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Posted in Litvak Affairs, News & Views
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Petitions in Progress
Krystyna Steiger on Lithuania ◊ Monica Lowenberg on Latvia ◊ and on Lithuania ◊ Olga Zabludoff on Nazi marches in central Vilnius
Posted in Litvak Affairs, News & Views
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Joseph Melamed, Head of Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors’ Association, Releases Letter to Director of Yad Vashem
TEL AVIV—The office of the Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel today released the text of the Hebrew letter which the ALJ’s chairman, Tel Aviv attorney Joseph Melamed, sent today to Avner Shalev, the director of Yad Vashem. Images of the letter’s two pages follow (signed letter as PDF). English translation here.
See also the separate English statement which the ALJ released to the media earlier today, following the recent news about the Lithuanian government renewing a much enlarged red-brown commission with the ostensible participation of Yad Vashem.
Posted in "Red-Brown Commission", Double Games, Double Genocide: The New Form of Holocaust Revisionism & Denial, History, Israel, Joseph Melamed, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Yad Vashem and Lithuania
Tagged Association of Lithuanian Jews, Holocaust in Lithuania, International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occpational Regimes in Lithuania, Joseph Melamed, Yad Vashem + Lithuania
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Executive Director of “Red-Brown Commission” Doubts Lithuanian Jews were Killed “on a Racial Basis” Before Arrival of German Forces in 1941
O P I N I O N
A number of viewers of the new Australian documentary film Rewriting History, by Marc Radomsky and Danny Ben-Moshe, have submitted to Defending History near-identical transcripts of a statement on camera, made to the film’s producers, by the executive director of the “International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania.”
Known for short as the “red-brown commission,” the state-sponsored body has long been opposed by Holocaust survivors and educators. The commission is responsible for Holocaust education in Lithuania, but has also taken an active political role in promoting the 2008 Prague Declaration and various details of alleged “equality” of Nazi and Soviet crimes. The commission’s website features the Prague Declaration in both English and Lithuanian.
The commission’s executive director, Ronaldas Račinskas, is quoted as saying on camera that his commission does not support “Double Genocide” but that he does support the 2008 Prague Declaration (though he concedes there are passages to be “discussed”). The problem is that the Prague Declaration is the primary document of the Double Genocide movement in Europe.
See also: Mr. Račinskas’s 2011 speech in the Lithuanian parliament; Critiques of his commission; 2015 Update: His call for investigations of Holocaust survivors who joined up with the anti-Nazi partisans.
Mr. Račinskas goes on to say, according to the transcripts provided of his Rewriting History interview:
Posted in "Red-Brown Commission", Arts, Australia, Double Games, Double Genocide: The New Form of Holocaust Revisionism & Denial, EU, Fania Yocheles Brantsovsky (Fania Brancovskaja): 1922-2024, History, Holocaust Policies of Mr. Ronaldas Račinskas and the State-Sponsored "International Commission" (ICECNSORL), Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory, US State Dept Manipulated?
Tagged Holocaust in Lithuania, International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes, Red-Brown Commission, Ronaldas Racinskas, Yad Vashem
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Font testing only
15 August 2016
(1) Below our pasekh tsvey yudn chapter comparing the new FRCL version with the old (combining the old FRCL with pasekh tsvey yudn from Vilna)
Remaining/other issues would be adding on some appropriate keys:
(2) the classic Yiddish hypen:
שטאָט⸗טויערן
בת⸗יהודה
Ideally this hyphen would be just a little smaller than now vis a vis the font size.
(2) Can the Hebrew / Yiddish apostrophe (perhaps unmarked, on the regular key?) be be slanted as in classic printed books, not English upright: (at the moment we’ve been pasting in an apostrophe from ‘somewhere’ (don’t know where!) as in
′ר
ער′ט
(3) Can there be classic open and closed quotes that are upper and lower:
upper (which we’ve been pasting in from ‘somewhere’)
תשע״ד
וד״ל
And classic upper and lower which we’ve not found yet:
״אַ מעשה״
The open quote (here before אַ would be BENEATH the line)?
Or do these already exist?
———————————————————————-
PASEKH TSVEY YUDN
(1) Old FRCL with pasekh tsvey yudn inserted from Vilna:
זײַנען ווײַנשטיין דרײַ טריישאַפט
(2) NEW FRCL with adjusted pasekh tsvey yudn:
זײַנען ווײַנשטיין דרײַ טריישאַפט
————————————————————————————
BELOW FIRST CHAPTER OF EYKHO TRANSLATION IN THE NEW FRANK RUHL CURLED LAMED WITH ADJUSTED PASEKH TSVEY YUDN. OUR PUBLISHED VERSION (FOR COMPARISON) HAS THE OLD FRCL WITH PASEKH TSVEY YUDN INSERTED BY HAND (AT https://defendinghistory.com/the-book-of-lamentations-in-lithuanian-yiddish).
