Lithuanian Jewish Community

Vilnius City Council Says Palace of Sports Reconstruction Must Go On

Photo by Saulius Žiūra

In response to a Government decision not to go forward with plans to reconstruct the Palace of Sports in Vilnius, the Vilnius City Council adopted a resolution today [August 25] urging the Government and other state institutions to continue with the reconstruction project to build the Congress Center [convention center] meeting international standards and important to the nation as a whole.

Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius tabled the resolution and said: “It is very important for Vilnius that the central part of the city be vital, and the renovated facility would allow for exploiting the potential of conference tourism. There is a real lack of a conference center in Vilnius. Maybe the Government has a different vision, but I would highly urge to continue the project which the capital, business and all of Lithuania need.”

The city council pointed out the capital has set for itself the goal of building a conference venue in its general plan and other strategic documents which could appear following reconstruction of this protected building with unique architecture.

2021-08-272021-09-10

My Grandfather’s Crimes against Humanity

Photo: Courtesy Silvia Foti

A family memoir gets surprising reactions from Lithuanians, Russians and Jews.

by Silvia Foti, Aug. 25, 2021 6:14 P.M. ET, wsj.com

I grew up the proud granddaughter of a Lithuanian war hero who fought against Communists. My grandfather Jonas Noreika has a school and streets named after him. When my mother on her deathbed in 2000 asked me to write a story about her heroic father, I enthusiastically agreed.

Unfortunately, as I dug deeper I discovered to my horror that my grandfather was also a Holocaust perpetrator involved in murdering at least 8,000 Jews. On my story’s release, Russians wanted to use me, Lithuanians vilified me and Jews embraced me.

My grandfather wrote an order on August 22, 1941, to send thousands of Jews to a ghetto in Žagerė where they were slaughtered. My family story has brought this to the forefront, toppling Lithuania’s image as an innocent bystander in the Holocaust.

2021-08-26

Five Years On Molėtai Marches Again

Five years ago Marius Ivaškevičius wrote of the need to remember the exterminated Jewish community of Molėtai, a town about 60 miles north of Vilnius. His call to mobilize with a march through the town became the second-most popular item ever on this website (the most popular being a reprint of an article about the South African Jewish community which continues to attract hits years later). The march itself was a watershed moment in Lithuanian Holocaust consciousness, drawing ethnic Lithuanians from around the country and the world together with Lithuanian Jews and Jews from South Africa, Uruguay, Great Britain, the USA and other countries. Several thousand people turned up on the town square and listened to the different speeches before marching to the mass murder site across town there.

The march was covered by the New York Times, Washington Post, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Jerusalem Post and other publications.

The march is to be repeated this year. August 29 is the date all Jews from Molėtai were murdered. On that “Day of Wrath” they were marched under armed guard two kilometers from one of the synagogues to the killing ground.

2021-08-262021-09-03

A Lecture and a Prize

Jon Seligman of the Israeli Antiquities Authority delivered a lecture called “The Great Synagogue of Vilnius: Finds from the Past and a Vision of the Future” in the evening on August 24 in the Jascha Heifetz hall on the third floor of the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky made use of the occasion to present the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History commemorative medallion to Jon Seligman for his work keeping Litvak traditions, learning and the Litvak cultural legacy alive.

2021-08-26

News from the Great Synagogue

Archaeologists continuing their annual summer digs at the Great Synagogue complex in Vilnius plan to share their results from this year’s dig with media at the site itself at noon on August 26. The site is located at Vokiečių street no. 13A in Vilnius.

This year they continued to uncover the bima and aron kodesh, and uncovered a floor mosaic. They’ve also uncovered the base of one of four pillars.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said “This year there was an especially moving moment: finally we have seen the central part of the synagogue which was destroyed more than sixty years ago.”

Media contacts:

Michail Segal, executive director, Lithuanian Jewish Community, +37065075939, info@lzb.lt

Dr. Jon Seligman, Israeli Antiquities Authority, jon@israntique.org.il

Zenonas Baubonis, archaeologist, z.baubonis@gmail.com

2021-08-252021-08-25

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:20 P.M. on Friday, August 20, and concludes at 9:47 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2021-08-202021-08-20

Books and Texts Buried

According to Jewish tradition regarding sacred books and texts, some old books and texts were buried at the Jewish cemetery on Sudervė road in Vilnius August 18. Works mentioning the Most High or containing Torah passages are treated with special respect. The books were worn out from daily use and were no longer suitable for prayer and study. Such books and Torah scrolls are collected at synagogue in a special location for this purpose called the genizah, often located in the basement or attic of a synagogue. When there are sufficient numbers of them, they are buried at a Jewish cemetery.

2021-08-20

Condolences

Lithuanian Jewish Community member Sofia Smirnova passed away August 17 at the age of 75. Our deepest condolences to her son Igor and loved ones.

