Wooden Synagogue in Alanta Renovated
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LJC, International Comminission and Olga Lengyel Institute Holding Holocaust Seminars for Teachers
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LJC Chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Speaks at Commemoration of Grosse
Aktion in Kaunas
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Šiauliai Opens Righteous Gentile Square at the Intersection of Vilniaus and Ežero Streets at Former Ghetto Gates
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"Symphony from Jerusalem of the North” Mark Day of Lithuanian Jewish Victims of Genocide in Presidential Courtyard
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The renovated synagogue in Žiežmariai will become a new cultural center. The first synagogue in appeared sometime between 1690 and 1696. In the 19th century there three synagogues. Not surprising, since the majority of the population were Jewish. This synagogue which has survived and has now been renovated stands in the southern part of town between Vilniaus and Žalgirio streets, with the Strėva river flowing from southeastward from there.
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The Lithuanian Post Office has issued a stamp commemorating 300 years since the birth of the Vilna Gaon
The Lithuanian Post Office has issued a stamp commemorating 300 years since the birth of the Vilna Gaon
with a face value of 0.81 euros, enough to mail letters abroad.
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Lithuania Marks 300th Anniversary of Birth of Vilna Gaon, 2020 Named Year of the Gaon and Litvak History.
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Most important events at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in 2018
Most important events at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in 2018
Revival of Jewish Scouting in Lithuania: The first new Litvak scouting camping trip with children from Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Molėtai took place August 24 to 26.
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Jewish newspapers and advertisements from Vilnius in the period between the two world wars. Jews and other minorities were given equal rights in the reconstituted Lithuanian state. Yiddish thrived with many newspapers and books published in the language.
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Vilnius Cinema Denounces Own Israeli Film Week, Deletes Denunciation Post

Vilnius Cinema Denounces Own Israeli Film Week, Deletes Denunciation Post

by Geoff Vasil

The Skalvija movie theater in Vilnius hosted Israeli Film Week in early May as announced earlier.

Pro-Hamas protestors associated with the website palestina.lt decided to disrupt Israeli Film Week. According to one eye-witness a group of about 6 Hamas supporters entered one of the viewing halls and disrupted the film Seven Blessings (2023, Israel) being screened May 6. Movie theater staff asked them to leave and they reportedly did.

Skalvija then apologized to Hamas supporters on their facebook page, saying members of their “collective” were also anti-Israeli. They explained they had no choice but to host Israeli Film Week because they were not a commercial theater but an arm of city government, and that they had been ordered to show Jewish films. They said they hadn’t advertised the Israeli films in any way on their own website or through any other channels, and that the event was entirely funded by the Israeli embassy in Vilnius.

That post created public controversy and Skalvija “collective” leaders quickly deleted it. The municipality of Vilnius responded to the deleted post saying affiliates and agencies of the municipality were always welcome to discuss issues with the city, and that neither the municipality nor its agencies and departments were responsible for setting foreign policy.

{alestina.lt claimed they would protest Israeli Film Week from May 6 to 9 with daily pickets by 15 people or less outside. There were no further reports by eye-witnesses of protests inside or outside of the theater. Palestina.lt claimed on their facebook page the city of Vilnius had issued them a permit for a protest by up to 15 people outside the theater on May 6, the day 6 people reportedly entered a viewing hall and disrupted the movie..

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 9:08 P.M. on Friday, May 9, and concludes at 10:20 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:50 P.M. and completed before sunset at 9:08 P.M. Thursday, May 8th is the day 80 years ago Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union (Nazi capitulation was on May 9 Moscow time and Victory Day is always celebrated on May 9 in Russia, Belarus and most other former Soviet republics).

Vilna Gaon Museum Offers Free Entrance on Museum Night in Vilnius

Vilna Gaon Museum Offers Free Entrance on Museum Night in Vilnius

The Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum is staying open late and offering free admission at three of its facilities to celebrate Museum Night on May 17, the night most museums in Vilnius offer free addmission and stay open late. The Litvak Identity Museum, the Holocaust Exhibit at the Green House and the Samuel Bek Museum at the Tolerance Center are offering their own programs including an outdoor café open all evening and new exhibit openings. For more information, send an email to aiste.brusokaite@jmuseum.lt.

