by Feliksas Puzemskis

In his statements Remigijus Žemaitaitis often talks about his cooperation with the chairman of the Klaipėda Jewish Community. The question arising to many people is how I can remain in contact with representatives of the Nemuno Aušra party led by a politician who has been recognized as an anti-Semite by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania.

I would like to reiterate the position of the Klaipėda Jewish Community condemning Remigijus Žemaitaitis’s anti-Semitic statements and sowing of ethnic discord.

As chairman of the Klaipėda Jewish Community, I am not able not to be in contact with the director and deputy mayor of the municipality of Klaipėda, but I would like to point out that all of my contacts with representatives of the ruling majority of the Klaipėda municipality have been regarding economic and practical issues affecting our Community.

Incidentally, when representatives of the Nemuno Aušra joined the coalition governing Klaipėda, one municipal specialist allowed himself to perform actions which did incite ethnic discord against the Jews of Klaipėda. This is yet another example of how Remigijus Žemaitaitis’s anti-Semitic rhetoric is encouraging anti-Semitism.

Feliksas Puzemskis, chairman
Klaipėda Jewish Community

by Stasys Gudavičius, November 11, 2024, Verslo žinios

“I believe that a mistake was made, and the coalition has weeks to prove this wasn’t a mistake,” Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda told reporters Monday.

He reported he had met with the Social Democrat Party’s pick for prime minister Gintautas Paluckas, Social Democrat Party leader Vilija Blinkevičiūtė and Democratic Union chairman Saulius Skvernelis Monday morning.

Full story in Lithuanian here.

Over 30 NGOs have urged Lithuania’s Social Democrat Party to exclude the Nemunas Dawn party, whose leader lost his seat in parliament over anti-Semitic remarks, from the next ruling coalition following recent elections.

“As we live in a time of war, the common European values and the support of our Western allies are the cornerstone of our security.” Laura Tatarelyte, executive director of the European Movement, wrote in the open letter. “Therefore, we cannot afford to undermine our mutual trust and the country’s reputation in the eyes of the international community where any manifestation of anti-Semitism is strongly condemned.”

The open letter was initiated by the European Movement and the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights, and was signed by more than 30 NGOs.

by Justina Vaišvilaitė-Braziulienė, November 11, 2024, delfi.lt

Leading candidate for prime minister Social Democrat Gintautas Paluckas said he assured German partners Lithuania’s next Government will be free of anti-Semitism. The deputy leader of the Social Democratic Party (LSDP) said he answered all questions concerning the potential coalition partner Nemunas Dawn raised by German Social Democrats over the weekend.

“This morning we also spoke with the chair of the German Social Democrats and we discussed this situation. No doubt they are watching this, given we are strategic partners and have serious bilateral commitments. I explained the situation as it actually is, so they don’t get the impression from inaccurate quotes on social media and in the media,” Paluckas told reporters at the Lithuanian parliament Monday.

“There is not and there will not be any anti-Semitism in the Social Democrat-run Government and coalition,” he said when asked to elaborate on the factual situation he presented to the Germans.

Šiauliai city and district police arrested a city resident November 6 alleged to have taken the remains of an Israeli flag from the Šiauliai Jewish Community building after removing and destroying it, Šiauliai district police reported.

Security cameras captured the vandal removing the flag from its mount outside the Jewish community building, casting it aside and then leaving. Later the same figure appeared to return, destroy the flag and carry off the remains. Desecration of flags of other nations, the EU and certain international organizations is a crime under article 128 of the Lithuanian criminal code.

Officers from the city and district police forces were patrolling the city and observed the suspect from the video camera around noon that day. They arrested him. The 52-year-old man had a criminal record including theft, robbery and counterfeiting of official documents. The charge could carry a maximum two-year prison sentence.

by Geoff Vasil

Last Thursday night into Friday morning gangs of Hamas supporters hunted down and assaulted Israeli fans of the Tel Aviv Maccabi FC soccer team in Amsterdam. There were multiple people wounded, some seriously. The masked gangs waving Palestinian flags demanded statements of “Free Palestine” from two of their victims as they were being beaten, including one non-Israeli caught up in street violence.

The organized pogrom against Jews in the Dutch capital came on the eve of Kristallnacht, the Nazi SA’s nation-wide pogrom in Germany in 1938.

While the public has come to expect violence between fans of rival soccer clubs in Europe, these attacks were something else. Earlier in the evening Israeli fans had chanted anti-Arab slogans as they left the sporting venue and boarded trains for their hotels, but Israelis didn’t initiate any violence. Sources close to Israeli intelligence report taxi drivers in Amsterdam supplied information to the organized violent gangs on where Israeli fans had travelled and the locations where they were staying.

Israel sent several airplanes to rescue Israeli citizens from the violence in Amsterdam. El Al reported they evacuated 2,000 Israeli citizens. Dutch King Willem-Alexander said “our history has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse,” adding that the country could not ignore “anti-Semitic behavior,” the BBC reported. Amsterdam police didn’t intervene to stop the hunting down of Jews and brutal assaults by knife-wielding Hamas terrorists.

The Šiauliai Jewish Community headquarters has been vandalized for the third time recently on November 6. This time an unknown subject removed an Israeli flag from its holder outside the building and desecrated the flag. Last week a vandal also attacked the Israeli flag there. Police arrested and fined a man in a recent similar incident before that.

Security cameras captured the crimes on October 30 and November 6, respectively: