A Tunisian naval guard shot dead four people at Africa’s oldest synagogue in an attack Tuesday that sparked panic during an annual Jewish pilgrimage on the island of Djerba.
He gunned down two visitors, including a French citizen, and two guards before he was shot dead himself, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said.
Another four visitors and five police officers were wounded in the attack.
On May 8, VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, the heads of several constituent communities in the Lithuanian Jewish Community, including LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas and others, marked the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the capitulation of Nazi Germany to allies during a trip to Israel.
Shmuel Yatom, the chairman of the Vilnius Religious Jewish Community, performed a prayer prayed by victims on the way to Treblinka in Sderot, Israel.
The Litvak leaders are in Israel for workshops sponsored by the European Commission for more effective implementation of the EC’s strategy for fighting anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in the European Union.
They visited Sderot on the border with the Gaza Strip which saw Israeli counter-attacks last night and into the morning of May 9. The Israeli town is known as Israel’s bomb shelter capital because of frequent rocket attacks from Gaza. They also planned to meet the mayor of Ashkelon, and to take part in a ceremony honoring Mordechai Aneliwicz, an organizer of the Warsaw Uprising. The LJC is planning a joint conference with the Poland’s Jewish Historical Institute this fall to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the destruction of the Vilna ghetto.
The Jewish program Menora on Lithuanian state television has included a segment on the popular Jewish appetizer made with minced herring. This particular herring appetizer is truly Litvak in nature. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman put on a kitchen apron and shared her family recipe for making the snack with the Lithuanian television audience. The segment is included in the April 30 broadcast available in Lithuanian here.
Vladimir Shevtsov passed away May 5. He was born in 1936. He is mourned by Moshe Shapiro, director of the Švenčionys Jewish Community to which he belonged, and the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Vladimir.
The Sabbath begins at 8:42 P.M. on Friday, May 5, and concludes at 10:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
The Jewish discussion club #ŽydiškiPašnekesiai invites the public to attend a special panel to remember Markas Zingeris, who died unexpectedly recently.
Over fifty years of work Markas has left us a rich inheritance: thoughts, ideas, texts, books, plays, poetry and the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, where he served as director since its inception for several decades. His keen insights and very rational thinking had a deep influence on the development of Lithuanian society and politics following independence as well as before. He always demonstrated a spirit of openness, tolerance, rationality and ethical behavior.
Panelists to include Emanuelis Zingeris, Markas’s brother and MP; Emilis, Markas’s son; Violeta Davoliūtė, professor of philosophy and the history of ideas at Vilnius University, cultural historian, Holocaust researcher and colleague of Markas and Gytis Padegimas, a famous Lithuanian theater director who was a close confident (appearing via internet at the discussion club). Actor, popular writer and journalist Arkadijus Vinokuras will moderate the conversation which will be live-streamed on facebook with the help of his son Saulius.
The event is to take place at the Bagel Shop Café at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 10. The live-stream will be made available on facebook by following this short URL: https://rb.gy/uok94
May 3, 2023
The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Begin Text
The Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany announce significant progress in their Dialogue on Holocaust Issues. Secretary of State Blinken and then-Federal Foreign Minister Maas launched the Dialogue in 2021 to counter the rise in Holocaust denial and distortion — a dangerous development that undermines freedom, democracy, and security — and to contribute to a world in which knowledge about the Holocaust is abundant, based on facts, and serves as a foundation for tackling today´s challenges at an early stage. The U.S. Department of State, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum participate in the Dialogue. They have completed initial projects in three priority areas:
The plaque commemorating Lithuanian Nazi Jonas Noreika has been removed from the wall of the Vrublevskiai Library in central Vilnius along with the candles and flowers placed by worshipers at the base of the brick column there as the library prepares for repairing its exterior walls. According to the news site delfi.lt the plaque was given to the ultranationalist Pro Patria party for safeguarding and will be replaced following the completion of construction work at the library.
Street in Kőszeg Gets Back Historic Name
Hungary Today, May 3, 2023
When the name of a public space in a municipality changes, it is usually associated with a political change. Perhaps the most striking example of this was when, after the fall of Communism, the names of public spaces given during the Communist period were changed en masse for ideological reasons. In the western Hungarian city of Kőszeg, the former Zrínyi Miklós Street was renamed Schey Fülöp Street on Tuesday, but the reason for the name change is different.
