Condolences

Lithuania Vows to Continue to Support Fighting Terrorism in Wake of Tel Aviv Shootings

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photo: scene at the Sarona complex following the shootings there June 8. Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel

Vilnius, June 9, BNS–Lithuania condemned the attack carried out in Tel Aviv Wednesday and vowed to continue supporting the battle against terrorism. “We express our solidarity with the Government of the state of Israel, and vow to continue supporting all efforts by the international community in the fight against terrorism,” a statement by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said. The statement also expressed deep condolences and support for the families of the victims and all the people of Israel.

Wednesday two Palestinians opened fire at a popular Tel Aviv shopping center near Israeli Army headquarters, killing four in the bloodiest such attack in the most recent wave of violence. Another five were injured. Police reported one of the attackers was apprehended and the other was in hospital with gunshot wounds.

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European Jewish Congress Announces Death of Former Head of Turkish Jewish Community

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Dear Friends,

The European Jewish Congress mourns the sad loss of our dear friend Sami Herman, the former President of the Jewish Community of Turkey.

He passed away following a long illness, at the young age of 66. Sami Herman will be remembered as a distinguished leader of the Jewish community of Turkey who dedicated much of his life to the well-being of its community.

Moshe Kantor and all the EJC team join in sending our deep condolences to Herman’s family and to all his close ones at this sad time.

May they be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Kind regards,
The EJC Team
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In Memoriam

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Sad news has reached the Panevėžys Jewish Community and the public that famous former Panevėžys doctor Mira Rozova has died in Israel after suffering from chronic illness. For half her life she was the senior doctor at the Panevėžys Infectious Hospital. In 1954 she was graduated from the Krasnodar Institute of Medicine. She performed a three-year residence in Kaliningrad and then moved to Panevėžys in 1957. She worked as a therapist at what was the Republic Hospital and Clinic. The infectious disease division was small at that time. The decision was made to open a separate infectious disease hospital and young and energetic Rozova was appointed the director of the new hospital. The Infectious Disease Hospital was established in the Panevėžys Jewish Hospital on Ramygalos street, which needed repair following the war. The hospital operated for 20 years in the unrenovated premises.

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Condolences

Rūta Gorinienė passed away May 12 (March 28, 1938-May 12, 2016). We are saddened by her loss and share in the sadness of her loved ones. Our deepest condolences.

Condolences

With deepest regret we announce Yakov Epshtayn, a member of the LJC Social Club, has passed away. Born June 1, 1925, he left us on May 12, 2016. Our deepest condolences to his loved ones.

Condolences

With sadness we announce the death of Valentina Tureckaja of Vilnius, born June 3, 1954. She passed away on the 11th of May. She was a member of the LJC Social Center. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones for our shared loss.

Condolences

Cilija Rubinštein of Vilnius, a member of the LJC Social Center, has died. The entire Community expresses our deepest sadness and regrets over her loss.

Condolences

Petras Zakroiskis, a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community and the Social Center, has passed away. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. He was born December 1, 1925, and left this world on May 10, 2016.

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On April 19 Roza Znak, member of the LJC Social Club, passed away. She was born October 6, 1938. Our deepest condolences to her friends and family in this time of pain.

Condolences

Roza Levit, LJC Social Center member, passed away on April 22. She was born July 9, 1939. Our deepest condolences go to her friends and family.

Condolences

The Lithuanian Jewish Community notes with deepest sadness the death of Judelis Ronderis, an active member of the Kaunas Jewish Community, a World War II veteran, an enthusiastic supporter of Jewish culture and the man who began the search for Lithuanian citizens who rescued Jews from the Holocaust, who concerned himself with their welfare and with their commemoration. Our deepest condolences to his daughter Lėja, his family, his grandchildren, his long-time caregiver Stefanija Ancevičienė and to the many who knew and loved him.

Condolences

Rolnikaite

Marija Rolnikaitė, aged 89, has died.

Born July 21, 1927 in Klaipėda/Memel, some have called her Lithuania’s Anne Frank. When she was 14 she and her family were imprisoned in the Vilnius ghetto. After that she survived two concentration camps. What was a adolescent pastime, keeping a diary, became an important testimony of the fate of Lithuanian Jewry.

She wrote a poem in Yiddish about the Strazdamuiža concentration camp in Latvia which became an anthem for the anti-Nazi resistance. After the war she worked on the staff of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic for a time and was graduated from the Maxim Gorky Institute of Literature in Moscow in 1955. She published memoirs about her time in the ghetto and concentration camps in 1963. She moved to Leningrad in 1964 where she wrote more books, articles and reviews and was an active member of the Leningrad Jewish Community.

