Lithuanian Jewish Community

Lithuanian National Radio and Television Names Marius Ivaškevičius Man of the Year

Marius Ivaškevičius, the writer and organizer of a Holocaust commemoration march in Molėtai, Lithuania, has been named Man of the Year for 2016 by Lithuanian National Radio and Television.

Last May Ivaškevičius published an internet appeal for the public to attend a march in his hometown along the route Jews were taken to their deaths in 1941. He followed this appeal with an essay called “I’m Not Jewish,” a translation of which attracted the most visitors to any single item on the Lithuanian Jewish Community web site ever.

Ivaškevičius’s march in Molėtai attracted international attention and dominated the Lithuanian media on August 29, 2016. About 3,000 people from Lithuania and abroad marched from the town square to the mass grave site, the same route about 2,000 Jews marched to their deaths 75 years earlier.

2016-12-272017-01-06

Lithuanian Citizenship Granted Several Hundred Litvaks after Correction to Law

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Vilnius, December 25, BNS–After the law was amended to provide greater opportunities to Jews who left Lithuania between the wars to restore citizenship, several hundred requests for Lithuanian citizenship have been granted.

The Lithuanian Migration Department reports following amendments adopted in April of 2016, Lithuanian citizenship was restored to 223 people of Jewish ethnicity through the third quarter of the year. Of these, 209 held Israeli citizenship and 14 South African. No applications were rejected. A significant portion of requests have not been processed yet, but Migration Department representatives said the trend continues for the fourth quarter and citizenship should be restored for another 200 people.

Citizenship was also granted to 36 people whose applications had been rejected earlier. Before the new law came into effect, both the number of requests granted and requests rejected were growing annually. In 2014 10 were rejected, in 2015 76, and in the first half of 2016 105 applications by Litvaks for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship were rejected. Correspondingly, in 2014 528 cases of restoration of citizenship to Jews were granted, in 2015 602, but in the first half of 2016 just 125 people of Jewish ethnicity received positive answers.

“As early as the beginning of the year we knew there would be some sort of changes, so we froze potentially negative decisions. When the new law was adopted, we renewed the frozen cases, so that perhaps explains why the positive decisions increased. But there is no flood,” Migration Department director Evelina Gudzinskaitė told BNS.

She said there are three main reasons Litvak descendants seek Lithuanian citizenship. “For some there is a symbolic tie to Lithuania, they want to restore citizenship, to have it, they want to maintain their roots. For some they need it for practical reasons, they want to come back here, they’re involved in cemetery protection, restoration of synagogues, they are concerned with heritage which still survives here, they want to visit [heritage sites]… A Lithuanian passport is also citizenship in the European Union, so there’s the opportunity to arrive in the EU, to travel more easily,” she commented

In April the law was changed to make it more explicit, following a new procedure by migration officials and courts demanding Litvaks provide proof they or their ancestors were persecuted in Lithuania during the period between the two world wars. The matter revolved around a nuance in meaning, between the words “fled” and “withdrew.” Both cases are now covered in the new language.

2016-12-272016-12-27

First Hanukkah Light Lit at Lithuanian Jewish Community

Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon and Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky lit the first Hanukkah candle on a menorah on the balcony of the Community building in Vilnius Saturday night. Vilnius Choral Synagogue cantor Shmuel Yatom added to the beauty and dignity of the ceremony with his performance of a hymn.

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Saturday evening, December 24, marked the beginning of the Hanukkah holiday. Hanukkah is always celebrated for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev on the Jewish calendar. The word itself is often explained as coming from a root for inauguration, consecration and dedication.

2016-12-272017-01-02

Sholem Aleichem Students Celebrate Hanukkah

Vilniaus Šolomo Aleichemo ORT gimnazijos vaikai švenčia Chanuką

Gymnasium director for informal education Ela Pavinskienė said students in a volunteer group had learned how to make decorative garlands which were hung up around the school. The teacher taught students in grades 1 to 5 about the holiday, story and meaning of Hanukkah, and about kosher food rules. The students learned how to make traditional Hanukkah doughnuts.

Pavinskienė said students from grades 1 to 4 held a concert directed by third-graders, with each grade contributing a song, dance or skit. All participants received a doughnut and a small gift. The children came to the concert in their holiday best and in a festive mood. There was a contest for best homemade menorah. The menorahs are now on display on windowsills on the second floor. Each grade also held a light-show with music.

Children were asked to make doughnuts at home with their parents, and so many delicious doughnuts were brought in. A lottery was held for those who had contributed doughnuts with the winner selected at random who received a special prize.

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2016-12-232016-12-29

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2016-12-23

Galicia Jewish Museum Hanukkah and Christmas Greetings

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2016-12-23

German Ambassador Sends Hanukkah Greetings

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2016-12-232016-12-29

Writer and Thinker Tomas Venclova Condemns Street Named after Lithuanian Nazi in Vilnius

Tomas Venclova: „Škirpa nusipelnė gatvės ne daugiau negu Paleckis“

“Škirpa doesn’t deserve a street named after him any more than Paleckis does.”

