Lithuanian Jewish Community

Grigoriy Kanovich’s Devilspel Candidate for EBRD Prize

The new English edition of Litvak writer Grigoriy Kanovich’s novel Очарованье сатаны (Jerusalem, 2002) titled Devilspel is in the running for a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s literature prize created especially for translated literature and worth 20,000 euros, according to publisher Noir Press.

The prize was instituted two years ago to underline the importance of translations of literature. There are 10 contenders this year, including works by Boris Akunin.

According to the publisher’s website: “Devilspel evokes the lost world of Lithuanian Jews during the Second World War. From the lives of Grigory Kanovich’s vividly drawn characters emerges a panorama of world events that shook eastern Europe and the world. The subtle art of Kanovich is his ability to create characters in the town of Mishkine, like the feisty Danuta Hadassah, the idealistic Elisheva and the complex and empathetic Catholic Cheslavas, who live within us long after the chronicle of their lives has ended. The book is more than a novel. Its story touches the heart and questions human and divine justice in a world gone mad.”

Six finalists–three writers and three translators–will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held in London April 22. The €20,000 prize is to be divided equally between writer and translator. Two runners-up and their translators will also receive a prize of €1,000 each.

2020-02-272020-03-05

Happy Birthday, Riva!

Happy birthday to our top Bagel Shop chef Riva Portnaja! Thank you for the delicious treats you make and for preserving the Litvak culinary heritage.

We will always think of you as you are, beloved, friendly, with your sweet and comforting smile, exuding youth from the depths of your soul.

2020-02-272020-03-02

Do You Want to Drive the Jews out of Lithuania? That’s Fine, Lithuanian Police Say

by Vytautas Bruveris, www.lrytas.lt

“You little Jewess, there is no place for you here.” This sort of statement, even made publicly to a woman of Jewish ethnicity, is nothing more than the impolite, unethical implementation of the constitutional right to self expression and freedom of belief.

This phrase in no way means the person who uttered it is predisposed against people of Jewish ethnicity, wants to sow discord against them or wants to discriminate against them. This is the firm belief of no less than the Lithuanian police. It turns out the police in such cases see no basis not only for punishing the author of such statements, but not even for launching an investigation.

Insult Made at Parliamentary Ceremony

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said she was called “žydelka” [little Jew-girl] and told “there is no place” for Jews in Lithuania at the Lithuanian parliament on January 13 this year when she attended events there to mark the day when protestors were murdered at the Vilnius Television Town back in 1990, a national day of mourning. Kukliansky said an older man came up to her dressed in a uniform and made the statements. She didn’t recognize what sort of uniform it was, but thought it was most likely from the Lithuanian Union of Riflemen.

2020-02-242020-03-10

Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel Sends Open Letter to Lithuanian Ambassador

To the honorable Lithuanian Ambassador to Israel Mrs. Lina Antanavičienė
12 Aba Hillel Silver Street, 17th Floor
Ramat Gan 5250606

Re: Republic of Lithuania Independence celebration

Dear Ambassador Antanvicienė,

Thank you for the ”save the date” to the Lithuania Independence Day celebration to be held on March 16, 2020. Unfortunately, we shall not attend. The Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel made a decision within its board of directors meeting of February 20, 2020, not to participate in the festivities until we have a sound solution to the proposed resolution to the Seimas by Mr. Gumuliauskas to absolve Lithuania and Lithuanians of their active participation in the Holocaust and in the murder of Jews during the period of World War II.

We have cooperated fully with the restored Independent Republic of Lithuania regimes in combating anti-Semitism and promoting historical recognition of that dark period of World War II between the years 1941-1945.

2020-02-242020-02-27

New US Ambassador Visits LJC

Robert Gilchrist, a career diplomat appointed by president Trump to serve as the United States’ ambassador to Lithuania and confirmed by the Senate in late December, made an informal visit to the Lithuanian Jewish Community February 19.