The Lithuanian Jewish Community will not forget her or the bright trail she blazed and now leaves in her wake.

Our Deepest Condolences

Girsh Vainer, member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s Social Club, passed away March 29. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

December 6, 1946—March 29, 2016

Condolences

Aron Kac, member of the LJC Social Center, died March 22. He was born on January 29, 1935. The community mourns his passing and sends their deepest condolences to his family members.

Thursday Proclaimed Day of Mourning in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Government has declared Thursday a day of mourning for those killed in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, the Benelux Union, the EU and NATO. The day of mourning has been set as the period from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 24, 2016. Lithuania flags will be flown at half-mast or with a black ribbon. Speaking at an ad hoc meeting, acting prime minister and minister of finance Rimantas Šadžius expressed solidarity with the city of Brussels and Belgium, and the cabinet observed a moment of silence, according to BNS.

European Jewish Congress Shocked and Appalled by Attacks in Brussels

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European Jewish Congress Shocked and Appalled by Attacks in Brussels Calling
Them “Shots at the Heart of Europe”

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) has expressed shock and revulsion at the attacks which took place in Brussels this morning. Two explosions rocked the departure lounge at Brussels Airport and another blast went off in the Brussel Maelbeek metro station, very close to European Union institutions.

“This is yet another shocking, appalling and deadly attack on innocent Europeans by terrorists,” Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the EJC, said. “These attacks on an airport, train system and outside European Union institutions are shots at the heart of Europe. Our prayers and thoughts are with the Belgian people at these difficult times.”

“These are attacks against all that we stand for. All Europeans regardless of background must stand together and expel this terror and intolerance from our midst.”

The blasts come four days after Belgian police arrested a key suspect in the November, 2015 attacks in Paris.

“We can no longer ignore the fact that radical Islamists are at war with Europe and all Europeans and we call on our governments and law enforcement agencies to act accordingly,” Dr. Kantor said. “We have been exposed for too long and now we must strike back at the terrorist infrastructure including those who support it economically, and those who inspire and provide it legitimacy.”

Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

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Condolences

On March 15, 2016, Neli Bolotina, a member of the LJC Social Club, passed away. She was born on May 11, 1924. Our deepest condolences to professor Adolf Bolotin, chairman of the Vilnius Jewish Community from 2000 to 2005, over the loss of his beloved wife Neli. During this time of loss our hearts are with their son Viktor, daughter Ina, the grandchildren and the entire Bolotin family.

Vytautas Mikuličius, Journalist and Son of Righteous Gentiles, Has Died

With deep sadness we note the passing of journalist Vytautas Mikuličius who with his parents Petras and Ona rescued Julija Remigolskytė-Flier, now a Canadian violinist, during World War II.

Petras and Ona lived with their three children at Minkovskių street no. 110 in Kaunas. Jews from the Kaunas ghetto were used as forced labor near their home, including Klara Gelman. During the winter of 1942-1943 Klara asked Ona and Petras to save her two-year-old daughter Julija. Petras and Ona took her in and raised her as their won. The little girl quickly learned to speak Lithuanian, and her foster parents told the neighbors she was the daughter of Ona’s dead sister.

From Vytautas Mikuličius’s recollections:

Our family had many friends and acquaintances. Our mother was very involved with the women in the area especially. Russians, Jews, Poles… When the Nazis put their regime in place, mother didn’t drop her girl friends, but visits became brief and secret.

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Condolences

The Lithuanian Jewish Community express our deepest condolences to the people of Turkey following the March 13 attack on central Ankara. Terrorism is a threat the Lithuanian Jewish Community understands well and remains a great challenge to 21st century society. We condemn the perpetrators of this vicious kind of crime who hold hostage the lives and safety of many civilians.

Boris Borisov, Composer, Former Chairman of the Vilnius Jewish Community, Has Died

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The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Vilnius Jewish Community mourn the loss of former Vilnius Jewish Community chairman and composer Boris Borisov. Born in 1937, the maestro left us on February 14, 2016.

Although best known as a composer, Boris Borisov was also a pianist, conductor, teacher, author of many cultural publications and a public figure. As chairman of the Vilnius Jewish Community he set up the Jascha Heifetz Fund. He held over 300 concerts and held the Shalom Jewish Music Festival in Vilnius five times from 1994 to 1998.

Since 2000 he had been living in the United States.

Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family members, friends and colleagues of the maestro.