2021-08-20

Gesher Club Offers Tour

The Gesher Club at the Lithuanian Jewish Community is offering a two-day tour of the Panemunė castles and the Curonian Spit on August 28 and 29. The group will visit the Pažaislis monastery, the Raudondvaris manor estate, Vilkija, the Veliuona earth-mounds and the Raudonė and Panemunė castles. They will also visit the Holocaust memorial and Alley of Synagogues in Jurbarkas, with rest and an overnight stay in Klaipėda with an evening tour of the Klaipėda Old Town. Following breakfast on Sunday the group will move on to the Curonian Spit with visits to Juodkrantė, the Dead Dunes and Nida, followed by the return trip to Vilnius. The tour will be conducted by long-time LJC member and professional tour guide Markas Psonikas. For more information and to register, call+37067881514 or send an mail to zanas@sc.lzb.lt. For more about Markas’s tours, see here.

2021-08-19

Almost Half Million Euros Wasted on Palace of Sports Reconstruction Project

Photo: Palace of Sports, Vilnius, courtesy BNS/Lrytas.lt

Now that the Lithuanian Government has rejected a plan to outfit a conference center in the Palace of Sports falling into disrepair in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Turto bankas maintains they’ve received no directions on how to use the space in the future. Nonetheless, this Lithuanian state property bank says it has to maintain the building and is considering carrying out necessary maintenance work there.

Turto bankas, the state agency responsible for the project, said they cannot comment further on the Government’s reasons for rejecting the plan. Government reps told BNS they will seek alternatives to the Congress Center conference center project.

“For now all we can say is the Government resolution for reconstructing the Palace of Sports as the Congress Center has not been rescinded, annulled or amended,” Turto bankas told BNS.

2021-08-172021-08-22

The Great Synagogue of Vilnius: Finds from the Past and a Vision for the Future

At 6:00 P.M., August 24, Israeli Antiquities Authority department of digs and research director Jon Seligman will deliver a lecture called “The Great Synagogue of Vilnius: Finds from the Past and a Vision for the Future” at the Lithuanian Jewish Community located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. The lecture will be in English and is open to the public.

Archeological investigation resumed this year at the synagogue site on August 9 and the team of archaeologists including Seligman have begun fully uncovering the remains of the bima and aron kodesh there. They plan to uncover the main floor and the southeast and northwest wall sections as well.

Event announcement here.

2021-08-172021-08-17

EJC Slams Polish President, Calls Anti-Restitution Law Undemocratic, Unjust, Immoral

Saturday, August 14, 2021–European Jewish Congress president Moshe Kantor slammed the ratification of a bill passed by the Polish parliament which will make it far harder for Jews to claim restitution on properties appropriated and stolen during the Holocaust era.

“This law is undemocratic, unjust and immoral,” Kantor said. “This is not bringing order to chaos as president Duda claims, it is making legal what should be illegal and is merely legalizing theft. The president had an opportunity to right the wrong created by the parliament. He could have shown moral clarity and leadership, but he chose not to.

“Moreover, this law will also further highlight Poland’s unique position as the only country in the region which makes Holocaust restitution impossible and runs counter to its international commitments. It is outrageous that someone who survived the Holocaust, who will be in their later years, will still be deprived justice by this cruel, illegitimate and discriminatory law.”

2021-08-172021-08-17

Condolences

The Union of Former Ghetto and Concentration Camp Prisoners is sad to announce the death today of former Minsk ghetto prisoner Markas Buslovich at the age of 84. Our deepest condolences to his sister Inesa, also a member of the Union.

2021-08-16

Condolences

Boris Rositsan, FIDE chess master and president of the Rositsan and Maccabi Elite Checkers and Chess Club, has passed away at the age of 75. He suffered a heart attack during a chess tournament. His fellow players rendered aid and emergency medical personnel arrived quickly and got his heart beating again, but several hours later we learned he had died at hospital.

Those wishing to bid farewell to this active and beloved member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community may do so from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on August 18 at the Nutrūkusi styga funeral home.

Our deepest condolences to his family and many friends.

2021-08-16

Condolences

LJC member Mordche Rostovskis has passed away at the age of 86. He was born in 1936. We send our deepest condolences to his relatives and loved ones.

2021-08-16

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:37 P.M. on Friday, August 13, and concludes at 10:03 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2021-08-13

Polish Senate Approves Bill Limiting Holocaust Restitution

Photo: Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid lashes out at bill last June. Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

The law would prevent Holocaust survivors from regaining property seized after World War II. It triggered sharp criticism from Israel and the United States.

Poland’s parliament late Wednesday passed legislation that would put an end to most legal claims for properties confiscated after World War II.

The bill states that administrative decisions can no longer be challenged in court after the expiration of a 30-year period, essentially preventing Jews from recovering property seized by Poland’s Communist-era authorities.

The legislation, which passed earlier in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, still has to be signed by president Andrzej Duda before taking effect.

Full story here.

2021-08-132021-09-10