University of Washington Breaks Up Hamas Sit-In

University of Washington Breaks Up Hamas Sit-In

The University of Washington in Seattle was the site of an attempted occupation by pro-Palestine protestors late Monday night. Members of the Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (SUPER) group affiliated with the UW attempted to occupy and barricade the engineering library on campus, which was reportedly still open with student visitors. SUPER UW protestors outside addressed their own members with bullhorns, pushed obstables in front of the main doors and lit a dumpster on fire,

UW Police requested help from the Seattle Police Department and police in riot gear arrested around 30 protestors inside the building for criminal trespass after they failed to heed police instructions to leave the building in the early hours of Tuesday. The trespassers were booked into King County Jail.

The University of Washington released a statement the next day expressing zero tolerance for the property damage and alleged anti-Semitic statements promulgated by the Hamas supporters. They estimated the property damage came to around $1 million.

Protestors had brought bedding subsequently abandoned during the arrests and appeared to have planned an extended occupation of the building.

Natalja Cheifec on Lag b’Omer

Natalja Cheifec on Lag b’Omer

Lag b’Omer falls on May 16th this year. The holiday lies midway between Passover and Shavuot on the 33rd day of the Counting of Omer. It is mainly celebrated with bonfires lit in the morning but has a number of deeper traditions and practices.

Natalja Cheifec invites the general public to a discussion of the holiday on the zoom platform at 5:30 P.M. on Thursday, May 8.

To receive zoom credentials, click here.

New Holocaust Education Initiative in Poland and Lithuania

New Holocaust Education Initiative in Poland and Lithuania

A new project called “Education against Anti-Semitism. Learn from the Past to Understand Today’s Challenges. A Selection of Multimedia Teaching Aids” began in April. Over 2 years project participants will create and publicize a varied selection of multimedia aids based on individual historical sources for use by Lithuanian and Polish teachers, history teachers, human rights educators and young people from 14 to 19.

The aim is to foster understanding of the current state of anti-Semitism and the danger of stigmatization and isolation through teaching about the Holocaust.

The coordinator is the Polish organization Ośrodka Karta. Partners include Fundacja Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, Ośrodek Brama Grodzka — Teatr NN, Fundacja Pogranicze, Fundacja Otwarta Edukacja and the Lithuanian Jewish Community. The project is dunded by the EU but is editorially independent.

Congratulations to Rafael Gimelštein

Congratulations to Rafael Gimelštein

Photo: Rafael Gimelštein, right

Lithuanian Makabi Athletics Club member Rafael Gimelštein and his Kilvatai team from Vilnius have won in the second league of the Lithuanian table tennis championship, beating Vilnius Tech, Tamsta from Vilnius and Kaunas’s Red and Black teams.

The final match against a team from Šiauliai will determine the distribution of medals. If Klivatai loses that match, they take 5th place, and if they win, 1st. \\

Rafael Gimelštein coaches the after-school tennis club for young people at the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius.

Congratulations, Rafael!

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 8:55 P.M. on Friday, May 2, and concludes at 10:03 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit at 8:37 P.M. and completed before sunset at 8:55 P.M. May 1 is Labor Day in Lithuania, a state holiday. May 3 is Constitution Day in Poland, also a national holiday.

Israeli Film Week, Everything Free

Israeli Film Week, Everything Free

The Israeli embassy presents the fifth annual Israeli film retrospective from May 6 to 9 at the Skalvija cinema in Vilnius. All films are free and open to the public. All films are in Hebrew with Lithuanian subtitles.

Seven Blessings, 2023: 6:00 P.M., May 6

Here We Are, 2020: 6:00 P.M., May 7

Art of Waiting, 2019: 6:00 P.M., May 8

Shorts Average Story, 2016; Boy, 2023; Black Slide, 2021: 6:00 P.M., May 9

Moishele, Mayn Fraynd

Moishele, Mayn Fraynd

An evening of music dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Filyopov-Jablonskis

Fayerlakh invites you to a special event dedicated to remembering and honoring the late Mikhail Filyopov, one of the most outstanding performers of Jewish music in Lithuania, a man who dedicated his life to music, the stage and culture.

