As part of celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the YIVO institute for Jewish research in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Jewish Community and YIVO organized a moveable museum exhibit called “YIVO 1925-2015” which is currently being hosted by the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Department on the first floor of their building at Šnipiškių street No. 3 in Vilnius.

The bi-lingual exhibit presents the story of the YIVO institute from its inception, presenting the founders, operations in pre-war Vilnius, the war years and operations in New York, where founder Max Weinreich relocated YIVO in 1939.

All of the texts, archival documents and photographs in the exhibit come from YIVO’s collections in New York. Currently YIVO conserves over 385,000 books and periodicals and about 24 million more documents, photographs and audio and video recordings. The curator of the exhibit is Eddy Portnoy and the designer was JUDVI. The Lithuanian Martynas Mažvydas National Lbirary and the Lithuanian Central State Archives also contributed to the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on public display until January 5, 2016 at the Cultural Heritage Department.

The Vilnius Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium is inviting former students to a meeting-evening to take place at 6:00 P.M. on Friday, December 11. We’ll catch up with old friends we’ve missed, have some food and listen to live music. Come join us.

Sincerely,
Your principal and teachers

European and Lithuanian Jewish Youth (Work, Projects, Vision)
Amit Belaitė

Participation in a photo project about Jews living in Lithuania now. If you have an interesting historical photograph or an item important to you, bring it along (but not more than three items, please).

12 noon, Sunday, November 22 in the Jascha Heifetz Hall on the 3rd floor of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Pylimo No. 4, Vilnius

The annual winter camp for kids and adolescents aged 7 to 17 is scheduled for December 24-30. Make sure to register early at the Lithuanian Jewish Community from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

For more information call +37068542463 or +37069920212 during working hours.

Screening of the film “Sudie, Lietuvos Jeruzale” [“Farewell, Jerusalem of Lithuania”] and meeting with the director, Saulius Beržinis.

12 noon, November 15

The Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, the Germany Embassy and the Goethe Institut in Lithuania warmly invite you to celebrate International Tolerance Day this November 16 by attending a screening of Hanna’s Journey (2013), a film by Julia von Heinz, at 5:30 P.M., Monday, November 16 at the Tolerance Center at Naugarduko street no. 10/2 in Vilnius.

The film runs for 100 minutes. The film is in English, German and Hebrew, to be shown with Lithuanian subtitles. Entry is free to the general public.

from IMDB: “A German girl travels to Israel to help people with disabilities, where she learns about the role of her grandparents in WWII and meets a man who wants to move to Berlin.”

Dear members of the community,

Yitzhak Navon, who served as the 5th President of the State of Israel from 1978 to 1983, passed away on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at the age of 94. His funeral took place on Sunday, November 08, 2015 on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem.

Through the years Navon combined public activity, political activity and writing, which centered mostly on preserving the cultural heritage of Sephardic and Mizrachi Jewry. In 1978 he was elected to serve as the fifth President of the State of Israel. He served in office until 1983.

During his Presidency, he strove to act as a bridge between Israel’s ethnic groups, religious and secular, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, left and right, Jews and Arabs and to allay high tensions following the evacuation of Jewish settlements in the Sinai Peninsula pursuant to the peace agreement with Egypt.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims of flight 9268 on Kogalymavia Airlines and to all the Russian people. We are with you in our hearts and minds.