Semitic insults serves as a volunteer soldier in the Lithuanian military.
He agreed to tell this shocking story on condition of anonymity.
The young man says he is truly afraid for his own safety.
He says it began last Friday when one student from his class posted the Palestinian flag to the private chat.
“When I took offense, he replied Jews are f___s. I told him he shouldn’t say that. He replied: or what? I tried to deescalate the situation, but then the insults began. I tried to explain the situation in Israel, then he said that there is no such country called Israel. In the end he threatened: I see the Star of David should be carved into you,” the young man recalled.
Translated from sekunde.lt here.
Vilnius athletics school Sostinės Tauras hosted the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club’s annual mini-Maccabee Games tournament October 15. Participants included Makabi Club members and students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium. Sports included volley ball, indoor soccer, basketball, table tennis and badminton. The games began with a minute of silence in honor of the victims of Hamas terror in Israel.
The Makabi Club team won in volley ball against the Sholem team as well as the third team, Kantora. Sholem placed second.
Makabi also took first place in indoor soccer against Sholem.
Lithuanian MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis came under fire last spring for posting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements on facebook. He was removed from his party and condemned by other political parties, but when he refused to apologize and continued to make similar posts, the ruling coalition sought to impeach and remove him as a member of parliament. The opposition were initially cool towards the idea, but warmed to it after Hamas attacked Israel two weeks ago. The ruling coalition and speaker of parliament filed a complaint with the prosecutor general alleging the MP was sowing ethnic discord against Jews in Lithuania. The prosecutor’s office is calling the MP a “special witness” because he enjoys parliamentary immunity from prosecution. Žemaitaitis says the impeachment commission was formed outside the bounds of parliamentary regulations and is unconstitutional. All sides agree the commission’s initial findings will have to be adjudicated by a court of law, most likely Lithuania’s Constitutional Court, before proceeding to the next stage in the process. This is the latest installment in the on-going saga.
Impeachment Commission No Longer Inviting Remigijus Žemaitaitis to Testify: MP Intentionally Avoiding Attending Meetings
by Gailė Jaruševičiūtė-Mockuvienė, Lrytas.lt, October 23
As Lithuanian MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis continues to fail to appear at meetings of a special interpellation commission, the commission resolved Monday not to send any more summons to the MP.
“We won’t undertake additional measures. We will simply send an access link to all meetings we hold in the future and will provide the member of parliament the chance to connect and explain his position,” commission chairman Arūnas Valinskas said during the commission meeting held Monday.
Valinskas said Remigijus Žemaitaitis’s refusal to present his own explanations could be interpreted as a conscious effort to discredit the commission’s actions, and might include using loop-holes in the parliamentary statute for that purpose.
Perception of the Israel-Gaza Conflict in France
by Dov Maimon, Le Point, October 15, 2023
Exploring France’s Evolving Sympathy for Israel and its Jewish Population: An Analysis
In contrast to previous military conflicts when French public opinion leaned toward supporting the Palestinians, a remarkable shift has emerged in recent days. This shift reflects a surge in sympathy in France towards Israel and its Jewish community driven by a complex interplay of factors connected to evolving dynamics in the Middle East and mounting concerns about the growing threat of Islamic extremism. While this new-found affinity is worth describing, its long-term sustainability remains uncertain, given the various potential factors that could shape public sentiment moving forward. …
Full opinion piece in English here.
Photo: Julius Kalinskas/ELTA
Lithuanian media reported 100 or more people gathered on Thursday, October 19, at Cathedral Square and marched to Vincas Kudirka Square in front of Government House in Vilnius to support Palestinians in Gaza. Several people protested their gathering on Cathedral Square waving Israeli and rainbow flags. The Lithuanian Telegraphic Agency ELTA reported:
Thursday evening a protest was held at Vincas Kudirka Square in Vilnius with about 100 protestors paying their respects to the residents of the Gaza Strip who have died in the military conflict with Israel. The Palestinian supporters gathered there after marching in silence from Cathedral Square.
Palestinian supporters held signs reading “No to apartheid, occupation and war crimes,” “End the occupation,” “Your silence supports Palestinian genocide,” “Stop genocide” [and similar inscriptions].
