Lithuanian Jewish Community

LJC, International Comminission and Olga Lengyel Institute Holding Holocaust Seminars for Teachers

LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Speaks at Commemoration of Grosse
Aktion in Kaunas

Šiauliai Opens Righteous Gentile Square at the Intersection of Vilniaus and Ežero Streets at Former Ghetto Gates

"Symphony from Jerusalem of the North” Mark Day of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide in Presidential Courtyard

The renovated synagogue in Žiežmariai will become a new cultural center. The first synagogue in appeared sometime between 1690 and 1696. In the 19th century there three synagogues. Not surprising, since the majority of the population were Jewish. This synagogue which has survived and has now been renovated stands in the southern part of town between Vilniaus and Žalgirio streets, with the Strėva river flowing from southeastward from there.

Lithuanian Jewish Community Now Member of AEJP

The Lithuanian Post Office has issued a stamp commemorating 300 years since the birth of the Vilna Gaon

with a face value of 0.81 euros, enough to mail letters abroad.

Lithuania Marks 300th Anniversary of Birth of Vilna Gaon, 2020 Named Year of the Gaon and Litvak History.

Most important events at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in 2018

Revival of Jewish Scouting in Lithuania: The first new Litvak scouting camping trip with children from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Molėtai took place August 24 to 26.

Jewish newspapers and advertisements from Vilnius in the period between the two world wars. Jews and other minorities were given equal rights in the reconstituted Lithuanian state. Yiddish thrived with many newspapers and books published in the language.

Israeli Ambassador Visits Panevėžys

Rescuers Commemorated in Šarnelė

Invitation to Attend Lighting of First Hanukkah Light

Alanta Synagogue Renovated

Silvia Foti at the Tolerance Center

Holocaust Mass Murder Memorial Vandalized

Israeli Ambassador Visits Panevėžys

Rescuers Commemorated in Šarnelė

Invitation to Attend Lighting of First Hanukkah Light

Alanta Synagogue Renovated

Silvia Foti at the Tolerance Center

Holocaust Mass Murder Memorial Vandalized

Makabi Tennis Tournament

The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club held their annual tennis tournament November 27 with both amateurs and tennis veterans taking to the courts. In the open group the winners were Danielius Merkinas in first place and Norbertas Faktarovičius taking second, and in the veterans group the winner was Eduardas Gurvičius. Ilja Bereznickas also made a good showing in the veterans group. The matches were followed by impassioned discussions of the play and plans for the future.

2021-12-02

Traditional Jewish Music at the Ukmergė Regional History Museum

Residents of Ukmergė (Vilkomir) and others were invited to attend a Hanukkah concert at the Ukmergė Regional History Museum with the Rakija Klezmer Orkestar performing on November 29, the second day of the eight-day holiday. Ukmergė Regional Jewish Community chairman Artūras Taicas briefly told the audience the story of Hanukkah and what it means. Ukmergė Regional History Museum director Violeta Reipaitė was invited to light the first candle and chairman Taicas lit the second.

Guests were invited to sample traditional Hanukkah dishes with special food packages to take home.

2021-12-01

First Light Lit at Choral Synagogue

Here are some photographs from the lighting of the first Hanukkah light at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius Sunday evening.

2021-12-01

Condolences

Genadijus Šteimanas passed away November 29 following a long battle with illness. He served for many years as a member of the board of directors of the Panevėžys Jewish Community. A wonderful person who always cared for his family, he also paid close attention to the needs of the community. Our deepest condolences.

2021-12-01

Condolences

Jenta Timukienė passed away Sunday. She was born in 1939 and was an inmate of the Kaunas ghetto. May her soul rest in peace. Our deepest condolences to her family, friends and fellow members of the Union of Former Ghetto and Concentration Camp Prisoners.

