by Editor, Feb 17, 2015, Jurgis Pabrėža Preparatory Gymnasium of Kretinga

 In February of this year the seniors of the Jurgis Pabrėža Preparatory Gymnasium of Kretinga had two open non-traditional integrated Lithuanian-language, history and English-language lessons about Jewish culture. During studies on the topic of Jewish literature, it was noted the students had little knowledge of this, so the decision was made to expand their horizons with supplementary material including facts from the religion, history and life of the Jewish people and a characterization of Jewish identity. Izaak Kutzi, a citizen of Israel who has lived in Lithuania for some time but speaks English, was invited to help with the lesson. The lesson was prepared beforehand: tasks were assigned students, the course of the lesson and the role of its leaders were discussed, a test was prepared to assess the acquisition of information, and Kutzi even made traditional Jewish food-dishes. Further participants in the lesson included teachers from the gymnasium and the local district, members of the Kretinga Jewish Community and students from Klaipėda University.

If you are not part of the closed world of ultra-Orthodox, or haredi, Jewry, or within the Orthodox rabbinic fraternity, you are more than likely completely oblivious to the release last week of an obscure newsreel from 1923, which for nearly a century has remained unseen, languishing on some dusty shelf in an obscure storage location in the United States. However, for the Orthodox community, the release of this footage is without exaggeration one of the most sensational media events to have occurred in the history of modern media, right up there with how secular audiences perceive movie footage of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon or of the Titanic’s discovery deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

This year’s Purim falls against a background of no little political drama, internationally and domestically.

The holiday, which celebrates the biblical story of Esther and the survival of the Jewish people during the Persian exile falls this year on Wednesday night and Thursday, except in Jerusalem where it takes place on Thursday night and Friday.

But while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is away in Washington battling Israel’s ancient Persian foe, various religious and political struggles back home continue apace.

Even after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Tuesday speech at the US Congress, rival Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union party would still be the largest Knesset faction following the March 17 elections, according to a Channel 2 poll published Wednesday, the first since the Israeli leader returned from Washington.

Based on the survey — conducted among 790 respondents with a 3.5% margin of error — the Zionist Union would receive 24 seats, while the Likud would gain 23.

The Joint (Arab) List places third with 13 seats, Yesh Atid and Jewish Home follow with 12 each, and Kulanu with 8. Yisrael Beytenu and Meretz, as well as ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, would all gain 6 seats, while Eli Yishai’s new Yachad party manages to just cross the electoral threshold with 4 Knesset seats.

Read more timesofisrael.com 

February 10, 2015, M. and K. Petrauskas Museum of Lithuanian Music

The Kaunas branch of the M. and K. Petrauskas Museum of Lithuanian Music (K. Petrausko street no. 31) invites the public to attend the opening of an exhibit called “Prepared for Life: the ORT in Lithuania” at 4:00 P.M. on March 3. The exhibit illustrates the activities of the ORT organization in Kaunas including arts and crafts courses, daily school life, student-teacher activities, snapshots from school life, reminiscences of classmates and teachers, the importance of having a profession in the ghettos during the Holocaust and ORT activities around the world and in Lithuania today. The exhibit will run until April 4. Admission to the opening ceremony is free.

The mobile exhibition in Lithuanian and English was prepared by the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum and the World ORT with the cooperation of the Lithuanian Central State Archive and is dedicated to the history of the ORT as it operated in Lithuania between the world wars. The ORT is a Jewish educational and training organization which continues to operate today around the world.

Some of the media coverage to date at:

AFTER THE EVENT:  JTA;  15min.lt;  Alfa.lt;  Balsas.lt;  Delfi.lt;  FB;  Info.smi; Interfax;  Lrt.lt (+video); Lrytas.lt;  Obzor;  Simon Wiesenthal Center;  Stormfront;  RUN-UP TO THE EVENT: i24; Defending History (+correspondence with mayor’s office).

It gives us great honour to invite you to a special teleconference discussion between Jewish leaders from Europe and Mr. Naftali Bennett, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, to be held: Tuesday 17th February, 2015, at 18:00 Israel time.

This discussion follows the horrific terror attack on a Synagogue in Copenhagen and in light of the growing threats facing Jewish communities in Europe from rising anti-Semitism and Islamic terrorists.