Learning, History, Culture

Does Greenland Dispute Spell the End for NATO?

Does Greenland Dispute Spell the End for NATO?

by Geoff Vasil

Not necessarily. What most people don’t realize is that numerous NATO member-states have standing territorial disputes with other NATO member-states and sometimes even attack one another militarily.

Cyprus is a prime example, the divided island split by the so-called Green Line between Turkey and the Greek population, reflecting a larger conflict going back to the Ottoman takeover of Greek territory in Anatolia and spilling over into bombing sorties into one another’s territories at times while both countries remained in NATO.

Denmark and Canada have a dispute over an Arctic island close to the Greenlandic shore. They’ve ritualized the conflict into an annual “occupation” where one side buries a whiskey bottle for the other “occupying army” to find.

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Birthday Exhibition by Aleksandra Jacovskytė

Birthday Exhibition by Aleksandra Jacovskytė

Aleksandra Jacovskytė’s exhibit “Theater: Costume Sketches” will open January 20 at the Samuel Bak Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum with the artist in attendance. She’ll speak about the sources of her inspiration, theater life, how costumes are created from idea to stage and talk backstage. Aleksandra Jacovskytė is a set designer, graphic artist and photographer.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, January 20
Place: Samuel Bak Museum, Naugarduko street no. 10, Vilnius

Sixteenth Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai

Sixteenth Liova Taicas Memorial Tournament in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai District Jewish Community is pleased to announce the 16th Liova Taicas memorial sporting event starting at 11:00 A.M. on February 8 at the Šiauliai Sports Gymnasium.. Games include mini-soccer, 3-on-3 basketball, ping-pong, chess and volleyball.

To participate, please register by January 20 by calling the Šiauliai District Jewish Community at +370 99 10621

A Railroad Town and How Tragedy Was Suppressed: Jewish History Revived in Rūdiškės

A Railroad Town and How Tragedy Was Suppressed: Jewish History Revived in Rūdiškės

Rūdiškės is a small town in the Trakai district which most people pass on the road without a thought about its complicated and painful history. The railroad came through in the 20th century and brought business and a Jewish population, almost completely exterminated in the Holocaust. Now local residents, teachers and descendants of people from the town are trying to revive memories of the past there, through testimonies, initiatives and manual labor.

For people travelling between Vilnius and Alytus, Rūdiškės is mainly just a name on a road sign. It has a railroad stop, a main square. a school and stores. The tranquil façade hides a complex story. Lithuanian language teacher Loreta Masienė says Rūdiškės is different from most towns because it was established around the railroad station.

“This was the first railroad in Lithuania, the St. Petersburg to Warsaw line. Rūdiškės began to grow around the railway and the Geležinė River,” she said.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

Natalja Cheifec on Raising Children according to the Torah

Natalja Cheifec on Raising Children according to the Torah

In the first part of a series on raising children according to the Torah, Natalja Cheifec will discuss:

• Main phases of raising and disciplining chldren according to age;

• Democracy or authority: which sort of relationships lead to greater harmony between parent and child;

• Which should come first, instilling good behavior or imparting understanding;

• Can parents and children be equal?

To participate and receive zoom credentials, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, January 16
Place: internet

Condolences

Alė Šimulynienė has died. She was born in 1936. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center, We extend our deepest condolences on her loss to her surviving family and friends.

Lithuanian Economics Ministry Likes Idea of Holocaust Museum at Shnipishok Cemetery

Lithuanian Economics Ministry Likes Idea of Holocaust Museum at Shnipishok Cemetery

The Lithuanian Ministry of Economics and Innovation has issued a press release on the Baltic News Service webpage expressing approval for the idea of setting up a Holocaust museum at the former Palace of Sports built on top of the Vilna Jewish cemetery by the Soviets in the Shnipishok neighborhood on the northern side of the Neris (viliya( River.. The building has been in serious disrepair for over a decade.

“Taking into account the position held regarding the possibility of adapting the former Palace of Sports, since this site is not suitable for modern and competitive conference tourism… it would be more appropriate to renovate the Palace of Sports and equip it for use as a new memorial and museum,” the Economics and Innovation Ministry posted on the BNS press release webpage.

Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas after meeting with economics minister Edvinas Grikšas last week told BNS the Vilnius municipality and the Economics Ministry have a common position regarding the aging concert and sports complex.

Mayor Benkunskas said: “We perceive in the same way that the Palace of Sports has to be renovated and adapted as a memorial and museum space, and that it wouldn’t be competitive for conference tourism, and would pose a risk to our public image as such.”

The Economics and Innovation Ministry earlier posted the building was not fit to use as a conference venue following a study ordered by the Government.

“According to the current studies, this site could only host some of the requirements as a venue, there would be a lack of parking places, and the costs of reconstruction are difficult to predict,” the Ministry said.

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American Embassy Hosts Presentation of New Community Center

American Embassy Hosts Presentation of New Community Center

Goodwill Foundation co-presidents Rabbi Andrew Baker and Faina Kukliansky presented plans for a new Lithuanian Jewish Community Center at the US embassy in Vilnius last week.

World-renowned Litvak architect Massimiliano Fuksas’s team are drafting plans for the new building to be built at the site of the Great Synagogue complex in Vilnius Old Town.

Baker and Kukliansky provided details at the presentation on a planned YIVO exhibit at the new center telling the history of Litvaks, Litvak life, traditions, the people and their mass murder during the Holocaust.

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Jacques Fux on Lazaris Segall

Jacques Fux on Lazaris Segall

The Vilnius Literary Palace at Šv. Jono street no. 11 will host an event with Brazilian author Jacques Fux who is on a UNESCO fellowship to research in Lithuania famous Brazilian artist Lazar Segall, who came from Vilnius. Kamilė Rupeikaitė and UNESCO’s Marija Mažulė will also speak at the event which will take place in English. The event will start at 7:00 P.M. December 17.

