Lithuanian Jewish Community

A statement by Faina Kukliansky, chairperson of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, on the halting of work at a grave site uncovered during construction

In consideration of a request by the Jewish community, the government of the city of Šiauliai, Lithuania has shelved plans to move human remains discovered during road construction. The Šiauliai municipality has given assurances no earth moving work will be performed until due respect is guaranteed for the mortal remains of the people murdered and buried in the mass grave.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairperson Faina Kukliansky would like to underline the stop in construction is not somehow the fault of Jews, but rather happened because human remains were found at a location where they should have been expected before construction began.

“I can’t say what sort of historical research was performed before construction work was begun. If it had been performed and a new location was discovered accidentally, that would be possible to understand, to forgive and to correct. Until now eight such sites were known. The issue of the Pročiūnai mass murder site was raised earlier and all of the material associated with that issue is preserved in primary sources at the Lithuanian Central State Archive, meaning it has been collected and is known. Although the location hasn’t been determined definitively, today we have all sorts of technology which we can use to determine where human remains are located without even disturbing the surface of the ground. It doesn’t matter whether those remains are of Jews or non-Jews.

2015-07-16

Video of a Conversation on Today’s Lithuanian Holocaust Debates

The recent conversation between South African chief rabbi, Rabbi Warren Goldstein, and Dr. Efraim Zuroff on today’s burning Lithuanian Holocaust debates, is now available on youtube:

2015-07-15

In Response to Jewish Concerns City of Šiauliai Rejects Plans to Move Human Remains Found During Road Construction

Vilnius, July 15, BNS–In response to a request made by the Jewish community the administration of the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai has shelved plans to move human remains discovered during road construction.

Deputy director of the municipal administration of the city of Šiauliai Martynas Šiurkus said the decision was made to show respect for “the customs and traditions of all ethnic groups.”

“The municipality of the city of Šiauliai affirms … no digging work will take place until the appropriate respect is guaranteed for the human remains of the people murdered and buried in the mass grave,” Šiurkus told a press conference Wednesday.

The city’s press representative Vitalis Lebedis told BNS the road construction project in Šiauliai will be amended.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chair Faina Kukliansky welcomed the decision.

“Jewish concerns are satisfied because there is a cultural difference and a different requirement for honoring the dead. On the other hand I would still prefer something concrete from the municipality because there is no guarantee that more human remains won’t be found as the work continues,” Kukliansky told BNS.

She said representatives of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe and from Lithuania’s Cultural Heritage Department had traveled to Šiauliai Wednesday.

There are documents showing the site in question might have been a mass murder site during World War II where prisoners from the Šiauliai jail were taken and executed.

There are the mortal remains of approximately 40 people in the section of the grave site uncovered during road work. It is likely some of them are Jews. Jewish religious customs forbid moving human remains buried in the ground.

2015-07-15

‘Bookkeeper of Auschwitz’ sentenced to 4 years by German court

Lüneburg, July 15, AFP/BNS–A German court Wednesday sentenced the bookkeeper of Auschwitz, former SS officer Oskar Gröning, to four years of incarceration. Gröning is considered one of the last possible suspects in Holocaust crimes.

The 94-year-old sat as judge Franz Kompisch read the verdict finding the accused guilty of being an accomplice to the murder of 300,000 people, mainly Hungarian Jews sent to the gas chambers in 1944.

The judge characterized Gröning as cheerfully accepting “safe office work” contributing to the working of “a machine with a single goal,” a system which was “inhumane and almost incomprehensible to the mind of man.”

2015-07-15

Interview with the cantor of the Vilnius Choral Synagogue

The Synagogue‘s Cantor Shmuel: What Jews Need in the Diaspora, Is Unity

Even though Shmuel Yatom, the cantor of the Vilnius Choral Synagogue and a Hebrew teacher, wasn‘t born in Vilnius, he has a special connection with this town. Shmuel says that he comes from a family with a long-lasting cantorial tradition, which was transferred from generation to generation.

2015-07-13

A European Look at Jewish Heritage

A meeting of the Kėdainiai regional council at the beginning of July resolved to establish a Jewish Cultural Heritage Association.

It is to include residents of Ukmergė and Joniškis as well as Kėdainiai.

The Kėdainiai regional leaders have already adopted the plan and are now waiting to see how the two partners resolve to act. the city councils of Ukmergė and Joniškis are supposed to meet in August and their decision is expected at that time.

Once the resolutions are known, work to establish the association is to begin.

