Natalja Cheifec’s internet discussion club meets Thursday at 6:00 P.M. To join the conversation, click here.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 8:18 P.M. on Friday, August 29, and concludes at 9:13 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:00 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:18 P.M. Monday is Labor Day in the United States and Canada, and the first day of school in Lithuania.
EJC Joins Ten Leading Jewish Orgs to Support EC Anti-Semitism Coordinator
The European Jewish Congress along with ten of its associate members in Europe including the Lithuanian Jewish Community is expressing support and gratitude to Katharina von Schnurbein, coordinator for fighting anti0Semitism for the European Communission.
Signatories also included Jewish youth groups throughout Europe.
The letter to the EC president and EC commissioner for internal affairs comes in response to criticism of von Schnurbein claiming she’s biased.The signatories claim she is being criticized for doing too much real work to fight anti-Semitism and foster Jewish life in the EU.
A copy of the letter can be found below.
Australia Points Finger at Iran for Melbourne Synagogue Arson
Speaking at press conference Tuesday morning local time, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian intelligence service ASIO had determined Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard was responsible got at least two terrorist attacks on Australian Jews.
ASIO director Mike Burgess told the press conference Revolutionary Guard agents used cut-outs and proxies to effect the attacks on the Addas Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and the Louis Continental Kitchen and Curly Lewis Brewery at Bndin Beach in Sydney. Addas was firebombed in December, 2024, and the Jewish restaurant were subject to arson attack in October, 2024.
Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong said Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador and three Iranian embassy officials un response, eddectively shuttering the Iranian embassy in Australia opened in 1968. The PM said Australian embassy staff in Tehran had been removed to a safe third country. Albanese and Wong said they would maintain skeleton diplomatic relations with Iran through a third party, likely the Swiss embassy.
Great Synagogue Topic of Interest on Morning Radio
The Ryto Allegro [Mornin Allegro] program on Lithuanian state radio’s classical music channel asked about plans to rebuild the Great Synagogue in Vilnius last week, following the announcement the Vilnius municipality began removal of a Soviet0era brick school house on top of the remains of the Great Synagogue on August 18.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky told the interviewer, “Rebuilding the synagogue as a house of prayer doesn’t make sense because there are not enough Jews who want to pray to support that.”
Sje moted the final death knell for the Great Synagogue came in the Soviet era. Although it was heavily damaged by bombardment in World War II, the Soviets sought to erase religion from daily life, and billdozed the parts of the synagogue which were still stamding..
“The Community’s main goal is to revivify the neighborgood which for many years was known as the Jewish Quarter. Many interesting artifacts were discovered during archaeological digs which the story of the Jews who lived here, and these should be memorialized and shown to the public,” Kukliansky told the radio audience.
The interviewer asked whether it was realistic to expect the site to become a Jewish community center. Kukliansky said that possibility shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.
“I don’t want to say too much while plans haven’t been finalized, but there is a team with world-renowned architect Massimiliano Fuksas to create a modern center which included creating an attractive space for young people to learn about the Vilna Gaon, Jewish history and the former Great Synagogue,” Kukliansky commented.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 8:34 P.M. on Friday, August 22, and concludes at 9:32 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:16 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:34 P.M.
Australian-Israeli Relations on the Brink
by Geoff Vasil
The Australian media, former Australian ambassador to Australia Dave Sharma, Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin and a series of Australian politicians on both sides of the aisle are saying Israeli-Australian relations are at an all-time low.
This followed a tweet by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Australian PM Anthony Albanese a weak leader who has failed to protect Australian Jews.
Albanese appeared to brush off the criticism and told the press he tries to deal with international leaders respectfully.
Shortly after a letter Netanyahu had sent Albanese several days earlier leaked in the media. The letter accused Albo of pouring fuel on the fire of anti-Semitism in Australia and called him a coward in so many words for appeasing Hamas with recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Natalja Cheifec on the Holy Land, Part 3
Natalja Cheifec continues here discussion of the Holy Land and its people in a third installment as part of her internet discussion club Thursday. To receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, August 21
Place: internet
School House on Great Synagogue Site to be Demolished
The Vilnius news website madeinvilnius.lt reports work to remove a brick building, a former school, above the subterranean remains of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius is set to begin August 18. The city municipality says the removal is necessary to both provide access to and protect the archaeological site which includes the Great Synagogue and adjacent mikvot.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 8:51 P.M. on Friday, August 15, and concludes at 9:81 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:33 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:51 P.M. Friday is VJ Day, this year marking 80 years since the Allies forced the unconditional surrender of the fascist Empire of Japan (August 15 in the eastern USSR, China and Australia, August 14 in the United States. September 2 is also celebrated as VJ Day marking the formal surrender tjrpigh the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender by the Japanese foreign minister representing emperor Hirohito and the “Big Six” powers on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay)..
Natalja Cheifec on the Holy Land and Its People, Part 2
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet discussion group on the topic of the Holy Land and its people. THis will be the second part of that discussion. To receive zoom credentials, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, August 14
Place: internet
Israeli President and Wife Visit Lithuanian Jewish Community
“I am a proud Litvak,” Israeli president Isaac Herzog told an audience of LJC members and students from the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius Monday last week.
He and wife Michal watched a performance by younger students from the school and the president fielded questions from students afterwards.
“Jews have been living in Lithuania 600 years now. This is our home, our gomeland, while Israel is our historical homeland which we support and always weill,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky told the assembly.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 9:06 P.M. on Friday, August 8, and concludes at 10:09 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:48 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:06 P.M.