Fülöp Schey, the former patron of the town, the builder of the synagogue and a prominent figure of the local bourgeoisie, was commemorated in Kőszeg yesterday. Fülöp Schey’s descendants living abroad, members of the Schey-Ephrussi-de Waal family, also took part in the commemoration day organized jointly by the Kőszeg Municipality and the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK; Felsőbbfokú Tanulmányok Intézete).
Photo: European Commission coordinator for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe Katharina Schnurbein and LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky.
The European Union’s working group for implementing strategies for combating anti-Semitism is meeting in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky is there discussing the issues in Lithuania and other countries with high-ranking European Commission and international organization officials.
More than 80 guests, European Commission officials, representatives of different international organizations and local Jewish communities along with specialists from across the EU as well as guests from the Ukraine and Moldova are attending the three-day conference organized by the Government of Romania and the EC. The point is to discuss how to fight anti-Semitism, including implementing national strategies, discussing progress made in implementing the EU strategy for combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe, lurking dangers, Holocaust distortion and denial and the value of preserving memory.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes a very happy birthday to honorary member of the Panevėžys Jewish Community Bronislava Lisiūtė. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
The Russian-language CursorInfo Israeli news site posted yesterday information from the Russian-language Telegram channel Israel Today the Vatican has agreed for the first time to put Jewish artifacts in its treasure-trove on exhibit. Some observers say this is a major move towards rapprochement between Rome and Jerusalem. The Vatican announced the Jewish regalia would be placed on display in the Vatican museum.
According to the report, the artifacts in question are mostly gifts from Byzantium in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Full story in Russian here.
Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community member, teacher and translator Aleksandras Federas has passed away. We extend our sincere condolences to his family and many friends.
The Sabbath begins at 8:29 P.M. on Friday, April 28, and concludes at 9:52 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.
The Seniors Club at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius celebrated its 25th birthday on Wednesday, April 26.
“Back when the seniors club began operation and now as well the date coincides with the anniversary of Israeli independence. Back in 1988 Israel was turning 50, and now 75. So it’s a double celebration and twice the fun,” LJC programs director Žana Skudovičienė who has been director of the seniors club for its entire 25 years, said.
Amit Goldman, then Amit Belaitė, walked down the street with a friend in Vilnius 15 years ago and was spit upon by a skinhead. Today, she says, when she and Jewish friends go to a bar in the Vilnius Old Town, the bartender greets them with “shalom.”
It might look at first glance like anti-Semitism is disappearing in Lithuania.
“I know there are people who see Lithuania as a blood-soaked land and who will never travel here,” she told a Lithuanian human rights publication in an audio interview.
The audio and portions of text from the interview in Lithuanian are available here.
We wish Gercas Žakas a very happy birthday. He serves as the chairman of the Kaunas Jewish Community and on the executive board of the Goodwill Foundation. Happy birthday wishes from Faina Kukliansky and the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community. May your energy, work and enthusiasm continue for many years to come. Be in good health. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Educational high-fidelity LP record, originally pressed before the Holocaust, inviting learners to travel to… Yiddishland:
According to a poll by Lithuanian state radio and television on their website, two Jewish books were picked by visitors as the best Lithuanian translations of the year: Israel Cohen’s “Vilna” written in English and Lea Goldberg’s poem “Room for Rent” written in Hebrew.
The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club invites athletes and the athletically-inclined at any and all levels of proficiency to a three-day sporting festival at the Pailgo perlas recreational area on a scenic lake 30 kilometers outside Vilnius. The celebration will include more than just sports in a beautiful natural setting, with a Sabbath celebration, singing, dancing, concerts, bonfire parties, fishing and swimming, among other activities. Sports include badminton, kayaking, ping-pong, volleyball, soccer and perhaps others, depending on the weather. The camp will run from April 19 to 21, but attendees aren’t required to spend all three days there. For more information and to register, send an email to info.maccabilt@gmail.com.
