Lithuanian Jewish Community

Kaunas Jewish Community Honors World War II Veterans

The Kaunas Jewish Community includes two World War II veterans among its members, Liubov Jablonovič and Petras Zakroiskis. Age and infirmity doesn’t allow them to leave the house and they were unable to attend the celebration luncheon the Kaunas Jewish Community hosted for its members, including widows, children and grandchildren of veterans. A moment of silence was held to honor the memory of the dead.

Participants shared stories about experiences by their family members during and after the war. The stories included painful as well as funny incidents. Kaunas Jewish Community member Leonidas Levinas warmed the audience’s hearts with songs from the war era by Vladimir Vysotsky. The audience joined in and sang along.

2016-05-10

Guests from Belarus Visit Panevėžys Jewish Community

A jazz group from the city of Bobruisk (Babruysk), Belarus visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community. The members of the band are Jews and Belarusians who teach at the Children’s Music School in Bobruisk. They formed their own group called Thia. Over tea Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman told them about the city of Panevėžys and the history of the Jews living there. The guests were very interested in city industry, what enterprises operate there and the economic situation. They spoke about the economic conditions in Belarus and discussed migration problems. Bobruisk is famous for its marshmallow-like candies which the guests said have a special flavor. They were impressed by Panevėžys, how clean and orderly it was and with such a nice natural environment. They were interested in local Jewish affairs. Their first stop upon arriving in the city was the Jewish Community. Jewish Community members Yefim Grafman and Mikhail Grafman also shared their memories of the former Jewish population with the guests. The guests spoke about the Jewish communities operating in their city and about the close cooperation and friendship between them.

2016-05-10

Lithuanian Parliament to Investigate Why Litvaks Aren’t Getting Citizenship

Vilnius, May 8, BNS–Lawsuits by Litvaks living in Israel and South Africa regarding Lithuanian citizenship have come to the attention of the Lithuanian parliament. Soon at least two parliamentary committees plan to make inquiries into why Lithuanian Jews who left the country between the two world wars and their offspring have been receiving negative responses to their applications for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship for some time now.

“We want to ask what is truly going on, why now these questions have begun to receive a negative answer. At least the information which is reaching us from the embassy, those explanations are very undiplomatic and are offensive to people. They say you are such and such people, that no one persecuted you. It’s not good to talk that way against the entire backdrop of the Holocaust,” deputy speaker of parliament and chairman of the European Affairs Committee Gediminas Kirkilas told BNS.

2016-05-10

Flood of Court Cases over Lithuanian Citizenship for Jews

Why since last year hasn’t the Lithuanian Migration Department followed the law on citizenship currently in force, under which since April of 2011 people of Jewish ethnicity and ethnic Lithuanians who emigrated between 1918 and 1940 and their offspring have the right to Lithuanian citizenship? This question, recently aired in Israel, has been heard by members of the ruling majority and opposition in the Lithuanian parliament, but no one has been able to offer a clear explanation to Litvaks.

Until the middle of last year, about one thousand requests by Litvaks from Israel, South Africa, America and other countries for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship had been granted.

In their requests, Jews from Lithuania have argued that their parents and grandparents were forced to leave the country because of specific internal and external dangers and lack of security. This meets the requirements listed in the law on citizenship for acquiring citizenship.

When the Migration Department under the Lithuanian Interior Ministry began rejecting requests by Litvaks for citizenship, Litvaks, not understanding why the law in force on citizenship was being ignored, began seeking redress in Lithuania’s courts.

2016-05-09

Plans to Commemorate Zwartendijk in Kaunas

BNS reports on plans to commemorate Holocaust-era Dutch consul in Kaunas Jan Zwartendijk, who issued end-visas to complement the “visas for life” transit visas Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara issued to Jews, saving thousands of lives.

Speaking to BNS, Dutch ambassador to Lithuania Bert van der Lingen said Sugihara was well known in Lithuania, while Zwartendijk was not.

In truth, both men worked together to save Jews trying to flee the Nazis in Soviet Lithuania. Sugihara issued visas for transiting Japan, thus allowing many to cross the USSR, but without a final destination visa, many weren’t allowed to even begin their journeys. Zwartendijk issued end-point visas for Curaçao, a Dutch territory in the Caribbean, but one which required no entry visa in any event. While there is no evidence Zwartendijk met with Sugihara–although van der Lingen says they did speak by telephone–both diplomats were aware of one another and knew exactly what they were doing.

2016-05-09

Greetings to Our Veterans on Victory Day!

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman sends her greetings to members of the community on Victory Day, celebrated as Victory in Europe or VE Day in America and Europe on May 8.

I am grateful for the opportunity to honor our veterans and bow my head before them on this day. I wish you, dear friends, good health. You will not forget your heroism, the spiritual and physical suffering, the wounds and losses you experienced. The Community will take care of you to the utmost of its ability. We appreciate and are proud of you, and for living Jews, Victory Day, the victory against the Nazis, means they were rescued from concentration camps, Naziism was defeated, they survived and the shadow of death withdrew. Happy Victory Day, dear veterans, I congratulate you all!

