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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Plaques to Famous Litvaks Unveiled in Ukmergė

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Two commemorative plaques honoring the famous Litvaks Solomon Levit (1894-1938) and Chackelis Lemchenas (1904-2001) have been unveiled in Ukmergė (Vilkomir), Lithuania. Levit and Lemchenas were from the area. Levit is noted for his work in biology and medicine, and as the founder of the Genetic Medicine Institute in Moscow. He attended school in the city of Ukmergė. Lemchenas was a talented and respected Lithuanian philologist, lexicographer, linguistic reformer and cultural figure in his own right, and taught at the Jewish Real-Gymnasium in Ukmergė.

The ceremony on December 6 was attended by Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon, Ukmergė Regional Jewish Community chairman Artūras Taicas, Ukmergė regional administrator Rolandas Janickas and vicar Šarūnas Petrauskas, among others.

Chairman Taicas said at the ceremony he was encouraged to see so many people turn out for the event. He invited the Israel ambassador and the regional administrator to unveil the commemorative plaques.

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Makabi Soccer Team Fighting to Win

The mini soccer team of the Makabi Lithuanian Athletics Club is competing successfully in the Vilnius district tournament Select II in the Sunday League, which includes 10 teams. After foru matches Makabi are now in fourth place. The tournament continues and let’s hope after some injured players return our team makes it to the top. Good luck!

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Lesson by Rabbi Kalev Krelin at Choral Synagogue

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Dear Community members,

This is to inform you that the series of teachings about Jacob, the patriarch of Israel, is continuing. You are invited to Rabbi Kalev Krelin’s lesson called “The Metamorphosis of Jacob” where you will learn what changed after Jacob wrestled the angel, to be held at 6:30 P.M. on Thursday, December 15, 2016, at the Choral Synagogue in Vilnius located at Pylimo street no. 39.

Death of Daniel Dolski Marked in Kaunas

The Kaunas Jewish Community marked the 85th anniversary of the death of Daniel Dolski (stage name of Daniel or Donil Broides), one of the founders of the genre known as “estrada music” in Eastern Europe, popular and sometimes humorous schlager-style songs performed on stage. Iser Shreiberg, the chairman of the Kaunas Hassidic Synagogue Religious Community and a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community, said a prayer for the dead at Dolski’s grave in the Jewish cemetery in the Žaliakalnis neighborhood of Kaunas. Those who turned out for the commemoration recalled the Kaunas Jewish Community had tended the grave of the performer.

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Four Musical Views on a Jewish Theme

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You are invited to attend the launch of the compact disc called Four Musical Views on a Jewish Theme at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius at 6:00 P.M. on December 12. The compact disc is a project by the Lithuanian Union of Musicians, Muzikos Barai magazine and the Goodwill Foundation. Participants are to include composer and president of the Lithuanian Union of Musicians Audronė Žigaitytė-Nekrošienė, pianist and music professor Leonidas Melnikas, violinist Borisas Traubas and cellist Valentinas Kaplūnas.

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The Four Musical Views on a Jewish Theme CD is a unique musical excursion into the tragic 20th-century history of the Jews. Never before had anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews reached such proportions, never before had epiphanies of evil been accompanied by such violence and suffering. Artists were unable to remain silent and their work testifies to, and sometimes screams about these shameful pages of history, condemning evil and exalting good. Four great 20th-century musicians– Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, Aaron Copland and Dmitri Shostakovich—have immortalized this in their work. The tragic passages of Jewish history retold by these artistic geniuses are performed by Lithuanian artists on the compact disc, including singer Liora Grodnikaitė, violinist Boris Traub, cellist Valentinas Kaplūnas and pianist Leonid Melnik. It is an appeal to every individual and to everyone.

Muzikos Barai magazine has made this disc available to readers as a free gift. In their October issue they published an article about those who rescued Jews from the Holocaust in Lithuania.