2015-07-12

Meeting of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Executive Board

Meeting of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Executive Board at 11:00 A.M., July 16, 2015

Dear members of the Executive Board and regional chairs of the Lithuanian
Jewish Community,

You are invited to attend a meeting of the board at 11:00 A.M. on July 16,
2015, to consider:

1. Applications by David Kirzner and Živilė Juonytė for scholarships.

2. Adoption of a common strategy by the LJC and LJC regional headquarters,
with input solicited from regional chairs.

Please respond with news of your ability to attend this meeting.

2015-07-12

Dita Shperling: Germans Did Not Distinguish Lithuanians from Jews

“During the first days of the war the Germans who came to Kaunas couldn’t tell the difference between Jews and Lithuanians, but Lithuanians helped them to do,” Kaunas ghetto prisoner Dita Shperling recalled, citing the words of the German soldiers themselves.

Dita (Yehudit) Schperling and her husband Yuda Zupowitch

Dita Schperling tries to travel every summer to Vilnius from Israel where she lives. She agreed to discuss her experience in the ghetto with staff from the LJC webpage.

2015-07-122016-09-08

Unveiling of Plaque Commemorating Yuda Zupavich

A memorial plaque commemorating Yuda Zupavich, Kaunas ghetto Jewish police chief and underground resistance leader, is to be unveiled at E. Ožeškienės street No. 21 in Kaunas at 1:00 P.M. on July 13. The initiative to commemorate this person came from the Lithuanian Jewish Community. LJC chair Faina Kukliansky approached the Kaunas municipality asking them to commemorate this noble citizen of Kaunas who rescued people from the Kaunas ghetto in World War II and who himself was murdered at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas. Zupavich, a lieutenant in the Lithuanian military reserves, was a leader of the Kaunas ghetto Jewish police force and of the underground ghetto resistance, and was brutally tortured to death at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas in 1944.

Yuda Zupavich’s widow Dita Zupovich-Sperling is planning to travel from Israel to attend the ceremony. LJC chair Faina Kukliansky, Kaunas city leaders and LJC members are also planning to attend.

2015-07-11

“The Clandestine History of the Kovno Jewish Ghetto Police”

Indiana University Press 2014
416 Pages

Review by Jack Fischel

This unusual book was composed by members of the Jewish police force who served in the Kovno Ghetto from August 1941 until March 1944, when the Nazis murdered its leadership. The writers of this riveting document were determined to provide a truly balanced history of the Jewish police force as it interacted with ghetto inhabitants, the Nazi occupiers, and their Lithuanian auxiliaries—virulent anti-Semites whose violence against Jews shocked even their German masters. The chronicle is also a refutation of Raul Hilberg and Hannah Arendt, whose works were highly critical of the Jewish councils and the Jewish police leadership in the ghettos. One distinguished Holocaust historians, Samuel Kassow, notes in his introduction to the book that “the chronicle… serves as a caution not to rush to blanket judgments of the Jewish police—or of the Jewish ghetto leadership. Each ghetto had its own context and circumstances.”

2015-07-11

Panevėžys, Lithuania Mayor Meets JDC Reps

Wednesday Panevėžys mayor Rytis Račkauskas met with Panevėžys Jewish Community leaders and representatives of the Jewish welfare organization the Joint Distribution Committee, including Ra‘anan B. Dotan, JDC representative for Europe. Dotan said he was interested in how welfare projects his organization is supporting are being implemented in Panevėžys.

Panevėžys mayor Račkauskas said he was glad a solution had been worked out recently to return a local synagogue building to the Jewish community, and that this had led to better cooperation between the municipality and the Jewish community and was contributing to the righting of an historical injustice.

“We’re always ready to cooperate, to help the city’s communities, and we are encouraged by the active Jewish community and their contribution to the city’s cultural life. We hope you recognize the fruits of our cooperation and have a good time in our city,” the mayor told the visitor.

Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennadiy Kofman said he was satisfied with the close cooperation with city leaders as well as the projects which have been and are being carried out.

2015-07-10

Dr. Yusuf Hamied – Indian Real Life Hero Who Saved Million Lives

Many basic, life-saving medications remain unaffordable in low- and middle-income countries. Spurred on by that fact, Yusuf Hamied, chairman and managing director of Cipla Pharmaceuticals, has steered his enterprise (Cipla Ltd) to the forefront of global pharmaceutical development by manufacturing low-cost drugs, thus making drugs affordable for the poor people of the developing world and saving the lives . In an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton, Hamied describes his company’s skirmishes with multinationals looking to protect their patents on particular medications and explains why rules governing intellectual property rights in industrialized nations should not apply to poorer countries. The patent regime in India should be so devised that utmost priority is given to secure the people’s right to access affordable, quality health care.

