Petras Zakroiskis, a member of the Kaunas Jewish Community and the Social Center, has passed away. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. He was born December 1, 1925, and left this world on May 10, 2016.
The Panevėžys Jewish Community marked Victory Day on May 8 and 9. On May 8 members laid wreaths at a monument to Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Candles were lit and honor was paid to the dead, both in the city and in Europe at large, to those who were murdered during World War II at mass murder sites in Panevėžys and more than 200 other mass murder sites around Lithuania. Almost no Jewish eyewitnesses survived in Panevėžys.
by David Harris
May 9, 2016
Israel celebrates its 68th Day of Independence this week. Let me put my cards on the table. I’m not dispassionate when it comes to Israel. Quite the contrary.
The establishment of the state in 1948; the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from around the world; its wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and its impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are accomplishments beyond my wildest imagination.
For centuries, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. I am grateful to witness this most extraordinary period in Jewish history and Jewish sovereignty–in the words of Israel’s national anthem, “to be a free
people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
The Lithuanian magazine Reitingai [Ratings] has published data from the 2014-2015 period. Around 410 Lithuanian schools were rated, both those who select their own students and those which don’t. There are just 9 gymnasia in Lithuania who do have an entrance selection process so they were rated separately. Ratings took into account final exam scores, the number of students going on to enter Lithuanian universities and higher education abroad, scores from tests of separate subjects and student grades.
Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium is among those gymnasia which don’t have a selection process and has placed as the number 3 school throughout Lithuania, and number 1 in Vilnius. It is in the top ten list of the schools in Lithuania, only following behind the Lyceum, Kaunas Technological University, Žirmūnai and the Jesuit Gymnasium. Among the gymnasia in Vilnius in all categories, Sholem Aleichem is fifth behind the Lyceum, the Jesuit, the Biržiška and the Žirmūnai Gymnasium.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community congratulates school director Miša Jakobas, the teachers and all the students with their great achievement!
KAUNAS, Lithuania, May 10, BNS–Families of Jews who were brought to Lithuania from France in the years of the Holocaust honored the memory of the victims at the Kaunas Ninth Fort in Lithuania Tuesday.
Over 800 strong and capable Jews were brought to Lithuania from France in May of 1944. They were told they would have to work but some were murdered in Kaunas and the rest were taken to Estonia.
Families of the victims usually come to Lithuania once every two years.
The South African Jewish Museum at 88 Hatfield Street in Cape Town launched a travelling exhibit from Lithuania May 4 called “Zakhor. Remember. Topography of Images of Jewish Vilna.”
The exhibit is dedicated to remembering the history of Jewish Vilna in art and Vilnius/Vilna as a major center of Eastern European Judaism and Jewish culture. The multicultural city referred to sometimes as the Jerusalem of the North had its own myths and realities. Famous Jewish scientists, scholars, philosophers, rabbis, intellectuals, publishers and artists lived and worked there.
Full story in Lithuanian here.
The Kaunas Jewish Community includes two World War II veterans among its members, Liubov Jablonovič and Petras Zakroiskis. Age and infirmity doesn’t allow them to leave the house and they were unable to attend the celebration luncheon the Kaunas Jewish Community hosted for its members, including widows, children and grandchildren of veterans. A moment of silence was held to honor the memory of the dead.
Participants shared stories about experiences by their family members during and after the war. The stories included painful as well as funny incidents. Kaunas Jewish Community member Leonidas Levinas warmed the audience’s hearts with songs from the war era by Vladimir Vysotsky. The audience joined in and sang along.
A jazz group from the city of Bobruisk (Babruysk), Belarus visited the Panevėžys Jewish Community. The members of the band are Jews and Belarusians who teach at the Children’s Music School in Bobruisk. They formed their own group called Thia. Over tea Panevėžys Jewish Community chairman Gennady Kofman told them about the city of Panevėžys and the history of the Jews living there. The guests were very interested in city industry, what enterprises operate there and the economic situation. They spoke about the economic conditions in Belarus and discussed migration problems. Bobruisk is famous for its marshmallow-like candies which the guests said have a special flavor. They were impressed by Panevėžys, how clean and orderly it was and with such a nice natural environment. They were interested in local Jewish affairs. Their first stop upon arriving in the city was the Jewish Community. Jewish Community members Yefim Grafman and Mikhail Grafman also shared their memories of the former Jewish population with the guests. The guests spoke about the Jewish communities operating in their city and about the close cooperation and friendship between them.
Vilnius, May 8, BNS–Lawsuits by Litvaks living in Israel and South Africa regarding Lithuanian citizenship have come to the attention of the Lithuanian parliament. Soon at least two parliamentary committees plan to make inquiries into why Lithuanian Jews who left the country between the two world wars and their offspring have been receiving negative responses to their applications for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship for some time now.
“We want to ask what is truly going on, why now these questions have begun to receive a negative answer. At least the information which is reaching us from the embassy, those explanations are very undiplomatic and are offensive to people. They say you are such and such people, that no one persecuted you. It’s not good to talk that way against the entire backdrop of the Holocaust,” deputy speaker of parliament and chairman of the European Affairs Committee Gediminas Kirkilas told BNS.
Why since last year hasn’t the Lithuanian Migration Department followed the law on citizenship currently in force, under which since April of 2011 people of Jewish ethnicity and ethnic Lithuanians who emigrated between 1918 and 1940 and their offspring have the right to Lithuanian citizenship? This question, recently aired in Israel, has been heard by members of the ruling majority and opposition in the Lithuanian parliament, but no one has been able to offer a clear explanation to Litvaks.
Until the middle of last year, about one thousand requests by Litvaks from Israel, South Africa, America and other countries for restoration of Lithuanian citizenship had been granted.
