Heritage – Lithuanian Jewish Community

More Visitors in Panevėžys

A delegation of three guests from Israel visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community last week. Mordechai (Moudi) Ben Shach’s father and grandparents had lived in Panevėžys and ran the former Kommerts Hotel there. His grandfather Yaacov Chachvich from the Tuch family came to Panevėžys in 1890 from the town of Gedera in what is now Israel.

The rabbi accompanying the other two visitors was looking at the Community’s photography exhibit and was surprised to see a photograph of his great-grandfather, also a rabbi. He said it was a great honor to visit Panevėžys, one of the most important Jewish religious and cultural centers in the world.

Moudi Ben Shach said the foundation for the life of the community is not just various activities and projects, and that meeting and talking to people, keeping in contact and working together for the good of the community are just as important if not more so.

2026-06-042026-06-05

Evening of Entertainment in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community is pleased to present a neighborhood evening of entertainment called “The Story of One Building from Memory and Live.” The story circles around the building at the address Višinskio street no. 24, told by historian and guide Alfonsas Zaleskis. Next door over you’ll have the chance to take in a new exhibit at the From Šiauliai Studio. Šiauliai State Drama Theater actor Juozas Bindokas is to recite poetry and students from the Sondeckis Art Academy will perform music. Reporter Jūratė Sobutienė will talk about interesting books over tea and coffee.

Time: 5:30 P.M., Tuesday, June 9
Place: Jewish House, Višinskio street no. 24, Šiauliai

2026-06-03

Choral Synagogue Tour

Educator and lecturer Natalja Cheifec will lead another guided tour of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius Thursday. The synagogue is generally closed to tourists at this time. During the tour, Cheifec, will talk about the architecture, traditions and symbolism of Vilnius’s only working traditional synagogue. The tour starts at 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, June 4, at the Choral Synagogue located at Pylimo street no. 38 in Vilnius. Participants are asked to donate 5 euros to the synagogue during the event. To register, click here.

2026-06-01

Sholem Aleichem Field Trip to Ponevezh

Students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius took a field trip to the Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, then visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community last week.

Chairman Gennady Kofman and other Community members received the young people and their teachers and showed them what the Community does, spoke about local history and gave them a tour of the photography exhibition there.

2026-05-26

LJC on New Decisions on the Sports Palace and the Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery

The Lithuanian Jewish Community expresses its profound concern regarding the decision adopted by the parliament or Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania following its initial approval of draft resolution No. XVP-1423 which effectively revives plans first proposed more than a decade ago to convert the former Vilnius Sports Palace into a venue for congresses, conferences and cultural events (Government Resolution No. 597 of June 9, 2015).

These plans had previously provoked strong opposition from international Jewish organizations, including Jewish religious authorities. According to Jewish religious law, a cemetery is sacred and inviolable ground; not only are entertainment events and concerts prohibited there, but even disturbing the soil is forbidden. It was precisely for this reason that a special working group was established, bringing together representatives of state institutions, the Lithuanian Jewish Community and international organizations.

After lengthy and complex discussions, a compromise solution was reached, one that balanced respect for the dead, preservation of historical memory and the public interest. This agreement was confirmed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in July of 2024 (No. S-2174 of July 17, 2024).

2026-05-222026-05-25

Great Synagogue Exhibit at Litvak Identity Museum

The Litvak Identity Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum will open a new exhibit dedicated the Great Synagogue in Vilnius, damaged by the Nazis and destroyed by the Soviets, but never completely forgotten by Vilnius and the residential community.

The exhibit includes archaeological discoveries, depictions in art, historical photographs and reconstructions.

The opening ceremony is to include a performance by cantor Shmuel Ya’atom and a guided tour of the Gros-Shul exhibit by its curators. The exhibit runs till January 31, 2027.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, May 19
Place: Litvak Culture and Identity Museum, Pylimo street no. 41, Vilnius

2026-05-19

Kaunas Jewish Community Thanks Righteous Gentiles

For more than 30 years now the Kaunas Jewish Community has thanked rescuers of Jews every spring with a special ceremonial dinner, expressing deep gratitude and appreciation for the bravery and humanity they demonstrated. This the ceremony was held last week.