2015-07-10

Condolences

The Lithuanian Jewish Community mourns the passing of Rachel Margolis, born in Vilnius, a partisan, biologist and author of the book Partisan from Vilna.

She was born on December 28, 1928. As a young Jewish girl she was sent to the Vilna ghetto, were she joined the FPO, the united partisan underground, and carried out various military missions. She was blonde and blue-eyed, and able to pass “on the Aryan side” as she put it. She also worked at Herman Kruk’s ghetto library on Strashun Street (now Zemaitijos street) where the FPO sometimes held target practice in the cellar.

She was friends with Hirsh Glik, the young poet who penned the words which would become the Partisan Hymn, Sog Niet Keynmol, still sung when Holocaust survivors gather in Israel and throughout the world. Margolis was the first to hear the poem and put it to musical accompaniment.

Her entire family was murdered during the Holocaust, but she married a fellow partisan and started her own family. She is survived by several daughters in Israel. In the post-war period she worked for many years teaching biology at Vilnius University and was the main force in the decyphering and publishing of the Sakowicz diary, an eye-witness testimony of the mass
murder operations at Ponar outside Vilnius. After making aliyah to Israel she used to return to Vilnius during the summers and volunteered her time constructing exhibits at the Green House Holocaust exhibit of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum and leading tours through the Vilna ghetto.

2015-07-09

Ryanair Begins Winter Flights to Israel

Ryanair, Europe’s most popular airlines, announced July 7 the company is opening a new route from Kaunas to Eylat, the Lithuanian news site lrytas.lt reported. The company plans to run two flights per week during the winter season beginning November 5.

Ryanair is offering a fare of 30 euros for flights on the route in November and December. Tickets at that fare can be ordered on-line at ryanair.com from July 8 to July 10, lrytas.lt reported.

Elina Hakkarainen, head of Ryanair sales and marketing in Lithuania, said:
“We are happy to announce a new winter season route to Eylat Ovda Airport in Israel. It will begin in November, and tickets may be ordered already by tomorrow at the website www.ryanair.com.”

lrytas.lt

2015-07-08

Bet you don’t know about this southern tourist oasis

Arad lies west of the Dead Sea, south of the Judean Desert and north of the Eastern Negev with its moon-like craters and breathtaking ridges.

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa … Arad?

If this southern Israeli city doesn’t come to mind when you think about touring Israel, Anna Sandler is working hard to put it there.

Sandler is the tourist coordinator for this 52-year-old city bordering the Negev and Judean deserts.Its proximity to the Dead Sea, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west, is at once its main attraction and its biggest problem, says Sandler.

“Arad was Israel’s first planned city, and tourism was built into the plan, but once the Dead Sea hotels grew so rapidly, tourism in Arad almost died. So now we’re starting over,” she tells ISRAEL21c.

The ethnically diverse city of about 24,000 offers quite a few advantages to travelers looking to explore the nearby Dead Sea, Masada National Park and Ein Gedi – some of Israel’s most popular tourist sites – as well as lesser-known destinations in Arad itself.

In fact, if you’re heading to the popular Light and Sound Show at Masada (972-8-995-9333), open from March through October, it is accessible only from Arad.

“Arad’s location gives it a number of distinct advantages,” Sandler says.“To the east lies the Dead Sea, with its array of attractions, just to the north is the Judean Desert and to the south lies the Eastern Negev with its moon-like craters, breathtaking ridges and timeless wadis.”

2015-07-07

Hamas rebuilding Gaza tunnels and weapons arsenal, IDF commander says

Despite reports that Hamas is interested in maintaining the cease-fire with Israel, military officials remain convinced that the Islamist group is working to rebuild its system of underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with Israel Radio, IDF Col. Nochi Mandel, the deputy commander of the Gaza Division, said on Tuesday that Hamas is hard at work in rehabilitating its military capacity, which took a severe beating during the 50-day Operation Protective Edge.

“According to what we know, Hamas is building its forces up again,” he said. “It is training its forces and boosting the number of mortars that it manufacturers. It continues to bolster its arsenal and dig more tunnels.”

“We need to look at things realistically,” he said. “Hamas is doing what it can to improve its readiness in case of renewed hostilities.”

