Lithuanian Jewish Community

Youth Activities in May at the LJC

Lithuanian Jewish Community youth activities coordinator Pavel Guliakov has provided a report on youth activities for the month of May as most children in Lithuania have finished school and are busy enjoying the first weeks of summer vacation.

The Ilan Club is closing for summer and getting ready for summer camps, but had three activities in May. On the 15th children and parents visited a fire station, got to try out firefighting equipment, learned about how firefighters live and had an informative outing. On May 22 the kids learned about the Israeli military and the life of Israeli soldiers at the Lithuanian Jewish Community. On May 29 the club had an end-of-season closing event called Jewish social networks where counselors presented an interesting activity involving social media and mobile telephones, which most of the children already use regularly and enthusiastically.

2016-06-10

Exhibition of Work by LJC Art Class with Raimondas Savickas

You’re invited to attend the opening of the exhibit of works by students in the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s art class with Raimondas Savickas at 6:00 P.M., June 16, 2016, on the third floor of the LJC at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius.

2016-06-092016-06-19

Police Release Names of Victims Shot in Tel Aviv

Police on Thursday released the names of the four Israelis murdered in a gruesome terrorist shooting in central Tel Aviv Wednesday night.

The victims were: Ido Ben Ari, 42, from Ramat Gan; Ilana Nave, 39, from Tel Aviv; Michael Fayge, 58, from Ramat Gan; and Mila Mishaev, 32, from Ashkelon.

The coordinated terrorist assault on Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market Wednesday evening was one of the deadliest attacks in the city since Palestinian violence erupted last October.

2016-06-09

Jewish Cut-Outs: An Exhibit

Klaidas Navickas, a recognized master who works in the medium of cut paper, is holding an exhibit of his works called Jewish Cut-Outs at Gallery A at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University library, Saulėtekio alley no. 14, Vilnius, running from June 7 to August 26.

2016-06-09

A Night of African Music

The Šnekutis bar popular with tourists and locals alike is hosting a night of African dance music at their Užupis location Saturday evening, June 11. The address is Polocko street no. 7a, Vilnius, and the first selections of recorded music from around Africa are scheduled to go out around 6:00 P.M. Entrance is free to the public. According to a statement by Šnekutis representatives, the evening is intended to celebrate cultural diversity and the music will include Coupé-Decalé, Ethiopian jazz, Afrobeat, Afrofunk and Highlife, among others. The DJs for the AFRICANISM@Šnekutis event are Dovilė Abro from Lithuania and Rees Archibald from Australia.

2016-06-092016-06-13

World Jewish Congress Israel Delegation Visits LJC

A delegation from World Jewish Congress Israel visited the Lithuanian Jewish Community. The delegation included WJC Israel chairman Shai Hermesh (former MK), member of the board of directors J. Moshe Leshem, foreign relations council director Dr. Laurence Weinbaum, Knesset Christian Allies Caucus chairman MK Robert Ilatov, MK Yakov Margi, KCAC director Josh Reinstein and WJC Israel director general Sam Grundwerg. WJC Israel visits national capitals annually to meet with members of national parliaments and Christian community leaders to establish contacts and discuss shared problems, set up Israeli support groups and increase understanding of Jewish problems. This sort of support is especially sought by Israel now, when the Jewish state is increasingly facing isolation in the international arena and especially in the EU. Last year delegations visited Russia, Poland, Latvia and Estonia.

On June 1 the delegation visited the Lithuanian Jewish Community, met LJC chairwoman Faina Kukliansky and were greeted with a musical welcome of Jewish song and dance provided by the Fayerlakh ensemble, which warmed everyone’s hearts and facilitated better communication. Former MK, current vice president of the WJC and leader of WJC Israel Shai Hermesh shared with everyone heartwarming news he received on the trip to Lithuania.

2016-06-07

Come Take Part in Pride Voices

When we talk about the situation regarding the human rights of LGBT people in the country, we often forget that are lives are not exclusively the challenges we face daily. Our lives are also stories which need to be heard.

The national LGBT rights organization LGL invites you to take part in a Baltic Pride 2016 event, scheduled to run from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on June 16 at the Russian Drama Theater in Vilnius. Well known LGBT advocates from around the world and human rights activists will share their personal experiences, stories and encounters in the struggle for LGBT equal rights.