Antanas Makštutis Concert

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You’re invited to attend a concert by Kaunas Jewish Community member Antanas Makštutis, an accomplished clarinet player. The concert is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. on December 8 at the Gariūniai Business Park’s concert hall.

The event is free but registration is required, please send an email to info@nmgeneration.com

For more information in Lithuanian, see here.

Birthdays in December

LŽB 2016m. gruodžio mėnesio jubiliatai

Vilnius Jewish Community

Etia Suvorova (December 2)

German Levin (1 December 9)

Ale Šimulynienė (December 10)

Dora Mesengiser (December 17)

Anastazija Votrinienė (December 18)

Saida Mazuro (December 22)

Olga Orlovskaja (December 26)

Palina Pailis (December 26)

Kaunas Jewish Community

Ženė Živulinskienė (December 1)

Borisas Jocheles (December 3)

Rema Lorman (December 5)

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South Africa: Union of Jewish Women Performs Mitzvot in 6 Cities

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November 30, 2016–The Union of Jewish Women gave tangible substance to Mitzvah Day this year by performing mitzvot [good deeds] in six cities in South Africa.

Johannesburg held a blood drive at the Norwood Mall, where 82 pints of blood were collected, a record for such an event, according to the South African National Blood Services. This amount of blood is expected to save 246 lives.

Cape Town’s UJW joined forces with Temple Israel and the Rotary Club and not only provided lunch for the residents of Includid, a state-run institution for adults with mental and physical disabilities, but some of the volunteers also assisted with gardening at the facility, while others painted the interior of one of the houses. All the residents were provided with gifts sponsored by UJW.

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Durban’s Mitzvah Day project was a combined party for the residents of Beth Shalom Retirement Home and the residents of Issy Geshen Home.

East London donated food parcels to indigent families and in addition distributed beautiful knitted beanies and teddies to children in the oncology ward at Frere Hospital. A joint mitzvah between two branches was performed when the Port Elizabeth branch advised East London that a man, going only going by the name of Velapi and whom they had previously assisted with medical help, had moved to East London and was in desperate need of a wheelchair. And so a wheelchair was promptly handed over to the delighted Velapi.

Port Elizabeth held a “Sunshine for Seniors” Mitzvah Day party for the residents of Glenvandale Frail Care Centre, an extremely under-resourced home in an impoverished area. Each resident received lunch as well as a gift.

Pretoria enlisted help from the residents of Jaffa Retirement Home to assist in making sandwiches for the outpatients at the Steve Biko Hospital.

Full story here.

Israeli Booth at Annual Charity Fair in Vilnius

Labdaringos mugės metu Izraelio ambasados stende

The Israeli booth at the annual International Christmas Fair on December 4 at Old Town Hall Square in Vilnius, set up jointly with the Bagel Shop of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, offered passer-by kosher snacks and kosher wine and all types of souvenirs. Young female volunteers from the Bagel Shop Café “manned” the booth and cheerfully explained every item on offer to visitors. The embassy of the State of Israel and the Lithuanian Jewish Community were both very happy with the success of the joint venture and with having the opportunity to contribute to the noble goal of the fair. The Israeli embassy booth took in 1,310.80 euros during the event.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to the volunteers:
Eglė Rimkevičiūtė, Unė Kormilcevaitė, Agota Laurinavičiūtė and Naomi Alon

This fair brings together for charity work annually representatives of the different embassies in Vilnius who present hand-made items for sale to city residents and guests. Thirty-four different countries and a number of communities as well as five international schools in Vilnius are represented traditionally at the winter holiday fair. Income from the Christmas charity fair goes to the coffers of a charity fund which currently supports 10 organizations: The Raseiniai Special-Needs School, the Way of Hope Raseiniai day center, the Vilijampolė social welfare home, the Visaginas social services center, the Overcoming Crises Center, a home for the elderly in Alanta in the Molėtai region, the hospital of the Lithuanian Health Sciences University, the Tautmilės Globa animal shelter, the Family Home of Mother Teresa and the Vilties Namai charity and welfare fund. The International Women’s Association of Vilnius of women from Lithuania and foreign countries who are temporarily living and working in Vilnius stages the International Christmas Charity Fair annually.

