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International Rabbinic Delegation Pleads with Government Leaders to Cancel Redevelopment Plan of Sports Palace, Desecrating 500-year Old Snipiskes Cemetery – BNS

International Rabbinic Delegation Pleads with Government Leaders to Cancel Redevelopment Plan of Sports Palace, Desecrating 500-year Old Snipiskes Cemetery – BNS

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Aug. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — A Rabbinic Delegation visited yesterday Vilnius and met the authorities to plea with them to cancel plans to construct a Congress Hall on Snipiskes Jewish cemetery.

The Snipiskes cemetery – interring Vilnius’ most famous Jewish leaders – was desecrated by a series of regimes, including the Nazis and Soviets. The latter built a now-abandoned Sports Palace on top of cemetery land.  Desecration continued under Lithuania’s democratic government, with two apartment buildings constructed on cemetery grounds during the last decade, disturbing and shattering human remains.

Recently, the government announced plans to redevelop the abandoned Sports Palace into a Congress Hall. Leading Rabbis who maintain the Lithuanian tradition of Talmud study publicly decried the plan, protesting “any use of this sacred site other than for prayer and solemn reflection.”

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International Rabbinic Delegation Travels to Vilnius to Plea for the Cancellation of Development Plans on the Snipiskes Cemetery

International Rabbinic Delegation Travels to Vilnius to Plea for the Cancellation of Development Plans on the Snipiskes Cemetery

Group Meets Deputy Chancellor and the Vilnius Mayor to Relay Calls of World Jewry to Spare 500-year Old Snipiskes Cemetery from Further Desecration

Vilnius – A Rabbinic Delegation visited yesterday Vilnius and met the authorities to plea with them to cancel plans to construct a Congress Hall on Snipiskes Jewish cemetery.

The Snipiskes cemetery was established over five centuries ago, and it interred the most famous Jewish leaders of Vilnius. Sadly, the cemetery’s Gravestones were razed and the cemetery was desecrated by a series of regimes, including the Nazis and the Soviets. The latter built a now-abandoned Sports Palace on the cemetery land.  Desecration continued in recent years, under Lithuania’s democratic government. During the last ten years, two apartment buildings were constructed on cemetery grounds and human remains were disturbed, shattered and excavated, despite protests from Jewish communities worldwide.

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Competition In Protecting Old Jewish Cemeteries

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Machberes: Inside The Chassidish And Yeshivish World

By Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum

Two groups lead in the fight to save Jewish cemeteries. Both organizations strive for the same goal but each has a different approach. The Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (CPJCE), which is headed by Rabbi Elyakim Schlesinger, universally respected London roshyeshiva, was founded in 1992; its headquarters is in London with affiliate offices in Warsaw. The CPJCE, also known as Admas Kodesh, meets with local municipal authorities and with heads of state, seeking to achieve working relationships. In all of CPJCE’s work, they proceed with the assumption of responsibility for all Jewish cemeteries in a particular country and all of the Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe.

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International Rabbinic Delegation Travels to Vilnius to Plea for the Cancellation of Development Plans on the Snipiskes Cemetery

International Rabbinic Delegation Travels to Vilnius to Plea for the Cancellation of Development Plans on the Snipiskes Cemetery

A Rabbinic Delegation visited today Vilnius and met the authorities to plead with them to cancel plans to construct a Congress Hall on Snipiskes Jewish cemetery.

The Snipiskes cemetery was established over five centuries ago, and it interred the most famous Jewish leaders of Vilnius. Sadly, the cemetery’s Gravestones were razed and the cemetery was desecrated by a series of regimes, including the Nazis and the Soviets. The latter built a now-abandoned Sports Palace on the cemetery land. Desecration continued in recent years, under Lithuania’s democratic government. During the last ten years, two apartment buildings were constructed on cemetery grounds and human remains were disturbed, shattered and excavated, despite protests from Jewish communities worldwide.

Read more

Israel “More Ready Than Ever” to Strike Iran IAEA: No Funds For Nuke Plant Inspections

As the Iran nuclear deal continues to dominate international headlines, shock waves of sorts have been reverberating in Israel after it was revealed that recordings had been released by former prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak in which alleged plans to strike Iran in the past had been graphically discussed.

On Monday, an unnamed Israeli senior security official told Walla news that his country’s military is more prepared now than in previous years to conduct a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities should the orders be handed down to do so.

The official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter said, “Every year that passes, the IDF improves. We never stand still. The professional level increases. In the coming year we will receive another submarine, F-35 fighter jets and other platforms. Intelligence is improving as well.”

