News – Page 127 – Lithuanian Jewish Community

One Year Implementing IHRA Recommendations for Teaching, Learning about the Holocaust

Photo: The IHRA Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust were adopted in 2019 and are now available in eight languages. Credit: Charles Caratini.

Holocaust education helps create a strong foundation for democratic societies and for combating hateful ideologies. One year after the adoption of the Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust, this resource has proven valuable to educators and policymakers across the globe.

The Importance of Holocaust Education

Holocaust education has always been central to the IHRA’s mandate. Both the 2000 Stockholm Declaration and the 2020 IHRA Ministerial Declaration underline the responsibility to promote Holocaust education. After all, it is an important part of “counter[ing] the influence of historical distortion, hate speech and incitement to violence and hatred.” That is, Holocaust education remains fundamental to the preservation of democratic values and pluralistic societies.

This is because learning about the Holocaust gives us a chance to reflect upon important moral, political and social questions. Understanding some of the mechanisms that lead to genocide helps to foster qualities necessary for the development of civic-minded citizens such as critical thinking and societal awareness. It also helps preserve the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

2020-12-11

Binyamin Netanyahu Likes the Vilna Gaon Commemorative Coin

Note: Triangular coins with Hebrew inscriptions are known from the ancient Jewish kingdom of Khazaria on the edge of Europe.

2020-12-10

Two Jewish Holidays Aren’t Mentioned in the Torah

All the important Jewish holidays are described in the Torah except for two: Purim and Hanukkah. These two holidays celebrate the victory of the Jews over their enslavers and persecutors. They are celebrated because our sages have decided so, both of them following the revelation of the Torah to the Jews.

Hellenistic rulers ruled the land of Israel from 198 B.C.E. onward. They destroyed Jewish traditions, forbade the reading of the Torah and banned celebrating the Sabbath. They weren’t anti-Semites per se, they didn’t seek the physical destruction of the Jews, they more pressed for the spiritual destruction of Judaism.

After the victory of the Maccabees and the liberation of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Most High apparently emphasized the importance of this event. The vessel of oil intended for the purification of the Temple miraculously lasted eight days instead of one. That was the time needed for making more ritual oil.

Dear colleagues and friends, I greet you on this wonderful, bright and memorable holiday! It is not celebrated by military parades, but by candlelight, with doughnuts and traditional games.

Hag Hanukkah sameakh!

Simas Levinas, chairman
Vilnius Jewish Religious Community

2020-12-102020-12-18

Condolences

Aleksandr Naftalovič passed away December 6. He was born in 1956. Our deepest condolences to his widow Laima on our shared loss.

2020-12-10

Hanukkah Greetings from Lithuanian Jewish Community Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky

2020-12-10

Hanukkah Lighting Ceremony Live

The Lithuanian Jewish Community announces the start of Hanukkah, the festival of lights.

Watch live from 5:00 P.M. (UTC+2) December 10.

Hanukkah begins December 10 and ends December 18 this year.

The holiday begins in Lithuania with the lighting of the first Hanukkah light at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius at 4:00 P.M. At 5:00 a light show begins at the LJC building in Vilnius.

The video above will feature a live streamcast. For more information see our facebook page as well at https://www.facebook.com/zydubendruomene

2020-12-10

Lighting the First Light of Hanukkah

Press release
December 4, 2020
Vilnius

The Jewish Community Announces the Beginning of Hanukkah

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is preparing to celebrate one of the most important holidays of the year, Hanukkah, which will begin this year on Thursday, December 10, and will end December 18. The beginning of the holiday is set for 4:00 P.M. when the first Hanukkah light is lit at the Choral Synagogue, Pylimo street no. 39, then at 5:00 P.M. the first light will be lit at the Lithuanian Jewish Community building in Vilnius. Hanukkah, which was mainly traditionally a family holiday, is celebrated at home by lighting a candle daily on the traditional nine-branched hanukiya candelabrum, more commonly known as the menorah..

Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights and the Jewish community as we light the candles sends out light and community to all the ethnic minority communities in Lithuania and to Jewish communities around the world. Light and music will accompany the ceremonial lighting of the first candle, with a laser-generated light show on the LJC building at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius, hopefully adding a new perspective on the building which housed the Tarbut Jewish gymnasium before the Holocaust. Because of virus fears, the lighting ceremony can also be observed via our website www.lzb.lt and on our facebook profile.

2020-12-092020-12-17

Year of Vilna Gaon Final Event to Discuss Future Direction

The Lithuanian Jewish Community in partnership with the Lithuanian History Institute and others invites you to a series of virtual discussions called “Litvak History: Directions for Today” beginning December 9. This is the final event to mark Lithuania’s Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History and is open to all who are interested in Jewish culture and history in Lithuania.