2016-05-08

Come Celebrate Israeli Independence Day

Dear members,

You are cordially invited to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel. The celebration is to take place at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius at 6:30 P.M. on Monday, May 16, 2016. A small klezmer concert is planned and Israeli snacks will be provided.

For more information call +370 67881514 or send an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt

2016-05-08

Come Celebrate Victory Day!

The Lithuanian Jewish Community, the Social Center and the Abi Men Zet Zich Club wish you a happy Victory Day, also known as VE Day in the West, and invite you to come out and honor our veterans of World War II at a ceremony to be held at 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.

For further information please contact Žana Skudovičienė at 8 678 81514

2016-05-07

Learning Yiddish in Lithuania

The sky above was a brilliant blue, with puffy clouds, as I crossed the courtyard of Vilnius University on my way to Yiddish class. I had come to the capital of Lithuania to learn the language once spoken by Eastern European Jews on both sides of the Atlantic, among them my grandfather and many other family members. I’d come to walk the streets my ancestors had walked. And I’d come to see how Lithuanians were engaging with the Jewish past.

“Dear students,” our teacher said, “you must study Yiddish not only with your eyes but also with your nose.” Acquiring this beloved language was not just a skill but an art, requiring not only our heads but our hearts.

Full article here.

2016-05-06

EJC Annual Report on Anti-Semitism

The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University

Annual Report on Anti-Semitism

Decrease in violent attacks against Jews but a rise in “Institutional anti-Semitism” during 2015

(Tel Aviv, Wednesday, May 4, 2016) – Today, the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress, released its Annual Report on Anti-Semitism for 2015 during a press conference held at the university. Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, commented on the findings saying that while there had been a substantial decrease in violent attacks against Jews, there had been a significant rise in “Institutional anti-Semitism.”

2016-05-06

Children’s and Youth Club Activities in April

The Ilan Club and its young directors continued their work and planned for the end of the season and children’s camps. There was a drop-off in attendance as the weather improved and parents kept their children home Sunday afternoons.

April 10, 2016: Activities at the Children’s Club of the LJC. As usual, children came to have both a fun and informative time. This time the activities centered around Jewish love and weddings. We spoke about customs and traditions.

April 17: These activities at the Children’s Club were regarding the upcoming Eilat Beach Party. We had fun, played games and tried to give a sense of the pleasantness of Eilat.

2016-05-06

Launch of Ruth Reches’s Book for Lithuanians Beginning Hebrew

Ruth Reches is launching her new book “Iliustruotas hebrajų-lietuvių kalbų žodynėlis pradedantiesiems” [Illustrated Hebrew-Lithuanian Dictionary for Beginners] for teaching Hebrew to children whose native language is Lithuanian. The learning aid will help pupils understand better and acquire new material, while parents can use the book to follow the progress of their children.

MILDAR-0777

The book is useful for adults beginning Hebrew as well.

2016-05-06

Righteous Gentile Awards Ceremony Held at Lithuanian Government

A ceremony to award the title of Righteous Gentile was held in Lithuania’s Government House May 5. The award recognizes those who saved Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Prime minister Algirdas Butkevičius said at the event the tragedy of the Holocaust 75 years ago took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Lithuanian citizens, our friends, neighbors and loved ones. The numbers would have been even higher if not for those who found the courage at the darkest moments to remain human, Butkevičius said.

“Righteous Gentiles are the real heroes. They risked their own lives and those of their families to provide shelter to people who would been murdered. They disregarded their own situation and paid no heed to reputation, they were led by the voice of the heart. They helped the victims hide, fed them, gave them a roof and embraced them,” he continued.

2016-05-06

Holocaust Commemoration Features Criticism of Lithuanian Government for Denying Litvaks Citizenship

Ponar, May 5, BNS–During the annual commemoration of Holocaust victims Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Thursday blasted decisions by migration officials not to grant Lithuanian citizenship to Litvaks–Lithuanian Jews–and their offspring who left the country between the two world wars.

During the official ceremony on Holocaust Remembrance Day at Ponar, Kukliansky said Lithuanian officials needed “history lessons.”

The event consisted of a march lasting under 20 minutes with marchers carrying Lithuanian and Israeli flags from the Ponar railroad station to the Paneriai (Ponar) Memorial Complex, where the commemorative ceremony too place. This is the route Jews of the Vilnius ghetto marched before they were murdered in the Ponar forest.

2016-05-06

The Jewish Disease

Miami, May 3, 2016–Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is May 4–5. Targum Shlishi’s support of projects related to Holocaust awareness and education is one of its core areas of giving. For many years, this category was primarily focused on pursuing justice for Nazi war crimes—Targum Shlishi worked with Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Israel office, on many initiatives, including partnering on Operation Last Chance. As time has passed, the focus has shifted to the critical importance of issues around awareness, education, and combatting denial.