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The picture of the meeting last week in Washington DC

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 from Left to Right:

1) Mr. Gershon Schlesinger- UJ Care Admas Kodesh
2) Rabbi Gershon Tennenbaum-representing Admas Kodesh –Spiritual Leader Rabbinical Alliance of America
3)Rabbi A Ginsberg- Executive Director CPJCE
4) Mr. Abba Cohen-Agudas Israel of America member of the Commission for the Preservation of Americas heritage Abroad
 5) Mrs. Lesley Weiss- Chair of the Commission for the Preservation of Americas Heritage Abroad
6) Andrew baker-member of Commission head of the American Jewish Committee
7) James L Furrow-Director of the Commission and member of the State Department for Jewish Issues
8) Susan Sandler- Head of the State Department Jewish Affairs desk
9) Carol Beilman Weiner- Desk officer For Lithuania Baltic energy Affairs at the State Department.  Also two other participants who were linked via video link are not pictured here
Events for European Jewish Culture Days in Žiežmariai, Lithuania

Events for European Jewish Culture Days in Žiežmariai, Lithuania

Dear readers,

You are coridally invited to attend the events of European Jewish Culture Days in Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer), Lithuania on September 6.

The Jewish Heritage of Žiežmariai: A Bridge from the Past to the Future

September 6, 2015, Žiežmariai, Kaišiadorys region

PROGRAM

12:15 – 1:00 P.M. Honoring the memory of Holocaust victims at the Jewish mass murder site at Bačkonys village (access from the Vilnius-Kaunas highway at the 60 kilometer mark)

1:00 – 1:30 P.M. Registration, viewing the exhibit (Žiežmariai Cultural Center, Vytauto street No. 13)

1:30 – 1:45 P.M. Opening of seminar, keynote speech

1:45 – 3:30 P.M. Seminar lectures (to be delivered in Lithuanian):

  • Rolandas Gustaitis “Žiežmarių žydų bendruomenės istorija” [“History of the Jewish Community of Žiežmariai”]
  • Olijardas Lukoševičius (Kaišiadorys Museum) “Žiežmarių miestelio istorija” [“History of the Town of Žiežmariai”]; presentation of exhibit
  • Dr. Vilma Karvelytė-Balbierienė (Architecture and Urban Planning cathedral, Kaunas Technological University) “Žiežmarių urbanistikos ir architektūros paveldas” [“The Urban and Architectural Heritage of Žiežmariai”]
  • Dr. Rasa Bertašiūtė (Lithuanian Folk-Life Museum) “Žiežmarių medinės architektūros išsaugojimo galimybės” [“Prospects for Preserving Žiežmariai’s Wooden Architecture”]
  • Presentation and discussion of preliminary results of the project to study and renovate the Žiežmariai synagogue by the state enterprise Lietuvos paminklai [Lithuanian Monuments]

3:30 – 4:00 P.M. Discussion

4:00 – 5:00 P.M. Tour of Žiežmariai

PARTNERS:

Kaišiadorys regional administration, Kaišiadorys Museum, Lietuvos paminklai, Lithuanian Folk-Life Museum

PROJECT FINANCED BY:

The Cultural Heritage Department under the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture

The Goodwill Fund

The LJC expects a retraction and apology from alfa.lt

The website alfa.lt has published a news article about the alleged financial fraud of a businessman named Strolis, which mentions the Jewish Community explicitly in its headline and body. The Lithuanian Jewish Community states for the record that neither it nor the Vilnius Jewish Community are in any way connected with the facts in the case against the businessman in any way at all. The hotel mentioned in the article was purchased by Chabad Lubavitch rebbe Sholom Ber Krinsky who came from
Boston to Lithuania in 1994 to create a new Chassidic community here, whereas the existing community here has mainly been and largely remains Mitnagedim in outlook, followers of the Vilna Gaon who condemned Chassidism as Judaic heresy. The communities are laregly at peace now, but there is no official or religious connection between Chabad Lubavitch and the Lithuanian Jewish Community.

alfa.lt has published untrue information about the Lithuanian Jewish Community. The LJC expects a retraction and apology.

C.P.J.C.E. Press release regarding Snipiskes cemetery

C.P.J.C.E. Press release regarding Snipiskes cemetery

The Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe

344 Fairholt Road, London N16 5HW Tel: 020 8802 6853 Fax: 020 8802 6905/8800 0279

23rd August 2015

 Press Release

We are pleased to inform that the CPJCE and its USA counterparts Admas Kodesh and their affiliated Organisations and Rabbinical Boards in the USA and Europe, haw engaged in intense negotiations with the Lithuanian Government in conjunction with the Lithuanian Jewish Community with regard to the Government proposals over the Sports Palace at the Snipiskes cemetery.

The CPJCE and Admas Kodesh have been heavily involved in achieving the initial successful agreement in 2009, which secured the the comprehensive preservation and protection of the remainder of the Snipiskes Jewish cemetery that resulted in scrapping the planned development on the cemetery grounds, the removal of the parking lot and ensuring that no digging or construction would take place within the boundaries of the cemetery.

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Jewish Community of the City of Šiauliai letter

To:

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman, Lithuanian Jewish Community

Rabbi Chaim Burshtein

The members of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community of the City of Šiauliai are writing to you.

Critical attacks upon the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community authored by the Rabbi Chaim Burshtein have appeared recently on the internet.

