Baltic News Service reported April 14, 2015, that members of the delegation from a European Jewish cemeteries committee said they have no complaints over Lithuanian Government plans to refurbish the former Palace of Sports building complex located upon an old Jewish cemetery.

After the meeting Rabbi Hershel Gluck said: “This is an important day for the Lithuanian Jewish Community and for relations with Lithuanian state representatives and the Lithuanian people.”

He told reporters further that “this shows we can work together in a way beneficial to all sides. This is a new chapter in cooperation between the Jewish community and the Lithuanian Government. I want to express gratitude for these very positive steps.” 

Two female rabbis, Rachel Logan and Hilly Haburn, decided to extend their study-tour in Lithuania this year in order to attend several different Passover seders here.

As usual, Vilnius had multiple public seders this year, including the usual Lithuanian Jewish Community seder, the Chabad Lubavitch Center’s seder conducted by Rabbi Krinsky, and the independent seder sponsored and organized annually by Rabbi Feffer. This year, however, Amit Belaitė, the president of the Lithuanian Union of Jewish Students, took things to a new level, literally. Her seder was held high above Vilnius, in the restaurant midway up the Vilnius Television Tower in the Karoliniškės neighborhood of Vilnius.

Belaitė’s luftseder was conducted by the two female rabbis who had been invited to stay on in Vilnius for this purpose, at 6:00 P.M on Sunday, April 5, 2015. On the first night of Passover they had attended the LJC seder, the Rabbi Samuel Jacob Feffer seder and the Chabad Lubavich seder of Rabbi Sholom Krinsky.

The Lithuanian news and variety magazine Veidas in their February 20, 2015 issue published a long article about the dangers of anti-Semitism in Europe and the prospects for an attack on Jews in Lithuania. The author interviewed several Lithuanian Jews, including Lithuanian Jewish Community chair Faina Kukliansky and head of the Sholem Aleichem Jewish school Miša Jakobas.

“The situation in Europe today is not very promising, it’s not looking good, and I am afraid it might get worse than it is now. I am a child of the post-war era. There are many people who say this generation whose parents experienced and survived the terrors of the war has many problems because we are always afraid. And I am personally afraid of the times past returning. Current events remind me of Nazi Germany, where everything also began from simple things: one person insults another, store windows are broken, and slowly things head towards what happened,” Jakobas commented for the Lithuanian magazine.

Two young female rabbis with a group of female rabbinical students from the USA and Israel took part in the annual Passaover Seder held by the Lithuanian Jewish Community on April 3 this year. The young Reform rabbis-in-training, who say talking about their beliefs does not in any way contradict anything in the Torah, stand in favor of sexual equality and diversity in Judaism.

The rabbis and students plan to attend a special Seder being held at the Television Tower on April 5 in Vilnius as well, an event organized by Amit Belaite, the president of the Lithuanian Union of Jewish Students and an active public Jewish figure in Lithuania.

Members of the public are invited to attend this seder with the two female Reform rabbis. The location is the Paukčių takas cafe, which is most of the way up the Vilnius Television Tower located at Sausio 13-osios street No. 10. The seder costs 10 euros (and the cost of riding the elevator to the cafe is included) and will begin at 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, April 5,  2015. Dinner will include soup, the tradition Passover foods, a hot dessert, wine, coffee and tea. There will be surprises, singing, ageless traditions as well as new friends made and a wonderful small bash of a party. The food will be kosher.

Dear Friends,
You are kindly and cordially invited to meet film director from Australia
Rod Freedman
Who will be presenting his documentary “Uncle Chatzkel”
In Vilnius Jewish Public Library, Gedimino pr. 24,
on March 30, at 3 PM
(Please mind that screening of the same documentary with Lithuanian sound and communication providing interpretation services with Rod Freedman will be held on the same day at 6 PM)

Film director from Australia Rod Freedman presents his documentary “Uncle Chatzkel” in Vilnius Jewish Public Library.
On Monday, March 30, 2015, at 3 PM guests of the Vilnius Jewish Public Library will have a rare opportunity to meet a famous film director and producer from Australia Rod Freedman – an independent director, producer and executive producer whose documentaries have won many Australian and international awards and screened in dozens of film festivals. Rod is particularly interested in stories about people and their life’s journeys. Rod’s most recent film as producer is ONCE MY MOTHER, showing in the 2015 Vilnius International Film Festival in the ‘Lithuanians Abroad’ program. Rod’s grandparents were Jewish Lithuanian.

The deputy CEO of the World Jewish Congress, Maram Stern, was in Turkey this week to take part in the re-opening ceremony of the Great Synagogue of Edirne, which was restored for $2.5 million and is the first synagogue to open in Turkey in two generations. Guest of honor at the ceremony was Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç.

Turkey’s Jewish community head, İshak İbrahimzadeh, attended the morning service conducted by Davud Azuz, who had led the last service at the synagogue 46 years ago. An estimated 250 people attended the service in the temple, which has a capacity of 1,200. “I would like to thank those who contributed,” Azuz said, referring to the community effort to re-open the Great Synagogue.