From Sukkot to Artificial Intelligence: A Meeting with Students

From Sukkot to Artificial Intelligence: A Meeting with Students

Last week Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky visited the Martynas Mažvydas Pre-Gymnasium in Vilnius and held an open-format discussion with students there in a tent erected outside the school. The students and the chairwoman spent several hours in the sukka discussing Jewish life after the Holocaust and today, the importance Judaism places on learning, artificial intelligence and its influence on our opportunities, as well as a number of other topics.

We’d like to thank sincerely the teachers for their invitation to come and speak and for their attention to Jewish history and identity. Likewise we are grateful to the wonderful students for their interest, keen questions and the delicious latkes they served. True friendship begins when we have the courage to question, listen to and recognize one another.

Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Anti-Israeli Activist Judge

Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Anti-Israeli Activist Judge

The Nobel Prize Committee awarded South African Indian Navanethem aka Navi Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026. She served as UN high commissioner for refugees, was a jurist on the International Criminal Court and has special guest-judge status on the UN’s International Court of Justice.

Israel National News wrote the following:

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo on Friday to South African jurist Navi Pillay, known for her anti-Israel positions. Pillay served as the UN’s fifth High Commissioner for Human Rights and held senior positions in the international judicial system over the course of her career.

Pillay also served as president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as a judge at the International Criminal Court. She is known in Israel for her radical positions against the Jewish state.

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 6:35 P.M. on Friday, October 9, and concludes at 7:26 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit and prayers recited at 6:17 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:35 P.M. Monday, October 12, is Columbus Day.

Apology

The Lithuanian Jewish Community inadvertently named a suspect erroneously in a report several weeks ago about vandalism against a Jewish partisan memorial in Kaunas. The information was not properly verified. Our deepest and sincerest apologies to the person named in this report, which has since been removed.

LJC Chairwoman Speaks at October 7 Commemoration

LJC Chairwoman Speaks at October 7 Commemoration

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky addressed a commemoration of October 7 victims from the 2023 invasion of Israel by Hamas. The gathering was at the main square in Vilnius surrounding the Arch-Cathedral on October 7, 2026.

Dear friends,

We gather here today not in protest, but as a solemn commemoration to honor those who were tortured and brutally murdered. Who were the people who were killed, and who were the murderers? The murdered were visitors at the Nova Music Festival, peaceful Jews, residents of the kibbutzim, friends and employers of the Palestinian people.

What happened after that? What happened was a huge wave of anti-Semitism swept the entire world. Many Jews and non-Jews suffered; the morale and identity of humanity suffered as well. Why? Perhaps it is impossible to explain hate rationally. Maybe this is could be called the opposite of the Stockholm syndrome. Nonetheless, the hatred against Jews and the anti-Semitism is real.

What should be done about this? First, don’t forget to tell you children. Jews have been denounced for millennia, but have survived. We must stick together and join forces.

I believe it’s important to fight for something, not just against.

October 7 Commemoration in Šiauliai

October 7 Commemoration in Šiauliai

The Šiauliai Jewish Community marked the third anniversary of Hamas’s attack against the Jewish people in southern Israel in the central square in the northern Lithuanian city with Israeli flags, candles, flowers and lights representing the colors of the Israeli flag.

On October 3, 2023, Hamas murdered 1.221 people and took 251 hostage. Almost all of the hostages were tortured and the IDF says less than half made it out alive. CNN reported only 206 people were taken alive, the remaining 45 taken as corpses into Gaza, and that 40 of those 206 were killed in captivity.

The Šiauliai Jewish Community remembers all the victims with their whole heart and mourns with the families and loved ones of those murdered. Memory and light will always prevail over darkness, members of the Community said. The Šiauliai Jewish Community thanks the city for making the square available for the commemoration and for expressing support and solidarity.

Commemoration of 85th Anniversary of Onset of the Holocaust in Švenčionys and Lithuania

Commemoration of 85th Anniversary of Onset of the Holocaust in Švenčionys and Lithuania

A sizeable group gathered at the Menorah in the central park in Švenčionys on October 4 to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the Holocaust in Lithuania. Organizer of the event Kristina Sizonova began the commemoration followed by historian Nadežda Spiridonovienė who went over the historical facts with the audience. From June to November of 1941 over 80% of Jews resident in Lithuania had been murdered. By 1944 more than 200,000 Jews had been murdered in Lithuania.

Students from the Zigmas Žemaitis Gymnasium in Švenčionys gave further presentations of Jewish life there before the Holocaust.

Švenčionys Jewish Community chairman Moshe Shapiro thanks attendees for coming and invited people to lay stones, wreaths and candles on the Menorah. The commemoration then moved to the mass grave in the Platumai Forest where about 8,000 Jews were murdered, including entire Jewish communities from surrounding town and villages.

