Jewish Cemetary in Vilnius Slated for Destruction
I had not intended to post so much Jewish-oriented material recently and don't want to start being a one-issue diarist. But this item is pretty important. Seems the Lithuanian government is slating the ancient Jewish cemetary in Vilnius for destruction.
Choral synagogue in Vilnius
There once was a thriving and highly respected Jewish population in Lithuania. Vilnius was called the "Jerusalem of Europe" by Napoleon, so great was the fame of its Jewish scholars. One of the greatest Orthodox Jewish sages, Elijah ben Solomon (called the Vilna Gaon) came from Vilnus and had a profound effect on yeshiva teaching. During the period of Lithuanian independence (1918-1940) Jews served loyally and bravely in the Lithuanian army.
An old photo of the Jewish quarter.
Now there are only about 4000 Jews left in Lithuania. And the cemetary where generations of Jews of Vilnius are buried is now threatened.
The cemetary.
From Guysen Israël News:
The ancient Jewish cemetery of Vilna is threatened with destruction. The Lithuanian authorities have undertaken to destroy the old Jewish cemetery in the capital to build a commercial center on the site, to the great consternation of the Jewish community. The orthodox MK Avraham Ravitz warned the Knesset and has mobilized the dispatch of an Israeli delegation to the site to stop the desecration. (Guysen.Israël.News)
Please contact the government of Lithuania and urge them to preserve this cemetary. This is part of the heritage of many Jews from around the world and is part of LITHUANIAN heritage.
Gedimino pr. 11
LT-01103 Vilnius
Tel. (8~5) 2663711
Fax: (8~5) 2663895
Email: kanceliarija@lrvk.lt
Bookmark/Search this post with:
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
Community | Culture | History | Identity | Judaism
Forget Riga!
Submitted by mole333 on 11 March 2007 - 10:40am.
I only passed through Riga between Tallin and Daugavpils (Dvinsk). But I do hear it has a lot. But my main interest is in Rezekne, a town which used to be 50% Jewish and still has a (rundown) Jewish cemetary and a single surviving synagogue that I am trying to save. I find most people focus on Riga, but Eastern Lativia had a very rich Jewish culture that has vague echoes today.
As for Lithuania, I know that there have been some attempts to save synagogues there. And it seems that if the surviving cemetary is small it should be even easier to preserve.
Rumours again?
Submitted by VilniusLocal (not verified) on 14 March 2007 - 4:36am.
There's not much left of Jewish Vilnius, quite right, but what is left is pretty well preserved and everything is under protection (I assume, everyone understand, that things were different some decades ago, i.e. under soviet rule). But this odd article already appeared a 1 year ago. There is no (and was no then) such site in Vilnius, LT. Lithuanian government tried to clearify what those guys from the United States keep in their minds, and Lithuanian Jewish community tried it as well. Well, no answer, no explanation. It was last year. Now - what, they woke up again, or what?
Not much left in Vilnius.
I've been to Vilnius and can tell you that there's not much left of Jewish Vilnius...The Jewish cemetery in Prague is impressive and a must visit. The Jewish cemetery in Vilnius was small, if I recall correctly, and somewhat difficult to get to. (It's in the back of some buildings.) A few tombstones are of great importance...On the whole, Vilnius is a better place to read about than to visit. Riga (the capital of neighboring Latvia), on the other hand, has many architectural gems.