Natalja Cheifec on the Promised Land
Natalja Cheifec continues her internet discussion club, this time discussing the Promised Land and its people. To receive zoom credentials to listen to and contribute to the discussion, click here.
Time: 6:00 P.M., Thursday, August 7
Place: internet
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 9:20 P.M. on Friday, August 1, and concludes at 10:27 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 9:02 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:20 P.M. Sunday is Tisha b’Av with the 24-hour fast beginning at sundown on Saturday and ending when stars appear Sunday evening. Friday is also the Christian harvest festival Lammas.
Sabbath Times
The Sabbath begins at 9:32 P.M. on Friday, July 25, and concludes at 10:44 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 9:14 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:32 P.M.
LJC on Government Plan to Change Old Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery Memorial
The Lithuanian Jewish Community, uniting 32 organizations across Lithuania and abroad, is deeply surprised by the unilateral decision made by the Government under the leadership of Gintautas Paluckas to disregard a project previously approved back in 2024 for the memorialization of the old Šnipiškės (Shnipishok, formerly Piromont neighborhood) Jewish cemetery and the existing commemorative site at the Palace of Sports. This project has been under development for several years and was carefully coordinated by a working group composed of representatives from the Lithuanian Jewish Community, the European Jewish Cemetery Preservation Committee, the American Jewish Committee’s Department of International Affairs and other organizations dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage.
The solutions proposed so far have ensured appropriate respect for the Jews buried in the cemetery as well as historical events related to Lithuania’s struggle for independence and the victims of the tragic events of January 13, 1991, at the Vilnius television tower.
We emphasize the decision to alter the intentand content of the memorial was made without prior consultation with the Lithuanian Jewish Community or any other Jewish organizations anywhere. We were not informed of any changes to the original plans.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community will refrain from further commenting on this decision for now because we have not received confirmed information regarding the content of this new plan nor the reasons behind this change in course.
Nevertheless, we wish to note that such actions undermine trust in our state and damage Lithuania’s reputation in the eyes of strategic partners.
Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community
Embattled PM Has Big Plans for Old Jewish Cemetery
The Lithuanian and Russian news portals madeinvilnius.lt and ru.delfi.lt are reporting Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas (Social Democratic Party) has renewed government plans to refurbish the former Palace of Sports complex in central Vilnius and to renovate the Jewish cemetery where it was built and which surrounds the building.
Paluckas is facing calls to stand a confidence vote in parliament following revelations of sweet-heart loan deals and large discounts for real estate purchases.
According to both news sites, Paluckas wants to renovate the large but decrepit building for use as a conference center, the same plan floated by earlier governments. This iteration of the on-going talk of renovation now includes plans by the PM to install a museum within that space for commemorating the first meeting of Sąjūdis there, and victims of the January 13, 1991, Vilnius television tower massacre. Sąjūdis officially became a political party there and went on to contest elections to the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet against the Lithuanian Communist Party led by Algirdas Brazauskas. Original member of Sąjūdis and later Brazauskas supporter Arvydas Juozaitis is currently completing a boom on the history of the early Lithuanian independence movement which includes a detailed description of that founding meeting, according to pre-publiicty from the author himself.
Tisha b’Av and the Ongoing Struggle against Lithuanian Holocaust Revisionism
by Grant Gochin, July 18, 2025
Tisha b’Av, observed annually on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is a solemn day of mourning in Judaism, commemorating a series of tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, most notably the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Over time, this day has also become a time to reflect on other catastrophic events in Jewish history, including the Holocaust, which saw the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1941 and 1945. For many Jewish communities, Tisha b’Av serves as a moment to mourn the six million victims of the Holocaust, often through the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament historical persecutions, including those of the 20th century. As we commemorate these profound losses, however, a troubling issue persists in Lithuania: the government’s ongoing efforts to revise and deny its historical role in the Holocaust, a matter I have confronted through extensive legal action. This article explores the intersection of Tisha b’Av’s remembrance, Lithuania’s Holocaust revisionism and my legal battles to expose this distortion, drawing on insights from my work and the broader discourse on antisemitism.
Tisha b’Av: A Day of Collective Mourning
Tisha b’Av is marked by a 25-hour fast and the recitation of the Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem. Over centuries the day has evolved to encompass additional tragedies, such as the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and the Holocaust. Religious communities often incorporate special kinnot composed after the Holocaust, such as those by Rabbi Shimon Schwab in 1959 and Rabbi Solomon Halberstam in 1984, to honor the six million Jewish victims. This practice underscores the day’s role as a time to reflect on the enduring impact of antisemitism and the importance of historical truth. The Holocaust as a pinnacle of antisemitic violence is a focal point of this commemoration, making Lithuania’s revisionist policies particularly jarring in the context of Tisha b’Av.
Šiauliai Jewish Community Celebrates 100th Birthday of Leiba Lipshitz
from the newspaper Šiaulių kraštas
The Chaim Frenkl Villa of the Aušra Museum in Šiauliai hosted a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leiba Lipshitz on July 16. Lipshitz chronicled Jewish life in Šiauliai, researched regional history and was a well-known publix figure. People called him a walking encyclopedia. He survived the Stuthoff and Dachau concentration camps but lost his entire family in the Holocaust. He went back to his hometown and dedicated the rest of his life to documenting Jewish history and life in Šiauliai.
Historian Jonas Kiriliauskas delivered a presentation of Lipshitz and his views on life at the ceremony.