MP Emanuelis Zingeris spoke at the mass grave memorial, as did Artur Soroko from the Polish embassy in Vilnius. Chairman Shapiro ended the commemoration retelling his own family’s tragedy.

UK Conservative Party Condemns Green Party over Anti-Semitic Resolution

UK Conservative Party Condemns Green Party over Anti-Semitic Resolution

Photo: Getty Images, © 2026

Leader of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom Kemi Badenoch in a closing speech for the party’s conference in Birmingham Wednesday condemned the decision Sunday by the UK’s Green Party to equate support for Israel with racism. Green leader Zack Polanski, a Jew, failed to show up for that vote on the party’s new policy. Israeli declared Polanski persona non grata following the adoption of the anti-Israel platform plank.

“You know what else is taking us backwards? The disgraceful anti-Semitism we saw at the Green Party conference in Brighton last weekend. They are seeking to erase Jewish identity. Shame on the Green Party and shame on Zack Polanski.

“Exactly three years ago today, we saw the horrific 7th of October attacks, the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

“The Conservative Party stands with the Jewish people. We will never stop fighting anti-Semitism,” Badenoch said.

The Dog Keeper

The Dog Keeper

The Lithuanian Jewish Community is pleased to invite members to a musical play called The Dog Keeper performed by its Israeli authors.

A musical performance based on Stefan Zweig’s novella The Eyes of the Eternal Brother performed on 29 acoustic ethnic and electronic instruments, in Russian.

The performance is based on a philosophical and dramatic story about a man searching for truth, redemption and his own path. Zweig’s novella is famous for its depth and intense internal dramaturgy, but the stage version goes further: new plot twists are added, expanding the meaning of the story, where words and music act as equals.

The form of the performance is unique. One performer plays several characters at the same time, while simultaneously creating the musical space of the action. The performance features 29 instruments, from the ancient and exotic to the modern. Mongolian morin khuur, African kalimba, Tibetan singing bowls, khang and rav, large tambourine, ethnic flutes and metallophones, each instrument becomes the voice of a separate state, character and destiny.

Dubi and Ilan Clubs Kick Off Season with Play

Dubi and Ilan Clubs Kick Off Season with Play

The Dubi and Ilan Clubs for children at the Lithuanian Jewish Community are kicking off their re-opening this season with a special interactive play called The Fairy and the Clown. Blim the fairy is the saddest fairy in the world, she can’t seem to make her magic tricks work. Then a real magician appears.

Registration required by writing zanas@sc.lzb.lt.

Time: 2:00 P.M., Saturday, October 10
Place: Lithuanian Jewish Community, Vilnius

October 7 Commemoration

October 7 Commemoration

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and writer Arkadijus Vinokuras invite you to a commemoration of the third anniversary of October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killed over 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Time: 12:00 noon, October 7
Place: Arch-Cathedral Square, Vilnius

Sukkot Celebration in the Courtyard

Sukkot Celebration in the Courtyard

The Lithuanian Jewish Community celebrated Sukkot Thursday in the courtyard shared with the Litvak Identity Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum in Vilnius. Cantor Shmuel Yaatom from the Choral Synagogue performed the prayers. A great big thank-you to all who came and made the event a success.

UK Greens Call Zionism Racism

UK Greens Call Zionism Racism

In a meeting of members Sunday in the UK the Green Party voted 54% in favor of designating support for the state of Israel as racism. Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, avoided that part of the party congress and didn’t vote. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar declared Zack Polanski persona non grata in Israel anyway. The Israeli Government issued a statement calling the Green Party’s declaration anti-Semitic under IHRA’s definition because it denied the Jewish people the right to self-determination.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a statement on the Green Party’s decision:

“This motion passed by the Green Party is an attack on the Jewish community. It is an antisemitic platform based on a grossly offensive distortion and erasure of Jewish experience and identity.”

Protests against and in favor of the declaration took place outside the party conference, as well a more general call for the Green Party to return to its roots, with signs reading “Less Hamas, more trees.”

Jews and Arabs are not considered a race anymore but ethno-linguistic groupings. In archaic race theory both groups are considered the offspring of Shem, the son of Noah, which gave rise to the word anti-Semitism, Shem represented as -Sem-.

Photo: PA

Sabbath Times

Sabbath Times

The Sabbath begins at 6:53 P.M. on Friday, October 2, and concludes at 7:43 P.M. on Saturday in the Vilnius region. Sabbath candles should be lit and prayers recited at 6:35 P.M. and completed before sunset at 6:53 P.M. Sukkot also begins at sunset on Friday. Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah begins Friday, October 2, at sunset and concludes at sundown on Sunday, October 4. October is World Menopause Month, created by the International Menopause Society in 2014 to raise awareness and publicize resources available. October 1 is also World Sake Day.

