Lithuanian Jewish Community

They Come Back

Geoff Vasil

Over the years they come back. Just a handful, to be sure, but they come. They come to find the site of the most confused chapter in the Lithuanian Holocaust. The Church of the Missionaries in Vilnius, where the Final Selection took place.

For the children and grandchildren of the few survivors, the very small group of witnesses who saw what happened there and lived to tell anyone, the site is Rosa. The name has been lost to modern residents of the city, many decades ago. The city itself has changed, not just the names. Once there was a courtyard behind the gate of the Church of the Missionaries on Subačius street just a block or two out of the Old Town. There was a railroad spur right there which connected with the central Vilnius train station, somewhat more distant than the Old Town and in a different direction. The square was called Rosa. There was a nunnery adjacent, and apparently a small jail called the Rosa Street Jail which the Nazis used, implying there was also a Rosa street. If you continue down Subačius or Subocz street past the church, you reach the two large apartment complexes where the Jews enslaved to the HKP, essentially the local automobile workshop for the Wehrmacht, were kept, just a hop, skip and a jump away from Rosa Square.

2015-06-09

Palestine is a Geographical Area, Not a Nationality – The Area of Palestine was Set Aside Exclusively for the Self-Determination of the Jewish People

Eli E. Hertz

51 member countries – the entire League of Nations (today the United Nations) – unanimously declared on July 24, 1922:

“Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”

Palestine lies on the western edge of the continent of Asia between Latitude 30ẃ N. and 33ẃ N., Longitude 34ẃ 30’ E. and 35ẃ 30’ E.

On the North it is bounded by the French Mandated Territories of Syria and Lebanon, on the East by Syria and Trans-Jordan, on the South-west by the Egyptian province of Sinai, on the South-east by the Gulf of Aqaba and on the West by the Mediterranean. The frontier with Syria was laid down by the Anglo-French Convention of the 23rd December, 1920, and its delimitation was ratified in 1923.

Briefly stated, the boundaries of Palestine are as follows:

2015-05-29

Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism – very short update

To: All WJC Affiliated Communities & Organizations
WJC Executive Committee

Dear Friends,

Last week the Foreign Ministry of Israel convened The 5th International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism.

There were all together 1,200 participants from over 80 countries present over the 3 days in Jerusalem. Most of them were professionals dealing with this issue, but politicians, diplomatic representatives as well as press were also present.

Following you will find the statements adopted by the conference on Combating Cyberhate and Online Antisemitism and Combating Antisemitism in Europe – as well as my own closing statement of the conference.

2015-05-24

Few things about bagels

Chew On This: The Science Of Great NYC Bagels (It’s Not The Water)

One of the first life lessons I picked up in college was this: The secret to the shiny crust and chewy bite prized in New York bagels is boiling. Any other way of cooking them, my Brooklyn born-and-raised, freshman-year roommate told me, is simply unacceptable.

ONE BAGEL, TWO BAGEL, THREE BAGEL by DOVID KATZ

Leo Rosten famously noted in The Joys of Yiddish (1968) that bagels are mentioned around 1610, in Jewish community rules (takónes) from Krakow but he oversimplified a bit when he reported that “bagels would be given as a gift to any woman in childbirth”.

2015-05-24

Kol Europe Newsletter

Welcome to Kol Europe, the only news bulletin dedicated to European policy news for Jewish communities brought to you by CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe. The “voice of Europe” focuses on the latest policy and institutional developments that can have an impact on the creation of an inclusive Europe where Jews and everyone can live securely to their fullest potential.

2015-05-24

Shavuot – the Festival of Weeks

The Torah was given by G-d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3300 years ago. Every year on the holiday ofShavuot we renew our acceptance of G‑d’s gift, and G‑d “re-gives” the Torah. The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot.

You shall count for yourselves — from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving — seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count, fifty days… You shall convoke on this very day — there shall be a holy convocation for yourselves — you shall do no laborious work; it is an eternal decree in your dwelling places for your generations. -Leviticus 21:15-16, 21

2015-05-22

“The Naked Truth” on Lithuanian Television

by Geoff Vasil

The national Lithuanian television channel Lietuvos rytas TV recently (on May 4) broadcast a show by veteran talk-show host Rūta Grinevičiūtė (surname recently changed to Janutienė) called Nuoga Tiesa, “Naked Truth,” which posed the question, “Do you want the Jews to return again [sic] to Lithuania?” Viewers were invited to call in and/or vote by special telephone lines for Yes and No with a one euro toll per call. For that and a number of other reasons the entire program had something of the macabre about it, and although some of the guests made some important points, all of them seemed to miss certain glaring details which would have been the center of attention in the West.

