Historical Context
Before the Second World War, Lithuania was for centuries an important center of Jewish life and the cradle of the distinctive Litvak tradition, marked by its own culture of Jewish learning, religious thought and communal life. From June of 1941 the Nazi occupiers and their collaborators murdered some 90% to 95% of Lithuania’s Jews, one of the highest mortality rates among all Jewish communities in Europe. After Lithuania restored its independence in 1990, the surviving Jewish community (today numbering a few thousand members) renewed its public religious and cultural life. Its activities are organized through the Lithuanian Jewish Community (LJC), an umbrella organization that brings together the country’s various Jewish organizations. At present the LJC unites 30 member organizations.
The LJC is a member of the European Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress.
Jewish Life
Today the Jewish community is active and through its institutions, programs and services offers activities for people of all generations.
The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius is one of only two synagogues currently functioning in Lithuania and one of the main centers of the country’s Jewish religious life. Morning and evening services are held there every day, throughout the year and on holidays. They are attended by community members as well as guests from Israel and other countries. A permanent cantor leads the daily and festive services. The community is working to strengthen the involvement of rabbis in its activities: rabbis visit regularly, and it is currently looking for a rabbi who would work more closely with younger community members.
The community also has the Sholom Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius, the only state Jewish school in Lithuania. It has about 600 pupils, from kindergarten to the twelfth grade, roughly 60% of whom are of Jewish origin. The school’s kindergarten, in three age groups, has more than 50 children. The school combines the national Lithuanian education program with studies of Hebrew and of Jewish culture and history. It also maintains a partnership with a school in Haifa and organizes annual trips to Israel for pupils and teachers. In terms of academic achievement and university admission results, it ranks among the top fifty secondary schools in Lithuania.
In addition, on certain days a kosher café operates in the Lithuanian Jewish Community building. Its kitchen is supervised in accordance with the laws of kashrut by the Israeli organization Tzohar Food Supervision, and kosher meals are served there by advance order.
A project to renovate the mikvahs of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius, supervised by rabbis, is currently under way.
For its younger members, the LJC runs clubs for children and young people (Dubi, Ilan, Knafaim and Kaveret) for different age groups, from birth to 17 years, and a Jewish scouts’ organization is also active. Through these program, children and young people become familiar with Jewish traditions, festival customs, the Hebrew language and religious practice. In addition, the independent youth program Sababa Club and Moishe House Vilnius operate in Vilnius for Jewish young people aged 18–35.
In cooperation with the Jewish school, preparation for bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies is organized.
The LJC also carries out ongoing work and provides social services to about 180 Holocaust survivors whose status has been recognized by the German government, as well as to other elderly Jews. The community also assists people recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing Jews during the Holocaust. In total, about 350 people received various kinds of assistance in 2025.
The LJC also regularly organizes cultural events and lectures on topics of interest to Jews. In 2025, the community held more than 400 educational, cultural, religious and community events.
All Lithuanian Jews, as well as visitors to the country, are welcome to take part in LJC programs and to visit them.
The independent organization Chabad Lubavitch Hasidim also operates in Lithuania.
Financial Reporting and Transparency
UAB Audifina, an independent audit and accounting firm in Lithuania and a member of the international association of independent legal and accounting firms MSI Global, has audited the LJC for the period 2019–2025 (inclusive).
The LJC’s financial statements (including activities funded by the Good Will Foundation) are publicly available on the website of the State Enterprise Center of Registers, the state institution responsible for legal entities in Lithuania. The audited LJC reports can be found here: https://www.registrucentras.lt/jar/p/dok.php?kod=190722117. The information submitted for each year consists of an annual report describing the LJC’s activities, financial statements, explanatory notes, the auditor’s opinion and the approved financial statements.