Poet, writer, translator and intellectual professor Tomas Venclova, currently living in the U.S., is highly critical of a street in Vilnius still named after interwar Lithuanian diplomat and colonel Kazys Škirpa.

“I think Kazys Škirpa, who obsequiously served Hitler and worked with the Gestapo, has no more earned having a street named after him than has Justas Paleckis, who kowtowed to Stalin and worked with the NKVD,” Venclova said in a statement which was read at a discussion at the Old Town Hall in Vilnius.

“The argument that Škirpa was in favor of independence while Paleckis was against is demagogic and full of error. THey both attempted to preserve independence formally but not actually under the protection of totalitarian regimes, and both of them killed independence,” the professor of literature and one of the five founders of Lithuania’s Helsinki Group said.

Full story here.

2016-12-232016-12-29

Memo on Uman, Ukraine Desecration

WASHINGTON, D.C. December 22, 2016

FROM: Mark B. Levin, CEO
Daniel Rubin, chairman
Alexander Smuckler, president

In the early morning of December 21 the site of the tomb of Hassidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman Ukraine was desecrated with a pig’s head with a carved swastika and red paint. Two attackers entered the synagogue, sprayed tear gas and shouted anti-Semitic epithets at the worshipers.

Worshipers visit the site throughout the year, especially during Rosh Hashanah, and hold services at the rabbi’s grave at all hours.

2016-12-232016-12-23

A Story of Moral Courage

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SKOVAGALIU, LITHUANIA… NOVEMBER 1943 Lea Port and Samuel Ingel were members of a resistance group in the Kovno ghetto. They escaped the ghetto and walked more then 100 kilometers towards the village of Simnas. There they met Semonas Tamulinas, a communist who had been hiding from the Germans for three years. He said that since Lea did not look Jewish she could pass as a Christian and his sister, Elena Ivanauskai, would take her into her home. Lea lived with Elena and Petras Ivanauskai and their two children, Giedrute and Gintautas. At first Elena did not know that Lea was Jewish, but once she found out she agreed to keep hidding her. As the weather became colder Lea asked Elena if Samuel could hid in their barn. Elena agreed to help Samuel too. Lea and Samuel stayed with the Ivanauskai family until the area was liberated by the Soviet army in August 1944. In 2006 the JFR reunited Lea with Giedrute.

To read more about Giedrute and Gintautas Ivanauskai click here.

2016-12-23

Hanukkah Greetings from Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Friends,

JTA was founded in 1917 to inform the world about the plight of Jewish refugees after World War I.

As we get set to turn 100, more than 1 million Jews still live in Europe. They aren’t refugees, but they face alarming developments — including anti-Jewish violence from jihadist terrorists and spikes in anti-Semitism, anti-Israel activism and political extremism. The post-Holocaust framework that has kept the peace in Europe for 70 years is teetering.

One thing that hasn’t changed and won’t change: JTA is paying attention — and keeping you informed about the lives of our brothers and sisters in Europe.

We are on the ground with a full-time reporter and a network of correspondents.

To continue and even expand our reporting efforts, we need your help.

Your financial support is critical to our efforts. Please make a tax-deductible gift today. Join our community of supporters who believes that keeping everyone informed and connected helps Jewish communities throughout the world remain safe and strong.

May the Hanukkah lights bring much warmth and joy to your home.

Sincerely,

Ami Eden,
CEO and executive editor
newsdesk@jta.org

P.S. A generous donor will match all new and increased gifts to JTA. Thank you in advance for your support. Should you wish, mail your check to JTA, 24 W. 30th St., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

If you have already made you year-end gift, you have my heartfelt thanks.

2016-12-232016-12-29

Jews Attacked at Ukraine Tomb of Revered Hassidic Rabbi

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Worshipers at grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman teargassed by assailants described as neo-Nazis, fake blood and pig’s head left at site

Jewish worshipers in Ukraine were teargassed and the grave of Hassidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Bratslav) was defiled with fake blood and a pig’s head in a Wednesday night attack at the popular pilgrimage site visited by tens of thousands of Jews every year.

The incident at about 2 A.M. in the central city of Uman was quickly condemned by officials in Israel, with lawmakers calling on Ukrainian authorities to boost security and swiftly seek justice for the perpetrators.

Two Israeli nationals were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the attack, according to Rabbi Yisrael Elhadad, the sexton of the synagogue on the site of the tomb, told Israeli media.

Elhadad described the attackers as neo-Nazis.

2016-12-212016-12-29

European Jewish Congress Expresses Condolences

EJC stands in deepest solidarity with the people of Europe after night of terror

Dear Friends,

Please find below EJC’s statement following the barbaric attacks that occurred yesterday in Berlin, Zurich and Ankara.

