Condolences

World Jewish Congress Mourns the Passing of Cardinal Cassidy

World Jewish Congress Mourns the Passing of Cardinal Cassidy

NEW YORK–The World Jewish Congress mourns the passing of Australian cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, long-time Vatican diplomat and former president of the Commission for the Religious Relations with the Jews, who died in Newcastle, Australia, at the age of 96.

Cardinal Cassidy served for 33 years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See before returning to Rome in 1988 to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. In 1989 he was appointed president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, undertaking at the same time the role of president of the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews. In 1991 he was elevated to cardinal.

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100-Meter Dash Champion Mykolas Preis Dead at 104

100-Meter Dash Champion Mykolas Preis Dead at 104

Mykolas Preis died at the age of 104 in Israel March 31. He was twice the Lithuanian champion of the 100-meter dash in the interwar period. He was buried at the Har haMenukhot cemetery in Jerusalem next to his wife Olia. Preis’s family emigrated to Israel in 1973. The Lithuanian Jewish Community remembers Mykolas Preis as an outstanding doctor and athlete. Our deepest condolences to his family.

Preis was the last interwar Lithuanian track champion. He took first place two years in a row, in 1939 and 1940, running the 100-meter dash in 11.5 seconds both times.

Preis was the senior medical doctor at the Sports Medicine Center located on Rožių alley in Vilnius in 1948. His contemporaries spoke of him as a great organizer as well as athlete. According to the Makabi records he came to prominence as a runner in 1938. Preis shared his memories of childhood and adolescence in the book “Lietuvos sporto klubo ,Makabi 1916–2016” [Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club, 1916-2016] and spoke about his many friends and the influence of his caring and warm teacher Rozalija Sondeckienė when he attended the Šiauliai Boys’ Gymnasium.

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Condolences

We report with deep sadness the death of Jonas Žiburkus following serious illness. Our deepest condolences to his wife, daughter, son and all his relatives and friends. Jonas Žiburkus was born in 1947 and was a medical doctor, a music lover, a patron of the arts, a collector and the son of his father the general also named Jonas Žiburkus and his mother Cilė Beselytė.

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Judita Mackevičienė, a long-time active member of the Kaunas Jewish Community, has died. She was born in 1936. She served as chairwoman of the Rescuers’ Committee and for many years planned and held events to commemorate those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust and carefully researched and documented these stories.

A survivor of the Holocaust herself, Mackevičienė didn’t harbor bitterness and always displayed love and goodwill towards the world and the people around her.

We send our deepest condolences to her daughers, grandchildren and many friends and relatives.

Condolences

The Lithuanian Jewish Community notes with sadness the death of Bernard Lown on February 16, 2021. He was born in Utena, Lithuania, on June 7, 1921, to Nisson Lown and Bella Lown née Grossbard and lived in Lithuania till he was 14. Bernard Lown passed away following a long struggle with illness at his home near Boston just a few months before his 100th birthday. He made major achievements in cardiology and was the founder of the group Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War which was awarded the Nobel peace prize for opposing nuclear proliferation in 1985.

Litvak Anti-War Activist, Cardiologist Bernard Lown Dead at 99

Litvak Anti-War Activist, Cardiologist Bernard Lown Dead at 99

Photo: NYTimes.com

BOSTON (AP)–Dr. Bernard Lown, the Massachusetts cardiologist who invented the first reliable heart defibrillator and later co-founded an anti-nuclear war group who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, died Tuesday at the age of 99.

The Boston Globe reported the Lithuanian-born doctor’s health had been declining from congestive heart failure. He died at his home near Boston.

Lown was a professor at Harvard College and physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He advanced cardiac treatment.

He was one of the first doctors to emphasize diet and exercise in treating heart disease, and introduced the drug lidocaine as a treatment for arrhythmia, the Globe reports. In 1962 Lown invented the direct-current defibrillator, or cardioverter, which uses electric shocks to get the heart to resume beating.