Russia Says Nuclear War if Kaliningrad Attacked

Russia Says Nuclear War if Kaliningrad Attacked

Russia warns NATO of possible nuclear response if Kaliningrad is cut off. Moscow claims NATO is preparing an air and naval blockade in the Baltic Sea.

by Reuters, September 30, 2026

Russia has warned NATO it is prepared to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if the Western alliance attempts to cut off the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, according to a diplomatic document sent to member states.

The diplomatic memo sent on Wednesday claimed Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing an air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad.”

NATO’s response came through its secretary general Mark Rutte who said that NATO is a defensive alliance and that Russia should “stop the nuclear threats,” calling the document unhelpful.

Rutte also downplayed the seriousness of the threat, saying that “Putin knows that he can never win” in a direct escalation with NATO.

Bordered by Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members, the Russian territory of Kaliningrad sits on the Baltic Sea. The region serves as a major military outpost, housing Russia’s Baltic Fleet and nuclear-ready Iskander missile systems.

The exchange comes more than four and a half years into Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, as tensions increasingly spill into neighboring states.

Poland has heightened its air defense posture following alleged incursions into its airspace in recent weeks, while Danish authorities said a Russian warship fired two flares near a Danish military helicopter over the Baltic Sea two weeks ago.

Full story here.

Sukkot Celebration at the LJC

Sukkot Celebration at the LJC

There will be a joyful gathering for Sukkot in the courtyard of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Litvak Identity Museum of the Vilna Gaon Jewish History Museum on Thursday at 5:00 P.M. Cantor Shmuel Yaatom is master of ceremonies. Registration is required by clicking here.

Come enjoy, sing and sample the hot food and drink in the sukka. All are invited. Entrance is free. Organized by the Art of Shabbat, Moishe House Vilnius, Cvi Parku“and the Pylimo 4 Café.

Time: 5:00 P.M., Thursday, October 1
Place: Pylimo street no. 4, Vilnius

Co-Pilot Stabs Pilot, Attempts to Murder Israelis on FlyDubai Flight

Co-Pilot Stabs Pilot, Attempts to Murder Israelis on FlyDubai Flight

Update: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Omani perpetrator was indoctrinated by radical Islamist ideology,

A flight from Abu Dabai to Tel Aviv was diverted to a Saudi Arabian airport after the co-pilot stabbed the pilot with a knife or axe and attempted to crash the airplane with a rapid descent of over 300 MPH with tail-spin towards the ground. The mostly Israeli passengers stormed the cockpit and with the help of additional air crew righted the plane and made an emergency landing in Tabuk in NW Saudi Arabia.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was “pretty much out of control” when the stabbing took place over Jordan.

“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she told reporters by speakerphone held up by her mother, who was waiting at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. “It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralized him.”

“There was also a doctor who gave first aid, and people who treated both of them. Other than the pilot, there were no injuries, but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what he was trying to do,” Ohayon said.

Another passenger told the Jerusalem Post that intervening passengers shouted at two off-duty pilots at the back of the plane “to run and take control” of it, and one of them did so after the passengers managed to remove the attacker from the cockpit.

Israeli sources told the Post the would-be hijacker was an Omani national. There was no immediate confirmation of the details from Israeli or Saudi officials.

The airline confirmed said “all passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” and it confirmed that two replacement aircraft had been deployed to Tabuk to “relieve the passengers and crew,” though many Israeli passengers told media outlets they would not reboard a FlyDubai plane. There were 174 people on board.

Full story here.

Chronicler of Fire: An Evening with Sergey Grankin

Chronicler of Fire: An Evening with Sergey Grankin

Sergey Grankin is the well-known war correspondent for Israel’s Channel 9. He’s spent decades at the center of Israel’s most important military conflicts. His reporting from the front is more than just a news chronicle, it’s a living and moving document of the times. He talks about war and peace in a simple manner, openly and without the filter of television, in line with his main mission: to be there, in the midst of pain and horror, to see everything with his own eyes and to tell the truth, never losing faith in humanity.

Now he’s coming to speak at the LJC, to speak to a small audience in a cozy and intimate atmosphere. Places are limited and tickets start from €35. The VIP ticket option is more expensive and entitles holders to a personal meeting and conversation with Grankin after the public event ends. To purchase tickets, click here. Grankin’s main presentation will be in Russian.

Time: 7:00 P.M., Friday, October 9
Place: LJC, Vilnius