Best regards,
The EJC team

European Jewish Congress (EJC)
www.eurojewcong.org

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EJC stands in deepest solidarity with the people of Europe after night of terror

(Tuesday, December 20, 2016) – The European Jewish Congress (EJC) has expressed its sympathy and solidarity with the nations of those who suffered terror attacks last night which saw the Russian Ambassador to Turkey murdered, a ramming car attack at a Christmas market in Berlin and a shooting in Zurich.

“We are appalled at these senseless and despicable murder across Europe,” Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the EJC, said. “Our hearts are with the victims and their families, our deepest solidarity with the people and our strongest wishes for a full recovery to those injured in these barbaric attacks.”

“Once again we have seen the bloody face of Islamist terrorism in our capitals and in our streets. Let us not just hope that 2017 will be a better year, but let us join together to defeat this scourge and rid it from our societies.”

2016-12-212016-12-23

Hebrew Classes Begin in January

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Dear Community members and friends,

The long-awaited Hebrew classes are coming back to the Community! Classes will be held Sundays and the first class is at 9:30 A.M. for beginners and 10:15 for more advanced students on January 8, 2017.Senior Hebrew language teacher of the Sholem Aleichem Gymnasium Ruth Reches will teach the classes. The course costs 2 euros per 2 academic hours. Workbooks will be made available to all students. Don’t miss out on a wonderful opportunity and please register quickly, before January 4, via email to hebrewlietuva@gmail.com

2016-12-212017-01-06

Fayerlakh 45th Birthday Concert: No Signs of Old Age Yet

A concert to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble took place December 18 with an overflow crowd of well-wishers and fans. A large screen projection by the stage relayed images to those in the very back of the hall, and Jews from the regional communities as well as the Lithuanian capital turned out in abundance. The group performed some songs in Yiddish and the birthday coincided with the issuing of a new CD by the collective which includes qualified musicians from across the generations, from children to the elderly.

Of the ensembles 40 or so members, the youngest is just five and the most senior about to turn 70. The little flame which sprang up in 1971 burns on, and the audience on December 18 included more non-Jews than Jews, including a delegation from the Association of Disabled Poles who attended in wheelchairs.

The entire year has been a celebration of the collective’s birthday and in March Lithuanian prime minister Butkevičius sent warm wishes for their continued success. The ensemble was presented with a large cake with small flames at the mid-December celebration, and Lithuanian parliamentary speaker Pranckietis hailed the longest-surviving musical group in Lithuanian history as well.

2016-12-212017-01-03

Security First

by Eli E. Hertz
December 13, 2016

In the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War, after three Arab armies converged on Israel’s nightmarish borders, even the United Nations was forced to recognize that Israel’s pre-1967 Six-Day War borders invited repeated aggression. Thus, UN Resolution 242, which formed the conceptual foundation for a peace settlement, declares that all states in the region should be guaranteed “safe and secure borders.”

Lt. general (ret.) Tom Kelly:

“I cannot defend this land (Israel) without that terrain (West Bank) … The West Bank Mountains, and especially their five approaches, are the critical terrain. If an enemy secures those passes, Jerusalem and Israel become uncovered. Without the West Bank, Israel is only eight miles wide at its narrowest point. That makes it indefensible.” [i]

2016-12-202016-12-20

Piscator Awards Recipients Named

James C. Nicola and Marina Kellen French to receive Erwin Piscator Awards on March 30, 2017

Dear Friends,

Two days ago, on December 17, we commemorated the 123rd anniversary of Erwin Piscator’s birth. Born in 1893 in a small village near Wetzlar, Germany, Piscator quickly made headlines in 1920s Berlin with his groundbreaking theatre productions. During the artistically fertile years of the Weimar Republic, Erwin Piscator founded the political and epic theatre and earned a reputation as one of the most innovative theater impresarios and producers far beyond Germany. After Hitler’s rise to power, Piscator fled and eventually found exile in New York where he founded and ran the Dramatic Workshop at the New School for Social Research teaching a whole generation of first-class American artists, among them Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando, Judith Malina, Tony Randall, Elaine Stritch, and Tennessee Williams. In the 1960s, Piscator again made theater history as the artistic director of the Freie Volksbühne (Free People’s Theater) in West Berlin, where he directed the world premieres of Rolf Hochhuth’s The Deputy and Peter Weiss’s The Investigation.

2016-12-20

Klaipėda Jewish Community Hold Charity Action at Klaipėda Children’s Hospital

For the fifth year in a row the Klaipėda Jewish Community has carried out a charity campaign to help the patients at the Klaipėda Children’s Hospital. According to Jewish custom, children receive a bit of money and gifts during Hanukkah which they must share. Children donated gifts to children being treated at the trauma unit of the hospital. Children’s Hospital chief physician Klaudija Bobianskienė told children and parents about the Children’s Hospital and showed them the latest diagnostic equipment. Diapers were donated to the newborns’ unit during the charity event as well.

2016-12-20

Al Jolson Birthday Concert

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You are invited to a concert to celebrate the 130th birthday of Litvak musician and screen star Al Jolson at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius.

Free to the public, come and enjoy!

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