Litvak History: Directions for Today
A virtual academic discussion
Live streamcast with synchronous translation to English

The discussion begins at 9:45 A.M. and will run till 4:00 P.M., UTC+2, December 9, 2020. Participants will be able to pose their own questions live.

Event page: https://renginiai.puslapiai.lt/diskusiju-ciklas-lietuvos-zydu-istorija/

Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/704750490450977

Event program: https://bit.ly/3mGsr5g

For more information contact Marija Navickaitė Kajotienė, tel.: +370 628 71246, marija.navickaite12@gmail.com

2020-12-092020-12-15

Lithuanian Jewish Community Presents Year of Vilna Gaon and Litvak History Commemorative Medallion to Lithuanian President

December 4, 2020

As Lithuania’s Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History draws to a close, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda met via internet with Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and discussed current issues of concern to the Community.

“Lithuanian Jews are an inseparable part of our society and have been since the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For centuries we built our country together, strengthening our learning, culture, business and security. Lithuanian Jews living in their homeland and abroad publicize Lithuania’s name,” the president said.

The Litvak contribution was celebrated around the country and the world as Lithuania marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudist Elyahu ben Solomon Zalman, better known as the Vilna Gaon, and the 700th anniversary of Jewish history in Lithuania. The World Litvak Congress scheduled to meet in Vilnius and Israeli president Reuven Rivlin’s planned visit to Lithuania were postponed because of corona virus fears.

Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky presented the Lithuanian president a medallion commemorating the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Litvak History in the name of the entire Lithuanian Jewish Community. The medallion and commemorative coin issued by the Bank of Lithuania bears a symbol composed of the Jewish Menorah and the Post of Gediminas, an early symbol of Lithuanian statehood and power. The medallion also bears an inscription in Lithuanian from Moshe Kulbak’s poem Vilne: “You are a dark cameo set in Lithuania…”

In their discussion the president said the state is solving and will solve issues involving historical memory and will maintain a policy course of intolerance towards expressions of xenophobia.

The head of state thanked the Jewish community for its active role in society and wished the community light and peace as the holiday of Hanukkah approaches.

Communications group of the Office of President

2020-12-082020-12-08

Veisiejai Synagogue Testifies to Multicultural Past

Photo: Kostas Kajėnas

Veisiejai is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania and was first mentioned in an act in 1253 by Lithuanian king Mindaugas. Later in 1409 Lithuanian grand duke Vytautas also mentioned this town set on the banks of Lake Ančia. The old section of the town has been declared an urban monument.

Town synagogue. Photo courtesy Yad Vashem.

The network of streets, the layout of the square from the latter 18th century and early 19th century, portions of constructions, the panorama of the old town and the natural surroundings are all protected. The town is surrounded on all sides by water and it seems as if you are on an island as the waves of the emerald lake lit by the autumn sun lap along its banks everywhere.

Beginning in the 18th century, Veisiejai became one of the homes of the Lithuanian Jewish communities. Just a few weeks ago on November 3, the 79th anniversary of the extermination of the Veisiejai Jewish community was commemorated. When Nazi Germany went to war with the Soviet Union, Wehrmacht units occupied Veisiejai on the first day of hostilities, on June 22, 1941. At the end of June and in early July the Jews living in different parts of the town were forced into the area around the synagogue and then removed to a ghetto. On November 3, 1941, the once-thriving and large local Jewish community was no more. Soldiers from the Kaunas self-defense battalion aided by local police shot them all. Post-war exhumation indicated at least 1,503 people had been murdered. The corpses were laid in several rows without clothes and shoes, only in their underwear. Only a very few manages to escape and hide in neighboring villages and the forest. Items left behind by the Jews were sold, their farms were inventoried and parceled out to Lithuanian neighbors and some Jewish buildings were turned over to the local municipality.

The History of the Veisiejai Jewish Community

Full text in Lithuanian here.

2020-12-08

Council of the European Union Declaration on Fighting Anti-Semitism

The Council “today approved a declaration on mainstreaming the fight against anti-Semitism across policy areas”:

“With this declaration the Council emphasizes that the fight against anti-Semitism is a cross-cutting issue involving various levels of government and policies at local, national and European levels. Awareness of anti-Semitism therefore needs to be raised across policy areas and responsibilities. The EU member states have agreed to mainstream the prevention and countering of antisemitism in all its forms.”

Felix Klein, Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism, said: “Anti-Semitism is an EU-wide phenomenon. To counter it effectively, we need an appropriate set of European instruments and a sufficient basis. This is precisely the approach taken by the declaration, which I greatly welcome. In my view, tackling anti-Semitism as a comprehensive and networked task extending across policy areas and levels of government is a real milestone.”

The Council of the European Union furthermore “expresses its concern at the increase in threats to Jewish people in Europe, and the resurgence of conspiracy myths, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the increase in anti-Semitic incidents and hate crime.