In their requests, Jews from Lithuania have argued that their parents and grandparents were forced to leave the country because of specific internal and external dangers and lack of security. This meets the requirements listed in the law on citizenship for acquiring citizenship.
When the Migration Department under the Lithuanian Interior Ministry began rejecting requests by Litvaks for citizenship, Litvaks, not understanding why the law in force on citizenship was being ignored, began seeking redress in Lithuania’s courts.
BNS reports on plans to commemorate Holocaust-era Dutch consul in Kaunas Jan Zwartendijk, who issued end-visas to complement the “visas for life” transit visas Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara issued to Jews, saving thousands of lives.
Speaking to BNS, Dutch ambassador to Lithuania Bert van der Lingen said Sugihara was well known in Lithuania, while Zwartendijk was not.
In truth, both men worked together to save Jews trying to flee the Nazis in Soviet Lithuania. Sugihara issued visas for transiting Japan, thus allowing many to cross the USSR, but without a final destination visa, many weren’t allowed to even begin their journeys. Zwartendijk issued end-point visas for Curaçao, a Dutch territory in the Caribbean, but one which required no entry visa in any event. While there is no evidence Zwartendijk met with Sugihara–although van der Lingen says they did speak by telephone–both diplomats were aware of one another and knew exactly what they were doing.
Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman sends her greetings to members of the community on Victory Day, celebrated as Victory in Europe or VE Day in America and Europe on May 8.
I am grateful for the opportunity to honor our veterans and bow my head before them on this day. I wish you, dear friends, good health. You will not forget your heroism, the spiritual and physical suffering, the wounds and losses you experienced. The Community will take care of you to the utmost of its ability. We appreciate and are proud of you, and for living Jews, Victory Day, the victory against the Nazis, means they were rescued from concentration camps, Naziism was defeated, they survived and the shadow of death withdrew. Happy Victory Day, dear veterans, I congratulate you all!
Dear members,
You are cordially invited to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel. The celebration is to take place at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius at 6:30 P.M. on Monday, May 16, 2016. A small klezmer concert is planned and Israeli snacks will be provided.
For more information call +370 67881514 or send an email to zanas@sc.lzb.lt
The Lithuanian Jewish Community, the Social Center and the Abi Men Zet Zich Club wish you a happy Victory Day, also known as VE Day in the West, and invite you to come out and honor our veterans of World War II at a ceremony to be held at 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at the Lithuanian Jewish Community in Vilnius.
For further information please contact Žana Skudovičienė at 8 678 81514
The sky above was a brilliant blue, with puffy clouds, as I crossed the courtyard of Vilnius University on my way to Yiddish class. I had come to the capital of Lithuania to learn the language once spoken by Eastern European Jews on both sides of the Atlantic, among them my grandfather and many other family members. I’d come to walk the streets my ancestors had walked. And I’d come to see how Lithuanians were engaging with the Jewish past.
“Dear students,” our teacher said, “you must study Yiddish not only with your eyes but also with your nose.” Acquiring this beloved language was not just a skill but an art, requiring not only our heads but our hearts.
Full article here.
The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University
Annual Report on Anti-Semitism
Decrease in violent attacks against Jews but a rise in “Institutional anti-Semitism” during 2015
(Tel Aviv, Wednesday, May 4, 2016) – Today, the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress, released its Annual Report on Anti-Semitism for 2015 during a press conference held at the university. Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, commented on the findings saying that while there had been a substantial decrease in violent attacks against Jews, there had been a significant rise in “Institutional anti-Semitism.”
The Ilan Club and its young directors continued their work and planned for the end of the season and children’s camps. There was a drop-off in attendance as the weather improved and parents kept their children home Sunday afternoons.
April 10, 2016: Activities at the Children’s Club of the LJC. As usual, children came to have both a fun and informative time. This time the activities centered around Jewish love and weddings. We spoke about customs and traditions.
April 17: These activities at the Children’s Club were regarding the upcoming Eilat Beach Party. We had fun, played games and tried to give a sense of the pleasantness of Eilat.
Ruth Reches is launching her new book “Iliustruotas hebrajų-lietuvių kalbų žodynėlis pradedantiesiems” [Illustrated Hebrew-Lithuanian Dictionary for Beginners] for teaching Hebrew to children whose native language is Lithuanian. The learning aid will help pupils understand better and acquire new material, while parents can use the book to follow the progress of their children.
The book is useful for adults beginning Hebrew as well.
A ceremony to award the title of Righteous Gentile was held in Lithuania’s Government House May 5. The award recognizes those who saved Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Prime minister Algirdas Butkevičius said at the event the tragedy of the Holocaust 75 years ago took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Lithuanian citizens, our friends, neighbors and loved ones. The numbers would have been even higher if not for those who found the courage at the darkest moments to remain human, Butkevičius said.
“Righteous Gentiles are the real heroes. They risked their own lives and those of their families to provide shelter to people who would been murdered. They disregarded their own situation and paid no heed to reputation, they were led by the voice of the heart. They helped the victims hide, fed them, gave them a roof and embraced them,” he continued.
Ponar, May 5, BNS–During the annual commemoration of Holocaust victims Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky Thursday blasted decisions by migration officials not to grant Lithuanian citizenship to Litvaks–Lithuanian Jews–and their offspring who left the country between the two world wars.
During the official ceremony on Holocaust Remembrance Day at Ponar, Kukliansky said Lithuanian officials needed “history lessons.”
The event consisted of a march lasting under 20 minutes with marchers carrying Lithuanian and Israeli flags from the Ponar railroad station to the Paneriai (Ponar) Memorial Complex, where the commemorative ceremony too place. This is the route Jews of the Vilnius ghetto marched before they were murdered in the Ponar forest.