During the visit he met chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, received a tour of the Community building from her, chatted with senior citizens and learned about their club and met Holocaust survivors, including Jewish partisan Fania Brancovskaja.

He also visited the Bagel Shop Café and met children engaged in LJC activities during their winter break from school.

Chairwoman Kukliansky also showed the new ambassador an exhibit on display at the Community on the Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews from the Holocaust in Lithuania.

Appointed by US president Donald Trump in July, Gilchrist was only confirmed by the Senate in late December after heated questioning about his position on Russia. During his confirmation he called Lithuania one of America’s most loyal allies and said becoming the US ambassador to Lithuania was the honor of his life.

2020-02-202020-03-03

The Truth Heals: Grigoriy Kanovitch Interviewed by Son Sergejus

As the Vilnius Book Fair ramps up this year, Grigoriy Kanovitch’s “Miestelio romansas” (the Lithuanian translation of his “Shtetl Love Song”] is reappearing on bookshop shelves. The novel tells the stories of people in small-town Lithuania, including Jews, Lithuanians, Poles and Russians, in the period between 1920 and 1941. Kanovitch’s son Sergejus, also an accomplished author, interviewed him in a press release for the book fair.

How does Shtetl Love Song fit in the context of your entire corupus? How important is it that the Lithuanian edition has gone into its second printing?

Shtetl Love Song is my most personal book. It’s the most biographical. I wouldn’t say I’m spoiled by second editions. Of course there have been some. But I should consider the additional publication of Shtetl Love Song the most important. News of this made me extraordinarily happy.

2020-02-192020-02-27

Book about Samuelis Kukliansky Presented at Vilnius Book Fair

An autobiography in Lithuanian by noted Lithuanian attorney Samuelis Kukliansky who miraculously survived the Holocaust is available at the Vilnius Book Fair. His story is about maintaining human dignity and keeping alive that core of humanity in every person. The book “Samuelis Kuklianskis- teisininkas” [Samuelis Kuklianskis, Attorney] is for sale at the Vilnius Book Fair at the Adrena booth, booth no. 5D01, in hall 5.

2020-02-192020-02-27

BBC Looks at Holocaust Denial in Lithuania

The BBC’s channel 2 aired “Confronting Holocaust Denial” Tuesday night in Great Britain, a personal documentary about the current state of denial by son of survivors David Baddiel. Baddiel begins with the Allies suppressing the fact of Jewish extermination for strategic reasons, moves on to the upsurge in Holocaust denial in the 1970s and then what he perceives as an anti-Semitic backlash following NBC television’s miniseries the Holocaust viewed in America by 120 million people in 1978 and subsequently shown in Europe. He devotes some time to the Holocaust denial case against German-Canadian Holocaust revisionist Ernst Zündel (1939-2017) and David Irving’s libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt in the UK.

Following two interviews with Lipstadt, Baddiel travels to Vilnius and looks at controversy surrounding the removal of the plaque commemorating Jonas Noreika by Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius. Trying to understand the Lithuanian nationalist position, he visits Kęstutis Mackevičius, the son of a murdered partisan, who claims Noreika was not a Nazi collaborator and only wanted to free his country. Baddiel examines the documents more carefully, including authentic documents posted by Noreika’s granddaughter Silvia Foti which clearly show he was involved in the extermination of Jews and the theft of their property in Lithuania. Baddiel concludes Lithuanians might be afraid they won’t have any heroes at all if they exclude collaborators, and that Lithuanian lionization of perpetrators is a response to Soviet distortions of history.

The documentary was filmed before nationalists replaced the plaque with their own version and only shows flowers and candles at the impromptu shrine Lithuanian nationalists set up outside the library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences where the plaque hung formerly.

More information about the film is available here.

2020-02-192020-02-19

Interesting Discussions at Vilnius Book Fair

This year’s annual Vilnius Book Fair will feature some interesting presentations involving Jewish topics.