“Discussing Lithuanian and other European Jewish communities after World War II is impossible without the stories of the rescuers of Jews. If not for them, who are mainly humble and quiet about it, not boasting of their heroism, many of us would not be here in this land, and the dark time of the Holocaust would be even darker,” Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas told the audience this year.

As time passes there are fewer and fewer rescuers remaining, although there are examples of living rescuers such as Righteous Gentile Vladas Palkauskas who is now 93 and still going strong.

2026-05-192026-05-19

News from Panevėžys

Last weekend volunteers from the Panevėžys Jewish Community cleaned the interior and grounds of the Chevra Torah synagogue there. The brick synagogue was built in 1910. It was closed in 1940, the interior was destroyed and the decorative façade heavily damaged.

On May 6 Panevėžys Jewish Community representatives attended a lecture at the Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva by Holocaust historian Christoph Dieckmann called “How Did It Happen?” During questions afterwards, Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman thanked Dieckmann and asked about sources on Jewish vital statistics from the period between 1938 and 1941, engendering a discussion about the drop-off in marriages and births at a time when the Jewish community sensed the onset of tragedy.

2026-05-192026-05-19

Kurkliai Synagogue Opens Rhona Gorvy Exhibit for European Museum Night

The restored Kurkliai synagogue in the Anykščiai region north of Vilnius will open its doors to the public on European Museum Night, May 23, with an exhibit of graphic works and sculpture by the late South African artist Rhona Gorvy called “Life and Dreams.” The program for the evening includes an address by Ieva Šadzevičienė, curator of the Samuel Bak museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, live percussion by Arkadijus Gotesmanas and recollections of the past and stories from others. The event is free and open to the public.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Saturday, May 23
Place: Kurkliai synagogue, Salomėjos Neries street no. 4A, Kurkliai, Anykščiai district

2026-05-142026-05-15

Natalja Cheifec to Give Guided Tour of Choral Synagogue

Teacher and lecturer Natalja Cheifec will provide a guided tour of the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius on Wednesday evening. The only traditional synagogue still working in Vilnius has a long and interesting history. Cheifec will talk about its architecture, symbolism and traditions, and about its place in Jewish life before and now. Cheifec will conclude the tour with questions from the audience. Participants are asked to donate 2 euros to the synagogue.

Prior registration is required, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Wednesday, May 13
Place: Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, Vilnius

2026-05-112026-05-11

Lost Shtetl Fifth Most Beautiful Museum in the World

The Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania, placed fifth in the Prix Versailles selection of the world’s most beautiful museums announced May 4 at UNESCO in Paris. Prix Versailles judges singled out the museum’s architecture designed by Finland’s Rainer Mahlamäki. The outer form of the museum is intended to replicate the silhouette of the skylines of typical Lithuanian shtetlakh.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2026-05-052026-05-05

Anti-Jewish Arson Rings in UK Investigated for Links to Iran

A recent spate of arson attacks in London against Jewish synagogues and institutions is now being investigated by London’s Metropolitan Police for links to advertisements placed social media by Iran seeking criminals to commit anti-Semitic acts for pay.

Last year Australia’s ASIO intelligence service and the Australian Federal Police uncovered a similar scheme by Iran to attack synagogues and Jewish sites in Sydney. Australia threatened to cut off diplomatic relations and evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Tehran. Last week Australia sent a diplomatic protest to the Iranian embassy there for ads on Telegram and other social media sites again recruiting Australians for terrorist acts.

Scotland Yard and the Met in London have arrested over 15 people in possibly related arson rings in the greater London area in the last month.

According to Skynews UK reporting and interviews on the on-going investigation, Iran is using artificial intelligence, chatbots, to select potential viable candidates for its terror missions. After passing that gateway, would-be jihadists are put in touch with a human operator to assess their willingness to carry out terrorist acts, and are asked if they’d be willing to travel to Israel. Some of the posts intended to lure in sympathizers are bi-lingual, in English and Hebrew.