We do not know the reasons behind the hostile position taken by Ch. Burshtein towards the leaders of the community, but we are displeased by the rabbi’s position. We cannot determine what role he plays in the life of the city of Vilnius, but as Chief Rabbi of Lithuania, he, in our opinion, is required to take an interest in the life of the regional communities. And this is exactly what has been missing.

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LJC Volunteers Clean Up Žasliai Jewish Cemetery

LJC Volunteers Clean Up Žasliai Jewish Cemetery

Members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community took part in a call for volunteers to clean up the Jewish cemetery in Žasliai in the Kaišiadorys.
A large contingent of LJC members including chairperson Faina Kukliansky, Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon, Kaišiadorys mayor V. Tomkus and Žasliai alderman Mindaugas Nasevičius all took part in the clean-up effort.

Photos:

Pope Francis’s Visit to Israel in 2014

Dear readers,
The ambassador from the State of Israel to the Republic of Lithuania, His
Excellency Amir Maimon and His Excellency, the Metropolitan Archbishop Gintaras Linas Grušas

and the Ecclesiastical Heritage Museum of Vilnius have the pleasure of inviting you to the opening of an exhibition of photography,

“Pope Francis’s Visit to Israel in 2014,”

to take place at Cathedral Square in Vilnius (Katedros a. no. 2, Vilnius) at 4:00 P.M.
on Friday, August 26, 2015.

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Exhibit of Works by the in Plein Air L’école de Paris Art Workshop Opens

Exhibit of Works by the in Plein Air L’école de Paris Art Workshop Opens

The opening of an exhibition of works produced by participants in the edcuational workshop Litvak Artists: The L’école de Paris Period 2015 has taken place. Dozens of people attended the event at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius, demonstrating something important and significant has taken place.

All of us together–the in plein air workshop participants, teachers and those just beginning to do art, plein air organizers and Jewish Community members and staff–have created something which has provided new opportunities for every participant and has given rise to a new creative artistic group. The result is a wonderful exhibit which surprised everyone. Most of the ceramics and painting works were done by people who have never worked with oil paints or clay before in their lives.

We hope this is only the beginning and that the creative work will continue.

Everyone is warmly welcomed to visit the exhibition.

Movement in Spain: A Case Study

Movement in Spain: A Case Study

The overturning of the decision by a Spanish festival on Wednesday to cancel the singer Matisyahu’s planned concert for political reasons was a major victory for the World Jewish Congress and the FJCE, and it marked a defeat for the BDS movement.

On Sunday afternoon, August 16, a member of the WJC professional staff in New York became aware that the American-Jewish music artist Matisyahu had been disinvited from the Rototom Sunsplash festival in Spain after he had refused to sign a pro-Palestinian statement. He alerted members of the senior WJC staff in New York and Brussels who, within a matter of hours, in consultation with myself and with the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) and their President, Isaac Querub Caro, drafted a statement condemning the festival’s action, especially since it was the recipient of public funds. I then consulted with our President, Ronald S. Lauder, and the statement was issued in his name that same day.

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“Have fun, safe ride”

“Have fun, safe ride”

This time the Israeli Embassy invites everyone to the bicycles ride in a beautiful Vilnius! Accompanied by the slogan “Have fun, safe ride” we will ride in the streets of Vilnius dressed in specially for this event designed T-shirts. In the end of the trip we will taste apples with honey: to meet the upcoming Jewish new year.

More info at Facebook

Explosives Attack Near Jerusalem Wounds Israeli Soldier

An Israeli soldier was wounded by an explosives attack along a tunnel road just outside of Jerusalem. The IDF is currently in pursuit of the terrorist.

According the Israel Defense Forces, an explosive was thrown by Palestinian terrorists onto a military lookout post. An Israeli soldier was wounded in the eye but remained conscious.

The terrorist who fled the scene is being pursued by a large military force that is searching the Jerusaelm-Bethlehem area.

Israeli’s opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned that “those who harm Israelis will suffer the consequences.” He added that “without drastic changes, we may find ourselves in a third intifada.”

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Call for Volunteers to Clean Up Jewish Cemetery in Žiežmariai

Call for Volunteers to Clean Up Jewish Cemetery in Žiežmariai

The mayor and active citizens of the region of Kaišiadorys (Koshedar) are calling for more people to volunteer their time and labor to clean up the old Jewish cemetery in Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer) on Friday, August 21. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky invites members of the community and especially youth to take part in the effort. Tools will be provided.

Work begins at 10 A.M. and those who want to go should contact the Lithuanian Jewish Community by 5 P.M. on Thursday, August 20.

for more information, see: Facebook Event 

According to the Lithuanian newspaper and website Lietuvos žinios [News of Lithuania], the town of Žiežmariai is first mentioned in the historical sources in the 14th century and received charter rights as a city in 1792. Besides the Old Jewish Cemetery, the town has other attractions such as buildings surviving from the 16th century, a monumental neo-Gothic church and a unique wooden synagogue from the 19th century. The Old Jewish Cemetery contains hundreds of burials witnessing to the bustling Jewish life there until World War II, when almost all remaining Jews of Žiežmariai were murdered.

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