A very happy 90th birthday to theater critic, thinker and author Markas Petuchauskas from the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community and the entire LJC. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Happy Birthday to Ela Gurina
The entire Community wishes Ela Gurina a very happy birthday. May your life be filled with bright moments, happiness and meaning. We wish you much love. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Lithuania’s Department of Ethnic Minorities Presents Annual Award to LCJ Chairwoman
Congratulations to Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky on receiving a gold medal prize from Lithuania’s Department of Ethnic Minorities at a ceremony held at the Vilnius Old Town Hall on Monday, September 27. She received the prize in recognition of her work in the year 2020.
Many others received similar prizes, including the mayor of the regional administration of Jurbarkas and the Zundelovičius family for the memorial to the Synagogues’ Square in Jurbarkas erected in 2019. The regional administration of the Telšiai district and its mayor were also recognized for the conservation of the Telz yeshiva building and its adaptation for public use in 2020.
Happy Birthday to Faina Kukliansky
The Lithuanian Jewish Community and all of its member organizations sincerely wish LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky a very happy birthday. May you always enjoy the energy you’ve shown as chairwoman and may the light you spread to all of us shine back upon you. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Happy Birthday to Anita Fridberg
Long-time Community volunteer and former Kaunas ghetto inmate Anita Fridberg celebrated a milestone birthday September 10. We wish her a very happy birthday, health, success and endless happiness. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Rosh Hashanah Greetings
Lithuanian Makabi Competes at Makkabi Deutschland 2021
The German Makkabi Games 2021 took place in Dusseldorf from September 2 to 5 and athletes from the Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club took part. Over 600 athletes were there to compete from Germany, Lithuania, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries.
All six of our Lithuanian makabites earned medals. Danielius Dubrovinas took first prize in rapid chess matches. Our youngest athlete, 12-year-old Danielius Šeras, took first place in matches in the under-14 category and came in at fifth place in the entire fast chess category. Danielius Šeras earned third place in the overall category in the “lightning round.”
Swimmer Virginija Valadkaitė takes home three gold medals in three distance competitions.
September 1 Back to School Holiday
Dear children, parents and teachers,
Greetings on the September 1 holiday. We wish you perseverance is seeking the heights of learning while remaining endlessly creative.
No man on earth is truly free. All are slaves of money or necessity. Public opinion or fear of prosecution forces each one, against his conscience, to conform. A man’s most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe. Question everything, learn something, answer nothing. Whoso neglects learning in his youth loses the past and is dead for the future.
–Euripides
Happy Birthday to Idelis Gurvičius
A very happy birthday to LJC member of long standing and active Seniors Club member Idelis Gurvičius who celebrated his 90th on August 23. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Sabbath for LJC Seniors
The Abi Men Zet Zikh Seniors’ Club of the Lithuanian Jewish Community recently held a Sabbath ceremony for our seniors and celebrated the recent birthday of club member A. Bloch at the same time. Happy 85th birthday, Mr. Bloch. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Happy Birthday to Algirdas Macas
We wish a very happy birthday to Algirdas Macas, the chairman of the Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community. While we wish him the traditional things, happiness and health, we also wish him the energy and fire he harbors in his heart and has shown in his leadership of the Vilnius Jerusalem of Lithuania Jewish Community, and we wish him many friends and happy days on his road of life. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community Celebrates 100 Years of Makabi
On June 23, 1921, the first Jewish athletics league Makabi began operating, giving rise to the Jewish athletics movement in Šiauliai. In 2021 the Šiauliai Jewish sports association Makabi is celebrating its 100th birthday. To mark the milestone year, the Šiauliai Regional Jewish Community, the Aušra Museum and the Gegužių pre-gymnasium in Šiauliai carried out a project in May and June of this year called “Sport: An Indivisible Part of Life of the Successful Person.”
On May 25 the young chess players from the area competed in a virtual chess championship, organized by the Community and local Makabi Club chairman Eduard Šer. Nine teams from eight local schools competed. Aušra Museum historian Antanas Jankūnas shared interesting facts about sports in Šiauliai before the matches began.
On June 9 a large gathering of local students attended a virtual event to celebrate Šiauliai Makabi’s 100th birthday. The students learned the story of athletics in Šiauliai from historian Antanas Jankūnas and took part in a quiz about sports.
Congratulations to Faina Kukliansky on Re-Election to Head LJC
The members and staff of the Lithuanian Jewish Community are pleased to congratulate Faina Kukliansky on her re-election as chairwoman of the LJC.
Honored Guests Gather at President’s Office to Mark Coronation of Mindaugas Day
Delfi.lt
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda held the traditional reception at the President’s Office to celebrate July 6, Coronation of King Mindaugas, with many honored guests invited.
Although the celebration was scheduled to being at 7:00 P.M., invited guests began gathering earlier outside the building. Attendees were dressed in their finest and displayed a festive mood. Snapshots from the event are available here.
Happy Birthday to Aleksandras Asovskis
The Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes Aleksandras Asovskis a very happy birthday this milestone year. Mazl tov. Bis 120!
Happy Birthday to Sulamit Lev
Union of Former Concentration Camp Prisoners member Sulamita Lev celebrates her birthday June 7. She has been an employee of and volunteer at the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the LJC Social Center for many years.
We wish her a happy birthday, much happiness and good health, strength of spirit and joy. We wish you many meaningful years to come and that you would always remain as you are, young at heart.
Mazl tov!
The newspaper Šiaulių Kraštas published the incredible story of Sulamit’s life and rescue from the Šiauliai ghetto two years ago. The text is available in Lithuanian here.
Congratulations to Rūta Ribinskaitė on Earning Her Bachelor’s Degree
The Lithuanian Jewish Community congratulates Rūta Ribinskaitė for successfully defending and taking first place among final works for earning a bachelor’s degree at the International Relations and Political Science Institute of Vilnius University. Her work was titled “(Un)Fading Stereotypical Images of Jews: A Qualitative Analysis of the Internet News Site Delfi.lt.”
She told us: “Thank you for the opportunity to connect with the Jewish community, to acquire a lot of information, to gain experience and get to know members of the community, which led to my successful completion of studies.”
Way to go, Rūta.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Yossi Avni-Levy. Here are some archive pictures of his first visit to LJC headquarters.