Photo: Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

2026-04-292026-04-29

Holocaust Exhibit at Ninth Fort in Kaunas

The Ninth Fort Museum in Kaunas has opened a new exhibition called “Raised from the Ashes, Kaunas,” a series of drawings by Mindaugas Lukošaitis.

Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas expressed his own enchantment, respect and gratitude for the exhibit, as all as that of the Kaunas Jewish Community, and thanked the Ninth Museum, the organizers of the exhibit, the performer at the opening and the artist.

The exhibit will run till October 4.

2026-04-292026-04-29

Panevėžys Jewish Community Member Launches Book

Panevėžys Jewish Community member, board member and historian Joana Viga Čiplyte launched her new biography of Lithuanian sculptor Kazimieras Kisielis at the Ramygala Regional History Museum this week. The book went on sale April 24. The book is a monument to the life and work of the sculptor who would’ve been 100 this year. Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman praised the book for preserving the heritage of the Panevėžys region.

2026-04-29

Rafailas Karpis Performs Israeli National Anthem

Opera tenor Rafailas Karpis performed the Israeli national anthem HaTikvah, The Hope, at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius Wednesday to mark Yom haAtzmaut, Israeli independence day.

2026-04-232026-04-23

New Jacques Lipchitz Museum in Druskininkai

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum has opened up a new museum in Druskininkai dedicated to the life and work of Litvak sculptor Jacques Lipchitz.

Newly-appointed Vilna Gaon Museum director Sergejus Kanovičius welcomed guests at an opening ceremony who included Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Lithuanian MP Emanuelis Zingeris, Lithuanian culture minister Vaida Aleknavičienė and Druskininkai mayor Ričardas Malinauskas.

Lipchitz came from Druskininkai. He was born in 1891 and passed away in 1973 having founded what he called crystal cubism as a genre and leaving a remarkable impression on 20th century art. He gained renown in Paris with a group of artists including Pablo Picasso before fleeing the Nazi invasion for the US, where he continued his work.

Vilna Gaon Museum has a number of geographically-scattered sites including the Tolerance Center, the Green House Holocaust Exhibit and the Litvak Identity Museum in central Vilnius, but also the Ponar Memorial Complex outside Vilnius. Their newest museum is located at Šv. Jokūbo street no. 17 in the spa town Druskininkai on the border with Belarus in southeast Lithuania.

Photos courtesy Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum.

2026-04-202026-04-20

Holocaust Seminar for Teachers in Palanga

The Lithuanian Jewish Community, Palanga Jewish Community and Claims Conference held a seminar for teachers teaching the Holocaust in Palanga on April 9. Twenty-seven educators and cultural workers attended. The two-year project financed by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany is titled “Education Program for Holocaust Remembrance and Historical Justice in Lithuania, 2025-2027.” It is intended to stimulate formal and informal Holocaust education in Lithuania.

Attendees received a tour of the Lithuanian seaside town including Jewish sites testifying to the once-large local Jewish community there before the Holocaust.

2026-04-14

Passover through the Eyes of Children

We had a tremendous response to our children’s drawing contest Passover through the Eyes of Children. Every entry demonstrated talent and attention to detail. Thank you to all participants and to their parents for fostering love of Jewish traditions in their families. Every artist will receive a box of chocolate-covered matzo. See below for a selection of works submitted.

2026-04-13

Bundestag President Visits Ponar

President of the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, Julia Klockner made time to visit Ponar outside Vilnius on trip to Lithuania to meet with the Lithuanian president and Lithuanian MPs to discuss European security Thursday. Ponar is the site outside Vilnius where as estimated more than 100,000 Jews were murdered. Klockner was accompanied by Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky at the Ponar Memorial Complex.

2026-04-092026-04-10

March of the Living for Yom HaShoah

A March of the Living event will take place in Vilnius on Sunday to mark Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on Tuesday, April 14, this year.

Those wishing to join the procession should gather at Rūdninkų Square at 4:00 P.M. to begin walking by 4:30 P.M., ending at Kudirka Square outside Government House at 5:00 P.M. Sunday. The march will have a police escort. Feel free to bring Israeli flags and other flags and banners appropriate for commemorating six million Holocaust victims.

2026-04-092026-04-09

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