At 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 20, Moi Ver’s “Ghetto Lane in Wilna” album will be presented by Dr. Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, Lolita Jablonskienė, Nissan N. Perez, Yossi Raviv and Sigutė Chlebinskaitė in Hall 3. The discussion will be held in Lithuanian and English.

At 12 noon on Friday, February 21, Matilda Olkinaitė’s book “Atrakintas dienoraštis” will be presented by editor Dr. Mindaugas Kvietkauskas with Dr. Irena Veisaitė, Laima Vincė and Neringa Danienė participating.

At 6:00 P.M. on Friday, February 21, Dr. Lara Lempertienė, Dr. Mindaugas Kvietkauskas and Rimantas will present “Dešimt eilėraščių/Ten Poems,” a selection of poems by Abraham Sutzkever, at the Writers’ Corner.

At 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, February 22, the book “Žydų kultūra paveikslėlių knygose: Karaliaus Motiejuko karalystė (pagal Januszą Korzcaką)” will be presented by Anna Czerwińska and Iwona Chmielewska at conference hall 5.3. The discussion will be held in Polish and English.

2020-02-18

LJC Greets Awards Recipients

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda issued awards to people for contributing to the Republic of Lithuania and making Lithuania known on February 16, Lithuanian Independence Day.

2020-02-18

LJC Members Who Received National Awards Recognized on February 16

The executive board of the Lithuanian Jewish Community congratulated Community members who had received state awards on the eve of February 16, the pre-war Lithuanian Independence Day.

Vocalist Rafailas Karpis, named soloist of the year by the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater and Linas Vildžiūnas, editor of the Seven Days of Art weekly newspaper and recipient of the Leonidas Donskis prize, were recognized. Daumantas Levas Todesas, an active cultural figure, supporter of culture and long-time member of the LJC, who was elected chairman of the Ethnic Communities Service for the term between 2020 and 2024, was also recognized.

Journalist and public figure Eugenijus Bunka, named Tolerant Person of the Year, was also recognized and sent a greeting to the audience on the eve of February 16. His brief address follows.

2020-02-18

Israeli Dance Classes

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Rikudei Am Israeli dance club invite everyone to a dance workshop from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. every Sunday at the LJC, Pylimo streeet no. 4, Vilnius. The cost is 5 euros per session, or 16 euros in advance for 4 sessions. For more information and to register, call 8 659 55 965 or email karina.semionova@gmail.com

2020-02-18

New Exhibit Opens in Dulbin to Mark Lithuania’s Year of the VIlna Gaon and Litvak History

Information from the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, URM.lt

A new exhibit called “Lithuanian and Irish Jewish History” opened in Dublin February 3 to mark 2020, the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Vilna Gaon, declared the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Lithuanian Jewish History by the Lithuanian parliament.

The exhibit covers Jewish life in Lithuania from settlement in the Lithuanian Grand Duchy in the 14th century to the present and the history of Lithuanian Jews in Ireland.

Lithuanian ambassador to the Republic of Ireland Egidijus Meilūnas said at the opening ceremony next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between the two republics, although Litvaks had brought the two countries together 150 years ago.

The event attracted a large audience, including members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Irish and Lithuanian Jewish communities, politicians, cultural and academic figures and reporters.

2020-02-18

Greetings on February 16, Lithuanian Independence Day

Students, staff and teachers of the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius marked Lithuanian Independence Day February 16 with a full day of events.

The program included song and dance in the late morning and afternoon Friday to celebrate the day in 1918 102 years ago when the modern state of Lithuania was born. Pupils performed Lithuanian folk dancing and sang the national anthem.

Acting principal Ruth Reches said: “Children of different nationalities attend our gymnasium and one of our aims is to teach them citizenship, and to teach both the children and young people dates and holidays important to both Jewish and Lithuanian families. The day of the restoration of Lithuanian statehood celebrated on February 16 is very important to all of us, to our freedom and self-expression, and we, the entire school community, celebrated this independence day enthusiastically and ethnically.”