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Mark Harold: Arguments, Counter-Arguments and Facts on Škirpa Alley

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by Mark Harold, Vilnius City Council member
15 min.lt

Let us begin with my argument, which is very simple and against which my opponents have counter-arguments. One short paragraph:

Kazys Škirpa led the LAF. Current competent institutions of the Republic of Lithuania recognize the LAF was an anti-Semitic organization. Therefore, naming a street after the leader of this sort of organization in Vilnius, where the Holocaust was especially brutal, within the European Union in 2016 is inappropriate. Now more laconically I will analyze each attempt to argue against this, which I have encountered over recent days, and will explain why these counter-arguments are invalid.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

Thank You for the Wonderful Organization of Events

Padėka už renginių organizavimą

Recently events held by the Lithuanian Jewish Community have surpassed one another in the quality of organization and the positive emotional interest and participation by Community members have been a source of joy. LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky would like to thank organizers and participants:

“All of your contributions have made the life of Community members more interesting and diverse. We will remember the warm and moving moments we spent together when we all kneaded dough together with our daughters and grand-daughters, with our friends and guests during Sabbath challa-making events at all the communities in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Ukmergė and Šiauliai, all of us joining together for the first time in the global Jewish Shabbos Project. I thank project coordinator Dovilė Rūkaitė, all the heads of the regional Lithuanian Jewish communities and the Bagel Shop cooks who participated together. I also thank the Lithuanian Cultural Council who supported the project.

I would also like to thank the organizers of the Mini-Limmud conference and its main supporters, the European Jewish Fund and the Goodwill Foundation, who supported the preparation of the program and the organization of interesting meetings. The traditional Limmud conference never fails to attract a group of concerned and engaged members of the LJC and their families to its ceremonial Sabbath dinner. It is important for us to come together and talk, to spend time in a pleasant environment, so we always strive to gather on weekends, in a beautiful natural setting at a good hotel, and to invite interesting guests to take part in a meaningful program, see famliar faces and discuss current events. Mini-Limud coordinator Žana Skudovičienė, who fields all preferences and ideas for the conference and balances different interests, insured that this year’s Limmud was memorable and event which provided good emotions and rest and recreation.

Thank you, all of you!

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman
Lithuanian Jewish Community

New Book about Sugihara by Lithuanian in Japanese

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Next year a new book about Chiune Sugihara, Japanese consul in Lithuania and rescuer of thousands of Jews, is scheduled to be published in Japan. The author is Dr. Simonas Strelcovas, historian and professor at Šiauliai University in Lithuania who researched the hero at Japanese archives and only recently returned home. The book is to appear in Japanese.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

Plaque Commemorating Lithuanian Ping Pong Championship Unveiled in Kaunas

Kaune atidengta atminimo lenta pirmosioms Lietuvos stalo teniso pirmenybėms, organizuotoms “Makabi”

A plaque has been unveiled on the western façade of the A. Martinaitis Art School at Šv. Gertrūdos street no. 33 in Kaunas with the inscription: “In this building the first Lithuanian table tennis championships took place organized by the athletics club Makabi.”

Lithuanian Table Tennis Association director Rimgaudas Balaiša said at the unveiling ceremony Kaunas was the cradle of table tennis in Lithuania. Young people imported the game from abroad and by 1922 Kaunas began to see its first enthusiasts. In 1925 the first ping pong tournaments were held in Lithuania. A year later the Ping Pong Committee was established in the Lithuanian Athletics League. And here on March 12 to 13, 1927, the Makabi Club decided to hold the Lithuanian Ping Pong Championship. Makabi was the pioneer in this historic activity.

The Jewish Makabi Club was established on October 19, 1920 in Lithuania. It was the most affluent of any ethnic minority sports organization. The winners in the ping pong championship they held were Ona Gurvičaitė and Josifas Šimensas.