“The Jewish Disease is not that in every generation there arises an enemy that seeks to destroy us, as we read just two weeks ago in the Passover Haggadah; that has been our destiny. Instead, the Jewish Disease is that in every generation, Jews, wherever their locale, believe that this time is different,” says Aryeh Rubin, director of Targum Shlishi. “Whether it is thirteenth-century England; fifteenth-century Spain; nineteenth-century Ukraine; twentieth-century Germany; or twenty-first century France, England, or elsewhere, anywhere that Jews have achieved an exalted status in society, a confidence sets in that blocks their sense of historical reality. The details vary—perhaps there are Jews who are advisors to their country’s rulers, or on the highest corporate levels of large multinational companies, or one serves as the finance minister in a democratic state—regardless of circumstance, the refrain is always the same. Over and over, the Jews have stated: ‘It can’t happen here.’ Holocaust Remembrance Day serves to remind us that anti-Semitism has a long history and that it can happen anywhere. And this extreme anti-Semitism of yesterday extends to Israel today.”

Expanding on this, Rubin continues: “Israel is increasingly pilloried in ways that are the current face of anti-Semitism. It is critical that on Holocaust Remembrance Day we do much more than see the Holocaust as an historic event. The terrible truth is that we are in no position to call the Holocaust history. With anti-Semitism steadily rising throughout Europe, we are all obligated to do our job in increasing awareness and knowledge of the Holocaust as well as disseminating truth and countering lies about Israel and the Jewish people. Every year we help support a series of initiatives that are dedicated to expanding awareness of the Holocaust. We are very proud of the important work being accomplished by these programs.”

2016-05-04

Jazz Concert and Discussion May 13

Viačeslavas Ganelinas, Petras Vyšniauskas and Arkadijus Gotesmanas will perform improvisational jazz with a discussion at the JazzCellar 11 Club in Vilnius at 9:00 P.M. May 13. Come meet the legend.

The bar opens at 8:00 and reservations can only be made by telephone, +37068411382.

For more information and to purchase tickets, see:

http://www.tiketa.lt/LT/ganelinasvysniauskasgotesmanas_14621

2016-05-04

Kaunas Jewish Community Celebrate Last Day of Passover

Kaunas Jewish Community members gathered at the Punto Jazz café to celebrate the last day of Passover. They were treated to a surprise concert by the family klezmer group Klezmer Klangen, reportedly performing their first concert in Kaunas ever. The crowd seemed to love them and there was much dancing. The band performed tight songs in Yiddish with good choreography down to their smallest member, four-year-old Ramunė. While the klezmer musicians took breaks, celebrants took to the stage to compete in now-traditional Passover skits. The last day of Passover coincided with the birthday celebration of Veronika Pečkienė who wasn’t forgotten amid the general party-going and was plied with flowers and birthday greetings.

2016-05-04

Campaign for Justice for Holocaust Survivors

Today, the World Jewish Restitution Organization is launching a grass-roots campaign to unite Jewish Holocaust survivors and younger generations in the ongoing effort for restitution of property stolen from Holocaust victims.

Please support this Call to Action and this international call for justice by signing this petition:
http://wjro.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6386fad48760c74d93ecc4fb&id=7f2893a939&e=700ea8e007

In the Call to Action, Jehuda Evron, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor and a longtime advocate for survivors and their families, asks younger generations to join the struggle for justice for survivors and their families and to ensure that their efforts continue after the last survivor has perished.

2016-05-03

Mimuna in Israel: A Holiday to Unite All

Mimuna, when Passover is over, when all the doors to the house are open.

When Passover ends, Jews from North Africa celebrate Mimuna. This is a holiday when sweets are made of flour, when post-Passover chametz dishes return. In Morocco, on the afternoon of the last day of Passover, Muslim neighbors bring to the homes of their Jewish neighbors gifts of flour, honey, milk, butter and green beans.

The pictures below portray a Mimuna family holiday spread, including pancakes with butter, margarine and honey, a favorite. The green pastries with almonds contain rings. Everyone wishes one another a successful marriage and much happiness on this day.

Shavua tov! שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב

2016-05-03

Spirit of Jewish Girl Leads New Tour of Kaunas

The story of one Lithuanian who lived in Kaunas in the early 20th century deserves to be made into a film. Instead, a group of Kaunas residents are using it in their intriguing new tour of the Kaunas Old Town. This is the first project of its kind in Lithuania.

Beginning this week locals and visitors will be able to follow this exceptional itinerary through Kaunas called “Spirit Guide through Old Kaunas” with a narration about the story of Kaunas and people living in Kaunas.

An audiovisual tourist guide file at www.atmintiesvietos.lt is available for free download before embarking on this 70 minute tour starting May 5.

Daiva Citvarienė, a teacher from the Arts Faculty at Vytautas Magnus University and the director of the university’s 101 Art Gallery, and a team of professionals created the project.

2016-05-03