2020-02-172020-02-24

Righteous Gentile, Librarian and Local Legend Ona Šimaitė Commemorated at Former Workplace

A commemorative event was held in honor of Righteous Gentile Ona Šimaitė February 12 in the Vilnius University library where she once worked.

As a librarian, Šimaitė carried books back and forth into and out of the Vilnius ghetto, and also messages. She also hid Jews and Jewish cultural treasures. Risking her life every day to help others, she was eventually discovered, arrested and tortured, but survived. She was one of the first Lithuanians to receive Yad Vashem’s Righteous among the Nations award in 1966.

Those attending the commemoration included Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky, Julija Šukys, poet, writer and translator Marius Burokas, editor Saulius Repečka, Judaica Studies Center director Dr. Lara Lempert, poetess Aušra Kaziliūnaitė, writer Saulius Stankevičius, literary critic Virginija Cibarauskaitė, members of the Jewish community and numerous others. Modestas Saukaitis, who does art restoration professionally, unveiled his own portrait of Šimaitė in the antechamber of the Lithuanian Studies Reading Room at Vilnius University during the commemoration.

2020-02-132020-02-27

Israeli PM Netanyahu Calls for Wuhan Virus Vaccine

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has tasked the country’s medical experts and scientists with creating a vaccine for the Wuhan corona virus. “I instructed the Biology Institute and the Health Ministry to undertake the creation of a vaccine for the new coronavirus,” he told Israeli media.

Netanyahu made the statement following a discussion held in Jerusalem on February 2 on stopping the spread of the new virus. “We have just concluded a deep and broad discussion with all members of the Israeli cabinet on how to fight the coronavirus outbreak,” Netanyahu said.

He said the main goal of the Israeli leadership at the current time was to “postpone” the corona virus’s entry into the country. “I say postpone, because its arrival is inevitable,” Netanyahu explained.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2020-02-12

Eugenijus Bunka Named Tolerant Person of the Year

Eugenijus Bunka was named Tolerant Person of the Year February 2 in Kaunas. Bunka is the creator of the Litvak Memorial Garden, a regional historian, writer and journalist. At the awards ceremony he said he was carrying on the work of his father, Jakovas Bunka. The Bunka welfare and support fund finances children’s camps, meetings at schools and other events.

The award comes from the Sugihara Foundation/Diplomats for Life, which has been giving the award since 2001. They said Bunka received the distinction for his many years directing the Jakovas Bunka fund and carrying out civic and educational initiatives, commemorating the Jews of Plungė, Žemaitija and Lithuania both in his own region and around the world.

The foundation said Bunka in 2019 undertook active educational work, refuting the wartime and postwar stereotype of Jews as Communists specifically in the administration in Plungė using arguments and facts. They also noted his research into Louis Armstrong’s Litvak foster parents in America, Leiba and Tilė Karnovskiai from Vilkija, Lithuania.

2020-02-122020-02-12

Israeli Ambassador Yossi Levy Visits Kaunas

Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Yossi Levy visited Kaunas at the end of January, where he visited the Ninth Fort Museum and honored Holocaust victims there. He also visited Sugihara House, the museum where Japanese diplomat and Righteous Gentile Chiune Sugihara lived and worked.

Ambassador Levy also paid his respects at the memorial at the Lietūkis garage site where Jews were tortured and murdered on June 27, 1941. After that he went to the site of the former residence of Litvak poetess Lea Goldberg in whose courtyard is an art installation commemorating former Jewish life.

Ambassador Levy and deputy ambassador Adi Cohen-Hazanov met with Kaunas mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis and the mayor’s team. Later the Israeli delegation met Daiva Citvariene and her team from the Atminties biuras [Office of Memory] group working on the Kaunas 2022 European Cultural Capital program. They discussed ways to commemorate the history of the Jews of Kaunas together.

2020-02-12

Israeli President Isaac Herzog Visits Lithuania

On the War in Israel and the Situation in Lithuania