2015-05-21

The Expulsion of Jews from Lithuania and Courland 1915: One Century Later

It was a time of trial and tribulation for World Jewry. Shavuot 1915 was one of the largest single expulsions of Jews since Roman times. Over 200,000 Jews in Lithuania and Courland would be abruptly forced from their homes into dire circumstances.

With the advance of the German army on the Eastern front in the spring of 1915, retreating Russian forces vented their fury against the Jews and blamed them for their losses. They leveled spurious accusations of treason and spying for the enemy and sought to keep a distance between Jews and German forces to prevent contact by expelling Jews near the war front. From province to province throughout Poland, multitudes of Jews were expelled. Many also fled from their homes as German forces moved eastward.

By March, German forces approached Lithuania as Russian forces continued their retreat. The first expulsion in Lithuanian took place in a small town of Botki. In April, at the town of Kuzhi, the local Jews were accused of hiding German troops in their homes. Although proofs were brought by members of the Duma debunking the charges as fiction, the accusations had already spread throughout Russia via newspaper reports and became another pretext to persecute Russian Jewry. Soon after, the mass expulsion from Lithuania commenced.

While preparing for the upcoming Shavuot holiday, notices appeared calling for the Jews living in areas closer to the war front to vacate their homes over the next day or two days. Most of the notices gave 24 hours or even less time.

In just a few days, Lithuanian Jewry, which had a legacy of hundreds of years made a hasty exit, ordered to move eastward. Even the sick and the infirmed were included in the decree. Those who did not comply faced execution.

2015-05-20

2015 Dispute on Vilnius Reconstruction of Sports Arena on Site of Old Vilna Jewish Cemetery

Renewed debate over a Congress Hall on the site of old Vilna Jewish cemetery at Piramónt (now part of the Šnipiškės [Yiddish: Shnípishok] district)

19 May 2015. Reuters: ‘Threats to Vilnius Jewish cemetery recur’ by PR Newswire.

15 May 2015. Der Yid [New York Haredi Yiddish weekly]: ‘Shocking news: Agreement allows government in Vilna to enlarge sports building within the Jewish cemetery’ [in Yiddish: Ópmakh [d]erlóybt regírung in vílne óystsubrèytern spórt gebàyde inerhalb beys-hakháyim].

7 May 2015. Government of the Republic of Lithuania: ‘The first meeting of the Commission for the Issues Concerning the Jewish History and Culture in Lithuania has been held’.

2015-05-20

Israeli Ambassador: The Search for External Enemies Doesn’t Rally the Nation

by Liudas Dapkus

It sometimes seems as if Amir Maimon has at least one doppleganger in Vilnius. One attends a concert at the synagogue while another welcomes guests at the embassy. Somehow he manages to attend events for Street Music Day and still take part in volunteer projects and meetings. The Israeli ambassador, who recently settled in at the highest tower in the capital city, at the Europa business center, is one of those active diplomats for whom work in Vilnius is not simply a tranquil posting.

I spoke with Maimon upon his return from his country recently, where many Lithuanian government and business representatives have been visiting recently. The interview covered our military and theirs, conscription, statehood and history.

You’ve been here almost a half year. What was most surprising?

2015-05-19

Prof. Michael Shafir’s new paper

For possible interest, Professor Michael Shafir’s new paper on Holocaust deflection and obfuscation in Hungary, with references also to Lithuania and other countries in the region.

The article

2015-05-19

The Muslim Jewish Conference 2015

Do not miss!
Acceptances will take place on a rolling basis: the final date for submission is May 31, 2015. As an official policy, the MJC does not require payment of any participation fee and will provide accommodation for the duration of the conference. However, the MJC does not provide any financial support for travel to/from the conference or visa applications.

APPLICATION FOR MJC2015 NOW OPEN | The Muslim Jewish Conference
www.mjconference.de

2015-05-19

LJC thankyou

The Lithuanian Jewish Community thanks the organizer of performances of the opera “Sempo Sugihara: Cherry Blossoms of Hope” Manager Chiaki Hamada of the Tokyo Associates Company, the organizational committee for the opera and composer and conductor Yuki Ando for the masterfully and
sensitively sung opera about an historical personage of great importance to us, to Jews, who rescued thousands of Jews from death in Nazi-occupied Kaunas, Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara.