He was also an outspoken social activist, founding Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1960 and later co-founding International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in the 1980s, the newspaper reports.

The international anti-war group called for a moratorium on testing and building nuclear weapons. They were awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness about the consequences of nuclear war during the height of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. At its peak the group had more than 200,000 members and chapters in more than 60 countries.

Full obituary here.

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Aleksandras Feigelsonas has died following a long battle with illness. He was born in 1948. Our sincere condolences to his wife Marina and his daughter on their loss.

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With sadness we report the death of Elijas Šapsajus Cholemas. He was born in Kaunas in 1926 and was 15 when war came. Imprisoned with his parents, aunt and uncle in the Kaunas ghetto, he was later sent to the Stutthof and then the Kaufering, Landsberg and Dachau concentration camps. He and his father returned to Lithuania in June of 1945. They lost 31 family members and relatives to the Holocaust. Despite his bitter experience, the late Elijas Šapsajus Cholemas remained an extraordinarily sensitive, warm and sincere person filled with empathy and always ready to help his fellow man. He was an active member of the Jewish community and the Union of Former Ghetto Prisoners. He fought illness for some time before his death. We wish him eternal peace and rest. Thank you for sharing the road of life with us.

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Igor Gorodishcher passed away February 7, 2021. He was born in 1955. We send our condolences to his brother Gennady at this painful time.

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We have learned the sad news of the death of Jakovas Gurinas’s mother in the United States. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

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Fayerlakh ensemble musician Igoris Dolgopolovas has died. The Lithuanian Jewish Community and members of the Fayerlakh Jewish song and dance ensemble extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

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Aida Galvanauskienė passed away January 18, 2021. She was born in 1966. Our deepest condolences to her son Erlandas and daughter Estela on the loss of their beloved mother, and to brother Artūras on the loss of his sister.

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Our deepest condolences on the death of Malka Levin at the age of 99 to her son Simas Levinas, chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Religious Community, and to her entire family and many friends.

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The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community extend our deepest condolences to husband Sania, sons Dovydas and Simonas and her many friends and relatives on the death of Audra Kerbelienė.

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With deep sadness we report the death of long-time Community member Dora Abromsonienė on January 9, 2021. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

ORT Sends Condolences on the Death of Emil Kalo

ORT Sends Condolences on the Death of Emil Kalo

Tribute: Emil Kalo z”l
06.01.21

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Emil Kalo, former member of the World ORT Board of Trustees.

Dr. Kalo was the leading light of ORT Bulgaria and had chaired the organization since 2007.

An economist and doctor of philosophy, he was also a key figure in Sofia’s Jewish community and a former chairman of Shalom, the organization of Jews in Bulgaria.

Robert Singer, World ORT Board of Trustees chair, said: “Our dearest Emil was a wonderful person and a true friend. He was highly educated, an extraordinary professional, and was devoted to making the world a better place for the Jewish people. He wholeheartedly believed in education as the ultimate tool to achieving this.

“Emil was a true ORT-ist in his spirit: he immensely contributed to the success of ORT, including by building the ORT Sofia school together with the Lauder Foundation, achieving milestones that will touch upon current and future generations of Jewish students.

“We will deeply miss him, and he will remain forever with us in our hearts.”

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Michail Špiz passed away December 30. He was born in 1955. We extend our deepest condolences to LJC board member Ela Gurina on the loss of her brother, to his mother and to his son as well as his many friends and relatives.

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Grigorijus Gordonas passed away December 15 at the age of 72. We will remember him as the soloist at the State Philharmonic who began his career under the tutelage of Hermanas Perelšteinas in the Ąžuoliukas choir. We extend our deepest condolences to son Simonas Gordonas and his many friends and relatives.

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We are sad to report long-time community member Anatolijus Šeštokas passed away December 19. He was born in 1939. Together with the entire Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community we extend our deepest condolences to his widow Lidija.

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With deep sadness we report the death on December 16 of Anatolij Iljin, a member of the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community. He was born in 1952. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Nina, his sons and his many loved ones.