“It stresses that anti-Semitism has developed into various forms and must be combated with complementary public policies. Illegal hate speech and online terrorist content must be removed promptly and consistently by internet service providers. A strong and systematic judicial response to anti-Semitic acts is also necessary.

“Education about the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and Jewish life remains one of the most important tools in preventing anti-Ssemitic prejudices. Sharing good practices to foster media literacy and awareness of conspiracy myths is also key.

“The member states also welcome the European Commission’s decision to make the fight against anti-Semitism a priority, as well as the strengthening of the institutional basis for the coordinator on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life,” the Council of the European Union reported here.

2020-12-072020-12-07

ECRI Says Anti-Semitism Incompatible with Values, Wants National Strategies from Member-States

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, aka ECRI, adopted an “Opinion on the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)” at its 84th plenary session on December 2. The full text is available here.

IHRA’s working definition begins:

“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

ECRI noted while many states have adopted the working definition, there are problems applying it legally because of the vagueness of some of the language, and said there are concerns because criticism of the State of Israel might be equated with anti-Semitism in a future redaction. There is also no academic consensus on a definition, the document said.

2020-12-072020-12-11

Condolences

Zoja Šliachovskaja passed away November 25. She was born in 1930. Our deepest condolences to her son Sergejus, her granddaughter and her many family members and friends.

2020-12-07

Happy Birthday, Liuba

The Lithuanian Jewish Community wishes Liuba Šerienė a very happy birthday. Liuba is an integral part of Community operations, fielding phone calls and distributing information to Community members every day. We wish you always remain the Liuba we know and love! Mazl tov! Bis 120!

2020-12-07

Honored on International Day of Tolerance

Information from the Ethnic Minorities Department under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

The Ethnic Minorities Department under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania assembled an awards commission for their annual award November 18. Nominations were accepted from chairpeople of ethnic community organizations, minority NGOs, social organizations and cultural center directors for whom to award as part of the Department’s celebration of the International Day of Tolerance. The awards commission received 36 requests and recommendations for award recipients.

Alvida Gedaminskienė, the director of the social organization the Ethnic Communities Center, was chosen to receive the grand prize version of the award “For Merit.”

The next highest award was the golden award of respect “For Merit” and was awarded to Aldona Kodytė, a member of the Lithuanian Association of Belarussian Schools; Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and to Kęstutis Zenonas Šafranavičius, the chairman of the Kaunas Regional Tartar Community.

2020-12-07

Happy Birthday to Eugenijus Bunka

We wish Eugenijus Bunka a happy 70th birthday. He created the Litvak Memorial Garden in the Žemaitijan National Park, is a great journalist, ethnographer and public figure.

Bunka was awarded the title of Tolerant Person of the Year for 2019. The award is made annually by the Chiune Sugihara/Diplomats for Life Foundation to Lithuanian citizens who stand up against xenophobia, anti-Semitism, radicalism and expressions of violence in Lithuanian public life by their words and deed.

Eugenijus has long led his father and sculptor Jakov Bunka’s fund, civic initiatives and restoring Jewish memory of Plungė, Žemaitija and Lithuania locally and around the world.

We wish you excellent health and may your life also be illuminated by happiness and joyful moments.

Mazl tov! Bis 120!

2020-12-07

Condolences

In sadness we report the death of Izrailius Tiktinas November 16. He was born in 1943. Our deepest condolences to his daughter Valentina.

2020-12-07

Condolences

Rachmielis Kulmanas (1929-2020) passed away November 13. We are deeply saddened by his loss and send our deepest condolences to his daughter Dina and granddaughter Jana.

2020-12-07

EJC President Slams Decision by Austrian Freedom Party to Appoint Anti-Semite to Upper House of Parliament

Brussels, November 25, 2020–European Jewish Congress president Dr. Moshe Kantor has expressed outrage after the Austrian Freedom Party appointed former foreign affairs spokesman Johannes Hübner to the Bundesrat, which is the equivalent of Austria’s Senate. In 2017 Hübner aborted an attempt to run for parliament after an anti-Semitic comment he shared at a far-right event in Germany the previous year was aired.

“The Freedom Party have claimed that they have left their anti-Semitic past behind them and have recently tried to revive their reputation, but this appointment represents a huge step backwards,” Dr. Kantor said. “It is unconscionable that a renowned anti-Semite would be given such a respectable position.”

“We call on the Freedom Party to rescind this decision and to once again turn away from its sordid anti=Semitic past,” Kantor concluded.

Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish community of Vienna, added: “The political return of Mr. Hübner is a confirmation of the lack of credibility of the Freedom Party. This is exactly what happened with Udo Landbauer who resigned after his student fraternity’s Nazi song books were seized and then came back as a regional party leader.”

2020-11-25