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Full story here.

Jewish Soldiers of Lithuania Commemorated in Kaunas

Lietuvos karių- žydų pagerbimas Žaliakalnio žydų kapinėse

On November 23, in celebration of Lithuanian Military Day, long-time friend of the Kaunas Jewish Community Raimundas Kaminskas and the Kaunas Council of Lithuanian Sąjūdis held a commemoration of Lithuanian Jewish soldiers at the Jewish cemetery in the Žaliakalnis neighborhood of Kaunas. On November 23, 1918, Lithuanian prime minister professor Augustinas Voldemaras signed Decree No. 1, establishing the Defense Council and the first regiment of the Lithuanian military. The Lithuanian military was officially re-established on that day.

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Lithuania and Israel: Past, Present, Future

Lietuvos ambasados Izraelio Valstybėje bei Lietuvos URM surengta konferencija „Lietuva ir Izraelis: Praeitis, Dabartis, Ateitis“

The Lithuanian embassy to Israel and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister held a conference called Lithuania and Israel: Past, Present, Future at the Peres Peace Center in Tel Aviv on November 24, 2016. The conference discussed Lithuanian Holocaust studies, progress in commemorating victims, current activities of the Lithuanian Jewish Community and Lithuanian citizenship restoration issues.

Lithuanian ambassador to Israel Edminas Bagdonas spoke about increasing partnership between the two countries in his opening speech. He noted Litvaks in both countries are making great contributions to this. Lithuanian ambassador-at-large Dainius Junevičius emphasized the change in attitude towards the country’s history by the public and especially young people. Ronaldas Račinskas, executive director of Lithuania’s International Commission to Assess the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupational Regimes in Lithuania, spoke about progress in Lithuanian Holocaust research and commemoration. Vytautas Magnus University lecturer Robert van Voren presented his studies into the Holocaust in Lithuania and spoke about parallels between Lithuania and the Netherlands. Yad Vashem representative Dr. Arkadi Zeltser addressed the state of monuments for commemorating Holocaust victims in Lithuania. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky provided an overview of the current situation and activities of the community. She also field a large number of questions from the audience about the Litvak legacy and heritage in Lithuania.

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Makabi Fall Tennis Tournament 2016

LSK „Makabi“ rudens teniso turnyras 2016

The fall tennis tournament of the Makabi Lithuanian athletics club was held November 27 at SEB Arena in Vilnius, with 10 athletes (7 male, 3 female). The matches were held with a minus 2 handicap. Danielius Merkinas was the overall winner. In the women’s group promising young professional tennis player Alisa Gaivaronskytė took first place. Valentina Finkelšteinienė and Tatjana Podkolzina took second and third in the women’s.

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In the men’s, the brothers Kęstas and Norbertas Faktorovičius took third. The best player among veterans was Grigorij Khiterer, followed closely by Faktorovičius and Eduardas Gurvičius. All contestants received participation prizes and the women got flowers as well. The awards ceremony and dinner followed the competition.

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Condolences

Ana Brodskaja, a member of the Vilnius Jewish Community, passed away on November 27. She was born October 14, 1934. We send our condolences to her friends and family.

US Embassy Reps Visit Kaunas

Kaune viešėjo Amerikos ambasados Lietuvoje atstovai

Two weeks ago representatives from the United States embassy in Vilnius visited Kaunas. They toured the Seventh Fort and met at the Sugihara House museum with Sugihara Foundation founders Ramūnas Garbaravičius and Egidijus Aleksandravičius, Kaunas Jewish Community chairman Gercas Žakas and reporter Birutė Garbaravičienė. Ted Janis of the American embassy expressed satisfaction the Kaunas and Lithuanian Jewish Communities, the Kaunas municipality, the Seventh Fort collective and Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon had combined forces to commemorate the Holocaust victims of the Seventh Fort at the mass grave site. They also spoke about the situation regarding Holocaust education in Lithuania, the importance of the Sugihara museum and Jewish life in Kaunas.

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