2015-07-07

News flash from Geneva – from the IAJLJ

The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, as an accredited UN NGO and in continuation of its cooperation with the Commission of Inquiry, took part in the Human Rights Council session in Geneva on the Commission’ Report on the 2014 Gaza conflict and on the Council’s debate on its Agenda Item 7.

In light of the numerous slanderous statements against Israel made by numerous UN member states and NGOs, the Association’s president, Adv. Irit Kohn, set aside her prepared remarks which challenged the Commission of Inquiry’s factual and legal conclusions and commented on these statements instead.

Adv. Kohn and the Association’s Chief Executive Officer, Adv. Ronit Gidron-Zemach, met with representatives from nine diplomatic missions to the UN in order to clarify Israel’s position regarding Operation Protective Edge in light of the distorted accusation made during the session.

Below are links to the Human Rights Council session on the Commission’s report – Adv. Kohn’s complete statement is Statement 50 and begins at 2:05:32 and to Israel’s Channel 2 segment (in Hebrew) on the session.

2015-07-06

Awards to Those Who Have Strengthened the State

On July 6, Lithuania’s State Day, Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė presented awards to 27 people, including both Lithuanians and foreign citizens, for their help in promoting Lithuania in the world. Four Lithuanian citizens were also presented the Cross of Aid to the Dying for rescuing people threatened by death.

Among those recognized was deputy chair of the Lithuanian Jewish Community Leonidas Donskis.

The Lithuanian president said Lithuania has been strong from the very beginning of its statehood because it always renews itself. This, she said, was due to the people who have inspired the state’s history, and whose sense of Lithuanian identity has encouraged creativity, effort and caring for Lithuania. She said these people deserve our sincere gratitude and respect.

2015-07-06

‘This Day in Jewish History’ lists Crowning of Mindaugas rather nicely,

July 6

1189: Henry II, King of England, passed away. Compared to those who followed him to the throne, Henry’s treatment of his Jewish subjects was comparatively benign. (The emphasis is on “comparatively.”) Henry levied two special taxes on the Jewish community designed to finance the next Crusade to the Holy Land. The tax of 1188 included 60,000 pounds on the Jews of London, one fourth the community’s wealth. All the Christians of England were required to cough up a mere 10,000 pounds. Much to the consternation of some Church leaders, Henry discouraged Jews from converting to Christianity. The wealth of dead Jews became the property of the crown. These Jewish estates could be of such value that when Aaron of Lincoln passed away, “Henry found it necessary to set up a special branch of his Exchequer, named the Scaccarium Aaronis, with no function other than processing his immense estate.”

1189: Richard the Lionheart becomes King of England following the death of his father. His coronation would not take place until September at which time a delegation of Jews bringing gifts for the monarch would be denied access and be beaten by English officials. Richard did take action to protect his Jewish subjects when they were threatened. Unfortunately, Richard spent only the equivalent of one year of his ten year reign in England. During his absence, the Jews would suffer at the hands of English leaders including Richard’s brother and successor Prince, and later King, John

1253: Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania, reportedly the first ruler to hold this title. There was a Jewish presence in Lithuania at this time, since small numbers of Jewish merchants probably began arriving in Lithuania during the 12^th century. They were followed by others of their co-religionists who were fleeing persecution brought on by the Crusades and the Black Death. Large number of Jews would not begin arriving in Lithuania until the frist decades of the 13^th centuries when they were invited to settle there by Gediminas.

2015-07-06

Small-Batch Vodka, Made in Brooklyn U.S.A.

Making vodka is a family affair for Gary Shokin and his daughters Kary Laskin (left) and Samantha Shokin (right).

One day in 2009 Gary Shokin and his daughter Kary Laskin were driving down the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn when Gary blurted out, “We should make vodka.”

“ Oh, ” thought Kary. “ My dad’s having another idea. ”

But this time, they quickly realized that the idea was right. They had to make vodka — and make it in Brooklyn. Gary and many of his family members’ had immigrated to Brooklyn from Lithuania, and Kary was born there. They had roots in Kings County. The whole family lives in the borough.

“But Gary,” I asked, “why vodka?”

“It’s the number one drink in Eastern Europe,” Gary said. “So that’s what we were drinking and it’s the one product we knew very well. For many years I was collecting vodkas from different countries. I had a huge collection, maybe three or four hundred bottles from all over the world. I thought America was missing a really good vodka. Everybody was drinking European vodka, Russian or Polish or French. So I thought, ‘Why not American vodka?’”

2015-07-06