The theatrical Pride Voices event will feature personal stories shared by Johanna Sigurdardottir (former Icelandic PM) and her wife, journalist and playwright Jónína Leósdóttir, as well as Ulrike Lunacek (deputy speaker of the European Parliament) Matthew Shepard’s parents Judy Shepard and Dennis Shepard and Ugandan LGBT activist Dennis Wamala.

2016-06-06

Reckoning the Number of Lithuanian Holocaust Perps

photo: mass murder of Jews in Šiauliai in 1941

by Liepa Želnienė

It will perhaps never be known exactly how many Jews were murdered in Lithuania in the 1940s, or how many Lithuanians collaborated in perpetrating the Holocaust. Historians say we must first define whom we will include: those who pulled the trigger, those who stood guard at the mass murder sites, prepared the killing pits, or those who forced Jews into the ghettos, or those who stole Jewish property?

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2016-06-06

List of Lithuanian Holocaust Perpetrators Could Run to 6,000

by Mindaugas Jackevičius, www.DELFI.lt

Avoiding the subject of the Holocaust and research in this field, Lithuania is in danger of becoming a nation of Jew-killers in the eyes of the world. Statements like that were aired at a conference held at the Lithuanian parliament Monday, where participants reiterated we still don’t know the true number of Jews murdered, or of the people who rescued Jews in Lithuania. MP Arvydas Anušauskas said at the conference people tend be very conservative in talking about the number of Lithuanian Holocaust perpetrators. He said it was difficult to calculate who took part in mass murder operations, for example, some people’s names are duplicated because they participated at different locations. There was also discussion of who should be included as perpetrators: should they only include people who fired weapons, or also those who transported the victims to the mass murder sites or otherwise aided the process.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2016-06-06

The Floodgates Within: Video Art from Israel

Where: NGA Auditorium, Konstitucijos prospect no. 22, Vilnius
When: 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, June 7, 2016

On June 7-8 National Gallery of Arts presents the program of contemporary Isreali video art ‘The Floodgates Within: Video Art from Israel’ curated by Chen Tamir, curator at the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv. Chen Tamir will present two evenings of video from Israel. Designed to complement one another, these two events will situate Israeli contemporary art within historic, social, and political contexts, and offer a wide overview of experimental video-based art from this unique country.

2016-06-06

Sharon Ya’ari’s Positive Images for Field and Forest Exhibit

The National Gallery of Art presents an exceptional 2016 summer event, the exhibition Positive Images for Field and Forest by the contemporary Israeli artist Sharon Ya’ari. It is one of his biggest personal exhibitions in Europe and his first in Lithuania.

2016-06-06

Lithuanian Historian: Guards of Massacre Sites Should Also Be Listed as Murderers

VILNIUS, June 6, BNS–Not only those who pulled the trigger should be considered perpetrators of the Jewish genocide in Lithuania–they should include the individuals who transported Jews and guarded the sites of massacres, a local historian says.

Alfredas Ruksenas, a specialist of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania, said that the number of genocide perpetrators could be calculated very roughly.

“Shooters of Jews should include all participants of the operations, even if they did not pull the trigger but facilitated the operations,” Ruksenas said at a discussion at the parliament on Monday.

In his words, the battalions that were conducting the genocide are known, however, establishing a specific person or contribution is a difficult task.

2016-06-06

EBRD President Chakrabarti Visits Central Asia

The Eurasian Council on Foreign Affairs reports Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), concluded a tour of Central Asia last week which included visits to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The EBRD has several offices throughout Central Asia, and to date has invested over €6 billion in Kazakhstan alone. During his visit to Astana, Chakrabarti met with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev to discuss EBRD-Kazakh cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure and transport, as well as with Prime Minister Karim Massimov and other key ministers.

The EBRD president praised Kazakhstan’s political development and multi-party system, and stated that, having invested more than €1.2 billion in 2015–a record for the Central Asian region–the bank plans to maintain its ambitious operational targets, and invest over €700 million in Kazakhstan during 2016. He participated in the 9th edition of the Astana Economic Forum on May 26th, and co-chaired the Foreign Investors Council devoted to the Astana International Financial Centre on May 27th, alongside president Nazarbayev.

Previously Chakrabarti met with Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on May 23rd, receiving an invitation to participate in a UN conference on transport and transit corridors taking place in the country in November; and with Azeri president Ilham Aliyev during a visit to Azerbaijan on May 24-25th.