2021-12-01

Lithuanian Prime Minister Sends Hanukkah Greetings to Jews around the World

Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė sent Hanukkah greetings to Jews around the world Sunday, saying: “I greet all the Jews of the world on Hanukkah, on the beginning of the holiday of lights. The lighting of the Hanukkah candles symbolizes the victory of the light over darkness. I hope that this is not just a victory, but also an eternal path of hope and light.”

Full text in Lithuanian here.

2021-12-01

2021-11-29

2021-11-292021-11-29

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 3:43 P.M. on Friday, November 26, and concludes at 5:03 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2021-11-262021-11-26

Vilnius Jewish Religious Community Sends Hanukkah Greetings

2021-11-262021-11-26

Hanukkah Song “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah!” by Theodore Bikel

2021-11-262021-11-26

A Bloody Story: They Were Murdered in Kaunas

Kauno.diena.lt

The tragic events of the Holocaust have left visible marks at the Ninth Fort. During World War II it was turned into one of the largest mass murder sites in Nazi-occupied Lithuania. From 1941 to 1944 Jews from Lithuania and transported here for Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, the Soviet Union and Germany were murdered here.

The mass murder began November 25, 1941 [sic]. That day 2,934 Jews were shot. The newspaper Kauno Diena presents our readers with a text by a former resident of Kaunas living in Germany concerning the blood-curdling events, commemorations of them and her feeling of guilt. Her grandparents’ home was right next to the Ninth Fort and the so-called road of death.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2021-11-25

Vilna Gaon Museum Launches Kalmanovich Book

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is launching two editions of YIVO linguist Zelig Kalmanovich’s diary written in the Vilnius ghetto, in Lithuanian and English, titled Hope Is Stronger than Life. The book will be presented at 5:30 P.M. on Wednesday, November 24, at the Samuel Bak Museum, aka the Tolerance Center, at Naugarduko street no. 10 in Vilnius.

2021-11-242021-11-24

Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community Hosting Play for Hanukkah

The Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community is pleased to announce the first-ever appearance by the Lanzheron troupe from Odessa performing “Teza from Our Yard” at the Stairs Galley at Žemaitės street no. 83 in Šiauliai at 3:00 P.M. on Sunday, November 28, the first day of Hanukkah. “Teza” is about life-stories of Jews with a lot of interesting and funny passages with a distinctly Odessan sense of humor. The main character is played by renowned Ukrainian actor Vitaliy Bondarev. Galina Panibratets is the director. The play is in Russian.

Reservations are required and tickets cost 7 euros, or 3.50 euros for seniors, students and children. Please call 841 200 643 or write an email to toma.galerija@gmail.com to register.

2021-11-23

Emigrant from Israel Wants to Help Lithuanians

Attorney Viktoria Akhmedov who has lived for 20 years in multicultural Israel is happy she’s maintained ties with Lithuania. In her free time the young woman teaches Lithuanian children Hebrew and feels this helps reduce the stress of adaptation for their families and helps them find points of convergence between the two cultures.

Vitorkia believes helping Lithuanian families adapt is in a certain sense her calling. Her own parents moved to Israel to live when she was just 10 and she remembers the difficulties inherent in adapting to a new life. The hardest part at the beginning was communicating in a foreign language.

2021-11-23

Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club Annual Report and Conference

The Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club, an associate member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, held their annual conference and presentation of the past several years’ activities at the Bagel Shop Café in Vilnius on November 21. Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Žakas Gercas moderated the meeting of members of the board, athletes and special guests. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman delivered a welcome speech and noted the significance of the Makabi club for the Lithuanian Jewish Community as an athletic and cultural movement. She invited Makabi members to participate more in Jewish cultural life and holiday celebrations and to celebrate their Jewish roots.

Makabi president Semionas Finkelšteinas presented a report on the club’s activities over the last three years, noting good results from the Maccabee Games in Budapest, the annual Fun Run and continual operation during the global virus panic.

2021-11-22

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 3:52 P.M. on Friday, November 19, and concludes at 5:10 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region.

2021-11-19

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