LJC on the Bondi Massacre in Australia

LJC on the Bondi Massacre in Australia

The attack perpetrated on Bondi Beach in Australia where the attackers shot Jews gathered to celebrate Hanukkah has caused deep concern and upset to the Lithuanian Jewish Community. The victims included children, rabbis, Holocaust survivors and non-Jews as well.

We extend our sincerest condolences to the Australian Jewish community and call on everyone to realize that this mass murder targeted Jews around the world, not just in Australia. This is an alarm bell warning us no Jewish community is safe anywhere in the world. Our members including women and children are vulnerable to attack at any time.

Large metropolises throughout the world including Berlin, London and New York have responded to attacks on Jews by increasing security. Sadly in recent times amid a rising tide of anti-Semitism in the world and in Lithuania, we daily encounter hostile actions, vandalism and violence. We are citizens of a member-state of the European Union who are being targeted by followers of recognized terrorist organizations.

We call upon our members to remain vigilant, and we call upon the Lithuanian Government and the citizens of Lithuania to take measures to protect Lithuania’s Jewish organizations, including the communities, the kindergarten, the Choral Synagogue and other sites.

Events in Washington, D.C., Berlin and Sydney demonstrate the danger is real and that in order to avoid further tragedy, we must act now. Tomorrow could be too late.

Condolences

Liucija Lavrenova has passed away. She was born in 1937. She was a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. Our sincere condolences to her daughter, other family members and friends.

Hanukkah Greetings

Hanukkah Greetings

Dear friends,

We live in unusual times. We are surriunded by the danger of war. In our historical homeland Israel the war has not ended, people are still fighting and dying. In Ukraine people are suffering because of the actions of the aggressor.

I never thought I would live under conditions of war. I thought this generation, of ou children and grandchildren, would grow up without war. But this is what has happened, without regard to what we wanted.

Despite all these tragic circumstances, the holidays still go on, bringing light, jope and joy. Each day we light a candle to remind ourselves the world is entirely dark. There are also good developments in life, there is hope all the wats will end, we will be safe and our children and grandchildren will be sage, healthy and happy and won’t have to face these dangers in the future.

Hanukkah, the festival of lights, jas been celebrated xince ancient times. Ot gives us hope that in the country where we live anti-Semitism will disappear and demonstrations against Israel will fade away. Instead of crying, we will fight anti-Semitism.

I wish you all the best. Most importantly, I wish you health, happiness, hope and a happy Hanukkah.

Hag urim sameakh,

Faina Kuklianksy, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community

Natalja Cheifec on the Miracle of Hanukkah, Part 2

Natalja Cheifec on the Miracle of Hanukkah, Part 2

Natalja Cheifec continues her lecture begun last week on the miracle of Hanukkah in the run-up to the Jewish winter holiday.

What does the Most High do during Hanukkah? Why do Jews gaze at the candle flame during this holiday? What are the doughnuts, sufganyot and Hanukkah gelt all about? Tune in and find out! To receive zoom credentials, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, December 11
Place: internet

Courage and Hope: Remembering the Rescuers

Courage and Hope: Remembering the Rescuers

The Palanga Jewish Community and the Jonas Šliūpas Museum in Palanga are holding an event to remember the courage displayed by the Righteous Gentiles, those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust. MEP professor Liudas Mažylis will share his insights and Palanga Jewish Community chairman Vilius Gutmanas will talk about his family’s experience. The Mažylis family rescued Jews and were recognized posthumously as Righteous Gentiles by Yad Vashem in 2006. The presentation and discussion will be in Lithuanian. The event is free and open to the public.

Time: 5:00 P.M., December 11
Place: Jonas Šliūpas Museum, Vytauto street no. 23A, Palanga

Family Event Waiting for Hanukkah

Family Event Waiting for Hanukkah

Hanukkah us more than just lighting the eight candles on the menorah, it’s a time to have a good time with family and friends, a time for children to play and adults to talk. With that in mind we invite you to the Waiting for Hanukkah celebration this Saturday, December 6 starting at 2:00 P.M. at the renovated Bagel Shop café now known as Pylimo 4 located at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius. We’ll make doughnuts, spin the dreidl, play other games and sing and dance. Registration required by sending a request to levickajasimona@gmail.com.

Natalja Cheifec on Shtetl Life

Natalja Cheifec on Shtetl Life

The shtetl was bit just a tiwn, but a self-contained world where Jewish traditions were maintained, students attended the yeshiva, people were married and buried under the precepts of Judaism and almost everyone spoke Yiddish.

To receive zoom credentials, click here.

Time: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, December 4
Place: internet

New Album: Litvak Violin Art

New Album: Litvak Violin Art

Violinist Dalia Dėdinskaitė and pianist Walter Delahunt will perform selections from their new album at the album lauch at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, December 3 at the Samuel Bak Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum, Naugarduko street no. 10, Vilnius. The album is called Estrellita and features works by Litvak composers from Lithuania to Hollywood.

Exhibit of Works by Raimondas Savickas

Exhibit of Works by Raimondas Savickas

Life with Pastels is an exhibit of works by renowned Lithuanian visual artist Raimondas Savickas which opens at 6:00 P.M. on December 6 and runs till December 27 at the Savickas Picture Gallery, Tumo-Vaižganto street no. 5, Vilnius. A new exhibit of paintings by Savic;as also opens on December 30 at the Lithuanian Artists Union gallery at Vokiečių street no. 2.