2016-06-04

Deputy Lithuanian Foreign Minister Meets Israeli Journalists

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports deputy foreign minister Mantvydas Bekešius met May 27 with a group of journalists from Israel. The group was visiting Lithuania from May 25 to 29.

The deputy minister said Israel is an important partner to Lithuania in the Middle East and the countries share common values. He said friendship between people continues to grow, that this encourages better knowledge of one another, and that that contributes to growth in business contacts and tourism.

The journalists were interested in successfully expanding relations between Lithuania and Israel, business opportunities, Jewish community current events and the agenda of Lithuanian foreign policy, according to a statement released by the ministry. They also asked about challenges arising in the EU over the migration crisis, the UK’s upcoming referendum on quitting the EU and the Ukraine problem, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.

On January 8, 2017, Lithuania and Israel will mark 25 years of diplomatic relations.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

2016-06-03

First Auction of Children’s Art in Vilnius!

The Vilnius Art School for Children and Youth, the first independent private art educational institution in Lithuania, was created by Jūratė Stauskaitė in 1991.

Over its 25 years of history, the school has turned become a versatile and innovative artistic education resource where everyone gets a chance to express their individuality through freedom of expression and creativity, which are important in all professions.

Since 1991 several thousand pupils have attended and completed school programs. School staff have published various teaching aids and textbooks for other schools. The school has taken part in numerous artistic educational initiatives and charity events held by the Vilnius municipality and state authorities, and remains true to its main objective: to raise creative members of society.

2016-06-03

Lithuanian Citizenship: Only Successful Applicant Is a Dead Jew

by Daniel Lutrin

It was gratifying to see a recent article regarding the plight that Jews of Lithuanian origin (Litvaks) are facing when applying to have their Lithuanian citizenship restored. The article, however, does not hone in on the critical matter at hand, namely the extent to which Lithuanian bureaucrats have gone to deny Jews of their ancestral right to citizenship.

In the background, a meticulous selection process has been underway which is nothing more than a modern manifestation of the same anti-Semitism which saw 95 per cent of Litvaks murdered in the Holocaust (the highest in all of Europe).

Denying Litvaks citizenship has been made easy in Lithuania by declaring, based on nebulous case law, that those Lithuanians who left the country during its years of independence (approximately 1919 to 1940) were not persecuted and are therefore not eligible for dual citizenship.

2016-06-03

You’re Invited to a Chess Tournament

The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the elite chess and checkers club Rositsan and Maccabi invite you to a chess tournament at the Lithuanian Jewish Community at Pylimo street no. 4 in Vilnius at 11:00 A.M. on Sunday, June 19.

The event is dedicated to the memory of interwar Lithuania’s third president and Righteous Gentile Kazys Grinius.

Tournament director: FIDE master Boris Rositsan
For more information and to register, contact: info@metbor.lt, telephone +3706 5543556

2016-06-02

Kosher Sabbath and a Lesson about Shavuot

The Gesher Club of the Lithuanian Jewish Community invites you to come celebrate the Sabbath with Rabbi Kalev Krelin, who will deliver a talk called “Shavuot: A Holiday without an Exact Date or Meaning” at the kosher restaurant Rishon, Tilto street no. 3, Vilnius, on Friday, June 10. To buy tickets or for more information, contact Žana Skudovičienė by telephone at 867881514.

2016-06-02

Kupiškis Jewish Community: Connections between Past and Present

The Povilas Matulionis Pre-Gymnasium and the Kupiškis Ethnographic Museum held a conference at the school May 30 called “The Kupiškis Jewish Community: Connections between Past and Present.” Participants included Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman, Lithuanian MPs Aleksandras Zeltinis, who spoke first, and Sergejus Jovaiša, Israeli ambassador to Lithuania Amir Maimon, Kupiškis regional administration head Dainius Bardauskas, regional administration assistant director Aurimas Martinka, Kupiškis culture, education and sports department director Violeta Aleknienė and Povilas Matulionis Pre-Gymnasium principal Rimvydas Latvys.

MP Zeltinis said the former synagogue, now the Kupiškis public library, would be restored at his initiative. Ambassador Maimon delivered the first paper and called current relations Israel and Lithuania wonderful and warm. Historian Arūnas Bubnys gave a presentation on the mass murder of the Jews of Kupiškis during the Holocaust. Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman spoke about the Holocaust and righteous gentiles who rescued Jews.

2016-06-02

Israeli President Isaac Herzog Visits Lithuania

On the War in Israel and the Situation in Lithuania