Tickets are available starting from €20.00 here.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Sunday, June 8
Place: House of Polish Culture, Naugarduko street no. 76, Vilnius

Integration and Inclusion Forum

Integration and Inclusion Forum

The Ethnic Minorities Department and the British Council are holding a two-day conference and discussion on integration and inclusion on May 22 and 23 at Novotel Hotel in Vilnius. Those wishing to attend should register by May 15 at www.inforum.lt.

The conference will host experts on minority integration and human rights, media representatives, politicians, members of Lithuania’s ethnic minority communities, foreign speakers and more.

The Integration and Inclusion Forum is part of events to celebrate Lithuania’s Ethnic Minorities Day May 21, which kicks off with an awards event at St. Catherine’s Church in Vilnius at 3:00 P.M. The awards will be given to those who have distinguished themselves through their work with Lithuania’s ethnic minorities.

Jewish Scouts Hike

Jewish Scouts Hike

Jewish scouts hiked the Neris Regional Park last week on the way to a campsite. Fording a river in the scouting manner, hikers took in beautiful forest and natural vistas, played a game they called “nature bingo” to learn more about nature and botany, sang songs and did other activities in the program.

More experienced scouts taught newer ones how to use a compass and maps, and how to determine cardinal directions in the natural environment. The scouts also cooked their own meal. The younger ones learned about semaphore flag signals and different groups tried to communicate over long distances using that system. More experienced scouts tried their hand at building shelters, tying knots and using them in the structures and setting up tents.

The program for the hike was made up largely by the older scouts at weekly meetings. Several months ago hiking skills were brought up and resulted in a teaching program for scouts where they performed various tasks and learned about prepared for hikes in the wilderness, how to wear backpacks more effectively, planning routes, navigating by compass, appropriate food needs and similar things, and then organized this recent hike.

Thank you to everyone who participated and to those who didn’t, more such events are being planned.

Special Mother’s Day Program at Ilan and Dubi Clubs Saturday

Special Mother’s Day Program at Ilan and Dubi Clubs Saturday

Instructors at the Ilan and Dubi Clubs have come up with a special program of activities for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend. In Lithuania Mother’s day is marked on the first Sunday in May. Saturday’s club meetings will challenge children and young people to come up with their own programs for celebrating Mother’s Day in the afternoon starting at 1:00 P.M., followed by the arrival of their mothers afterwards at 3:00 P.M.

Registration is required for this meeting of the clubs and the event afterwards. Send an email to levickajasimona@gmail.com.

Times: 1:00 P.M. for club meetings, 3:00 P.M. for mothers’ arrival, Saturday, May 3
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius.

Condolences

Sofija Estrina 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. Our deepest condolences to her surviving son, family members and friends.

Condolences

Ada Gelpernaitė has passed away. She was born in 1960. She was a member of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and a client of the Saul Kagan Welfare Center. Our deepest condolences to the brother she leaves behind and her many family and friends.

Remembering the Victims at Ponar

Remembering the Victims at Ponar

Members of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, Lithuanian foreign diplomats, politicians and members of the community at large marked Yom haShoah at Ponar Thursday with a solemn ceremony, an air-raid siren, a moment of silence and speeches. Yom haShoah is one of several days on the calendar dedicated to remembering the six million victims of the Holocaust in Europe. In Israel air-raid sirens sound and all activities cease in memory of the dead on this day.

“I call myself a Lithuanian woman of Jewish ethnicity and I would like to live in my own country not in fear, and it’s not Jews who must combat anti-Semitism, it’s the state which must provide for the safety of all its citizens,” Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said at the event. She also noted there is still no monument to the Righteous Gentiles who saved Jews from the Holocaust in Lithuania, despite seven years of discussion.

“History isn;t just lines in a textbook and facts. History includes feelings which we must pass on to our children, that they might understand what children who witnessed the murder of their parents felt. What anguish mothers experienced seeing their children murdered. These are what should be the lessons of history,” she continued. She is one of the few left in Lithuania who heard stories of the Holocaust directly from her parents and grandparents who were victims of it.

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