The Sabbath begins at 6:46 P.M. on Friday, September 27, and concludes at 7:55 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews Marked in Kupiškis
Photos by Miglė Zakarauskaitės and Aušra Jonušytė
Local residents and politicians commemorated Lithuania’s Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews September 23 at a monument to Holocaust victims at the Jewish cemetery there and visited an older Jewish cemetery in the once-thriving shtetl, laying stones gathered from streets in the town.
The same day the public library housed in the restored synagogue held a lesson on Jewish life in Kupiškis for students in grades 1 through 4.
Šiauliai Jewish Community Meets to Discuss Rosh Hashanah
Last Tuesday the Šiauliai Jewish Community held a meeting of members and friends with Rabbi Kalev Krelin to discuss material and spiritual preparations for the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration.
Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews Marked at Ponar
The Lithuanian Jewish Community, Lithuanian politicians and foreign ambassadors marked the Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews September 23 at the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius.
LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky spoke at the event, saying among other things: “I have several requests by the Lithuanian Jewish Community. First, I want to know the names of the people who were murdered here. And throughout Lithuania as well, where 400, 500, 600 Jews were murdered in every town. Where are their names? … The Lithuanian Jewish Community also wants to know the names of the murderers. Many years ago now we were promised they would be made public, but they remain unknown to us. I am convinced it has to be made very clear who was a murderer and who was a rescuer. So I would like to ask sincerely the lists of those are known now at least be made available to us.”
Also attending and speaking were Lithuanian MP Emanuelis Zingeris, Israeli ambassador Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein with Israeli embassy chargé-d’affaires Erez Golan, German ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann, US ambassador Kara McDonald, speaker of Lithuanian parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė and others. Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yaatom performed kaddish. Vilnius Religious Jewish Community chairman Simas Levinas also participated.
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.
Natalja Cheifec Lecture Series Continues
Natalja Cheifec’s #ŠALOM club invites you to a zoom meeting at 5:30 P.M. on September 26 featuring an intriguing account of Jewish life and traditions. Receive zoom credentials by registering and don’t forget to include your questions of interest on the registration form.
Register here: https://forms.gle/BTA6PZpaHLmKfM969
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:04 P.M. on Friday, September 20, and concludes at 8:13 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
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.
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.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:22 P.M. on Friday, September 13, and concludes at 8:31 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
Twelve Thousand Pivonija Holocaust Victims Remembered
People gathered at noon on the first Sunday in September for the annual commemoration of the approximately 12,000 Jews murdered in the Pivonija Forest outside Ukmergė (Vilkomir) this year as in years past. Ukmergė Jewish Community chairman Artūras Taicas began the ceremony with an address and Kaunas Jewish Community member Iseris Šreibergas said kaddish. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kuklianksy, members and heads of regional LJC affiliates, local politicians, local school children and ambassadors to Lithuania including Israel’s Hadas Wittenberg Silverstein attended the ceremony.
Dance Symphony from the Jeursalem of the North
A music and dance play based on Jievaras Jasinskis’s “Symphony from the Jerusalem of the North” is returning to the stage for two performances.
Time: 6:00 P.M., September 19
Place: Alytus Town Theater, Alytus, Lithuania
Time: 6:00 P.M., September 24
Place: Saulė Concert Hall, Šiauliai, Lithuania
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:39 P.M. on Friday, September 6, and concludes at 8:50 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Monday, September 9, is also the Day of the Victims of the Holocaust and of Racial Violence in Slovakia, commemorating the day in 1941 when the puppet government of the Nazi protectorate of Slovakia issued a decree on the legal status of Jews in the country. This decree, known as the Jewish Codex, led to the deportation of Jews from the country, ultimately resulting in the murder of approximately 70,000 Slovak Jews.
Gunman Killed in Munich near Israeli Consulate on Anniversary of Black September Massacre
BERLIN–Police in Munich say they thwarted a potential attack on Jewish targets Thursday after they shot and killed a man who was firing a rifle near the Israeli Consulate and a museum documenting Nazi Germany.
Police have not offered details on the suspect. Some German media outlets reported he was a juvenile from Austria police had previously investigated for alleged ties to Islamic extremism.
Germany’s public broadcaster Deutsche Welle verified the authenticity of cell-phone videos shared online which show a younger male carrying a rifle fitted with a bayonet before and during the shootout.
Efraim Zuroff Leaves Simon Wiesenthal Center
Last Nazi Hunter Efraim Zuroff Resigns from Simon Wiesenthal Center, Vows to Fight Anti-Semitism
by Eyal Green, Jerusalem Post, September 4, 2024
Efraim Zuroff, the last Nazi hunter, steps down after 38 years at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, pledging to continue fighting anti-Semitism.
Unofficially known as the last Nazi hunter, Efraim Zuroff has stepped down as director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Israel office after 38 years, Zuroff announced September 3.
Efraim Zuroff was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1948 and dedicated his life to identifying and bringing to justice Nazi war criminals who had evaded justice for decades. His interest in Holocaust studies began early, and after earning a degree in history from Yeshiva University, he moved to Israel in 1970 to work at Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Visitors in Švenčionys
Mother and son Eudenta and Samull Virine from Canada visited the Nalšia Museum in Švenčionys on August 21 where Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro gave them a guided tour including viewing implements and artifacts from Jewish homes, the history of the region and a new exhibit on the fate of the Jews of Švenčionys. Eudenta’s mother was born in Švenčionys.
They sought archival information about the families of Leiba and Abraham Alperovitch and Mengel Bushkanietz with the help of historian and museum specialist Nadežda Spiridonovienė. The museum has very little information regarding these surnames but they are recorded as living in Švenčionys in a Russian Empire census conducted before World War I.
The two visitors also viewed the Menorah statue in the town’s central park. They went on to visit a Jewish mass murder site in nearby Švenčionėliai.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 7:57 P.M. on Friday, August 30, and concludes at 9:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Monday is also Labor Day, an official US holiday with businesses and government offices closed. Monday is also an official Lithuanian holiday marking the start of the school year.
European Day of Jewish Culture 2024
This year’s topic is family.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community is celebrating the European Day of Jewish Culture this Sunday, September 1, with a full day’s program of events, lessons, workshops, discussions and exhibits. All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required for most of the events below.
Here’s the program:
11:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. First Hebrew lesson for the whole family with Ruth Reches at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius. Ruth will soon be forming new classes for studying Hebrew. Register here: https://bit.ly/4g5jZbW
European Day of Jewish Culture Coming September 1
The European Day of Jewish Culture celebrated on the first Sunday in September falls on September 1 this year. This year’s celebration will feature Yiddish and Hebrew lessons at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius and a walking tour of Jewish Vilna with guide Viljamas Žitkauskas. The students from Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium are planning performances and the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club is also sponsoring activities.
Jewish song and dance ensemble Fayerlakh will hold a concert and Raimondas Savickas is planning an open-air art workshop. Julija Patashnik will conduct an Israeli dance class, celebrated author and animator Ilja Bereznickas’s books and animated films will be featured and the Bagel Shop Café will provide the culinary education component.
An exhibit by Litvak artist Theo Tobiasse will open at the LJC in Vilnius, cantor Shmuel Yatom will perform a blessing of families and stand-up comedian Žilvinas Kerbelis is to perform. The Cvi Park Israeli street food kiosk space will host a concert including violinist Dalia Dėdinskaitė, Glebas Pyšniakas on cello, tenor Rafailas Karpis, Tadas Motiečius on accordion and others.
Stay tuned for more details and registration information.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 8:14 P.M. on Friday, August 23, and concludes at 9:28 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.