Thank you for the scenes and melodies which were moving to the point of tears. We thanks the main performers the soloists Tetsuo Onaya, Yuri Shinada and the choir, and the Kristoforas orchestra as well as the Libro choir from Vilnius. Thank you.

2015-05-18

Zurich Choir Performs at Choral Synagogue in Vilnius

Vilnius’s only working synagogue, the Choral Synagogue on Pylimo street, hosted a concert on the evening of Thursday, May 14, by the choir of the synagogue on Lowenstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, conducted by Robert Braunschweig. The guests told the audience that while their Jewish community isn’t all that large, it is the largest in Europe at the current time, comprised of 400 families. The choir itself began over 90 years ago.

The audience was mainly members of the Vilnius Jewish community, with a few non-Jewish locals present as well. Haim Burstein, Lithuania’s chief rabbi, was in attendance, and the new Israeli ambassador to Lithuania, Amir Maimon, also attended. Bruno Kaspar, the Swiss consul in Lithuania, was also on hand.

2015-05-16

Reps of Jewish Orgs Invited to Take Part in World Lithuanian Economic Forum in Israel

Deputy Lithuanian foreign minister Mantvydas Bekešius on a working visit to Israel May 12 met in Tel Aviv with Lithuanian exile organizations Beit Vilna, Igud yotzel Lita and Israelita as well as honorary Lithuanian consuls.

Bekešius told organization representatives and consuls about an idea and program for a World Lithuanian Economic Forum to take place October 19 to 21 in Israel, and asked them to participate actively.

The deputy minister told of efforts to conserve Jewish cultural heritage in Lithuania and to conserve Holocaust education and commemoration projects, and delivered a letter from the Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Butkevičius thanking World War II vets living in Israel on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.

2015-05-14

Israel gears up for International Hummus Day

With endless varieties available for purchase at every grocery store, it is hard to imagine that there are still new combinations, and styles of hummus being conceived of and produced.

May 13th has been a day dedicated entirely to an international celebration of a staple of the Israeli diet: hummus.

With endless varieties available for purchase at every grocery store, it is hard to imagine that there are still new combinations, flavors and styles of hummus being conceived of and produced for the masses.

International Hummus Day is easily celebrated by doing the obvious: eating hummus.

For most Israelis this does not come as a challenge. Hummus is consumed by the ton across Israel on a daily basis. Hummus style restaurants, known as hummusiot, can be found all across the country, serving the creamy spread in different styles and flavors, with warm bread or the traditional pita.

2015-05-13

PM decries ‘resurgent’ anti-Semitism, from Toulouse to Tehran

Netanyahu pans Iran for criticizing Israel’s aid team to Nepal, not sending its own; says anti-Jewish hatred won’t be defeated, must be fought.

“Today there is no doubt that we are living in an age of resurgent anti-Semitism,” Netanyahu said at the opening of the fifth Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism.

“Jews everywhere are once again being slandered and vilified,” he said.“This is taking place in the intolerant parts of the Middle East but it’s also taking place in what otherwise would be expected to be the tolerant parts of the West.

2015-05-13

European Antisemitism Driving Jews Away From Jewish Life, Says Leading Rabbi (INTERVIEW)

The recent string of attacks against Jews in Europe has driven many Jews away from an active Jewish life, said the president of one of Europe’s leading Orthodox Jewish networks on Tuesday.

“We’re dealing with a large number of Jews who because of the risk involved, and terrorist attacks, have stopped coming to Jewish events,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt told the Algemeiner. “It’s more important [for these Jews] to stay alive than to stay Jewish.”

2015-05-13

Netanyahu, Bennett top list of dignitaries attending anti-Semitism global forum

Jewish communal and organization leaders are set to gather together with Israeli and foreign politicians in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening for the opening of the Foreign Ministry’s biennial Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism.

This year’s event, organized in conjunction with the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, will mark the fifth time that Jerusalem has convened anti-Semitism experts from around the globe to discuss best practices and share information over a threeday period.

2015-05-12

Israeli President Isaac Herzog Visits Lithuania

On the War in Israel and the Situation in Lithuania