SKOPJE/VIENNA, 14 October 2023–Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on combating anti-Semitism, and associate professor Dr. Regina Polak, personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, made the following statement:
“The horrific Hamas terrorist attacks that shattered this week’s early Shabbat morning calm along Israel’s southern border have shocked the civilized world. The torture and murder of hundreds of innocent civilians–men, women, children and the elderly–and the forceable taking of dozens more as hostages to a fate unknown call to mind even the actions leading to the mass murder of Jews in the dark days of the Holocaust.
“The expressions of support and solidarity of religious leaders, including Muslims, from around the globe are greatly appreciated. Nonetheless, there have been demonstrators in cities across the OSCE region that praise these heinous acts and ‘celebrate’ the murder of Jews. We have also witnessed a surge in anti-Semitism on social media, and Jewish individuals, communities and their institutions are being threatened. We are grateful to the leaders and diplomatic representatives of many OSCE participating States. We ask them all to carefully assess the heightened security concerns that their Jewish citizens face and do whatever is necessary to address them.”
The Sabbath begins at 5:52 P.M. on Friday, October 20, and concludes at 7:02 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Photo: Šiauliai ghetto territory in 1988, unknown photographer, courtesy Ninth Fort Museum.
by Kristina Tamelytė, LRT.lt, October 15, 2023
“A young girl had to be killed so we decided to drown her,” doctor Aharon Pitsk wrote in his diary in 1942. He died just before the Šiauliai [Shavl] ghetto was “liquidated” with surviving ghetto prisoners sent on to Dachau and Stutthof. Šiauliai had a Jewish population of over 8,000 people before the Holocaust and only a few hundred survived.
The Nazis issued an order it was illegal for Jews to procreate so a newborn was a danger to the family, the community and everyone. Unborn children also posed a danger so ghetto officials encouraged and demanded women get abortions. This was considered the lesser evil, the death of one person instead of several. The children who were born were subject to poisoning. This often wasn’t lethal so “a more effective method” was found.
Pitsk called Lithuania “my homeland” in his diary.
The Litvak Memorial Garden in Plungė has added a new metal apple to the sculptured metal apple orchard there to commemorate Martynas Kuzmickas, an Israeli police officer from Lithuania who was killed by Hamas in southern Israel two weeks ago.
The latest issue of the Bagel Shop Newsletter has appeared in print and here in .pdf format.
Beigelių krautuvėlė-EN (1)
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and chairwoman Faina Kukliansky wish a happy birthday to Lithuanian independence leader and our good friend Vytautas Landsbergis, who turned 91 Monday, October 16.
We wish you health, stamina, peace and many more years to come. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
With deep sadness we report the death of Ida Vileikienė on October 17. She was born in 1942 in the Šiauliai ghetto. The Lithuanian Jewish Community sends our deepest condolences to her widower Petras, daughter Svajonė and son Donatas.
Lidija Karpenko passed away October 16. She was born in 1947 and was a member of the Jewish community and a Social Center client. Our deepest condolences to her daughter Irina, other members of her family and all who knew her.
Dear members,
You’re invited to Kabalat Shabat prayer service including recitation of kaddish for the innocent Israeli civilians murdered by the Hamas terrorist group. The prayer service will be led by Ba’al Tefillah Viljamas Zitkauskas.
It takes place at 6:00 P.M. this Friday at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Prior registration is required by contacting Žana Skudovičienė at zanas@sc.lzb.lt or (+370) 678 81514.
Am Yisrael khai!
Russian-language journalist Avner Korin, the editor at haifaru.co.il and a frequent traveller between Lithuania and Israel who knows the Israeli/Palestinian situation very well, will speak at the Lithuanian Jewish Community about the before, during and aftermath of the Hamas attacks two weeks ago. His presentation is called “The Situation in Israel on the Eve of the Horrific Terrorist Attack and Now” which will be followed by a discussion and questions from the audience. It happens at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, October 22, at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius. Registration is required by contacting Žana Skudovičienė by telephone at (+370) 678 81514 or by email at zanas@sc.lzb.lt.