(א) אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד
ווי אַזוי זשע זיצט זי איינע אַליין, די שטאָט, וואָס איז דאָך אַזוי גרויס געווען, אַזש אַ פולע מענטשן? ווי אַן אלמנה איז זי געוואָרן: אַזוי גרויס געווען בײַ די פעלקער, אַ פּרינצעסין פאַר די אַלע פּראָווינציעס, איז זי גאָר אין אַ צאָלערקע פון צינדז פאַרוואַנדלט געוואָרן:
(ב) בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה בַּלַיְלָה
אַז וויינען וויינט זי באַנאַכט, און די טרערן באַ איר זײַנען אַף די באַקן: זי האָט ניט ווער טרייסטן זאָל איר, פון די אַלע האָלטהאָבער: אַז די חברים האָבן איר אַלע פאַרראַטן, זײַנען איר פאַר שונאים געבליבן:
(ג) גָּלְתָה יְהוּדָה
אין גלות איז אַוועק יהודה, אין מוטשעניש און אין קנעכטשאַפט, אַ פולע: זי זיצט⸗זאַך צווישן די פעלקער, טרעפט ניט קין מנוחה פון די אַלע וואָס רודפן איר: אַז זיי האָבן איר דען איבערגעיאָגט אַווען ס′האָט שמאָל געהאַלטן:
(ד) דַּרְכֵי צִיּוֹן אֲבֵלוֹת
די וועגן קין ציון פּראַווען אבילות, אַז ס′פעלן אַדיאָ וואָס קומען אַף יום⸗טוב: וויסטע זײַנען באַ איר די שטאָט⸗טויערן: די כהנים זיפצן, די בתולות איז קאַלעמוטנע, און זי — איר איז, אײַ, ביטער:
(ה) הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרׁאשׁ
אויבנאָן זײַנען אירע פײַנטהאָבער אַרוף: באַרואיקן זיי זאַך, די שונאים אירע, אַלמאי גאָט האָט איר אַקעגנגעטאָן פאַר די פולע זינד: אַזש די קליינע קינדערלעך אירע זײַנען אין געפאַנגעניש אַוועק, פון פאַרן פײַנטהאָבער:
(ו) וַיֵצֵא מִן בַּת צִיּוֹן
פון בת⸗ציון האָט זיך אָפּגעטאָן גאָר די פּראַכט: אירע פּרינצן זײַנען ווי הינדן געוואָרן, אַוואָס זיי טרעפן ניט אַוואו⸗זאַך פּאַשען: פאַרן רודף זײַנען זיי געגאַנגען, אָן כח:
(ז) זָכְרָה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
האָט⸗זאַך פאַרגעדענקט ירושלים, אין די טעג פון אירע מוטשעניש מיט אירע צרות, אין די אַלע גליקלעכקײַטן וואָס באַ איר איז פון גאָר די אַמאָליקע יאָרן געווען: אַז דער פאָלק אירער איז באַם פײַנטהאָבער אין האַנט אַרײַנגעפאַלן, און אַף צו הילף קומען איז אַקיינער ניט געווען, האָבן זיך אָדי פײַנטהאָבער צוגעקוקט, איר אָפּגעלאַכט אַוואָס ס’איז אַלציקעדינג באַ איר אָפּגעשטעלט:
(ח) חֵטְא חָטְאָה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
געזינדיקט האָט ירושלים געזינדיקט, איז זי אַזוי אַרומעט אַ נידה געוואָרן: אָדי אַלע, אַוואָס זיי האָבן איר אָפּגעגעבן כבוד האָבן אין איר שוין מזלזל געווען, אַז זיי האָבן איר נאַקעטערהייט דאַזען: אַז זי אַליין טוט זיפצן, און האָט⸗זאַך אַף קאַריק אומגעקערט:
(ט) טֻמְאָתָהּ בְּשׁוּלֶיהָ
שוין אין קליידל איז דאָ באַ איר די טומאהניש, זי האָט זיך ניט דאַטראַכט וואָס′ט זײַן פאַראַ סוף: גייט זי אַראָפּעט אַ פאַרהִתְפַּעֲלוּתטע וואָס ס′ניטאָ ווער זאָל טרייסטן —
„זע, גאָט, מײַן מוטשעניש: אָט ווי אַזוי דער שונא מאַכט⸗זאַך אַזש גרויס“:
(י) יָדוֹ פָּרַשׁ צָר
אוֹיסגעשפּרייט האָט דער פײַנטהאָבער זײַן האַנט אַף אַלע טײַערסטע אוצרות אירע: זי האָט געזען, ווי די פעלקער קומען אין בית המקדש אַרײַנעט, אַזעטקענע אַוואָס דו האָסט געהייסן זיי זאָלן אין קהל דײַנעם ניט קומען:
(יא) כָּל עַמָהּ נֶאֱנָחִים
גאָר דער פאָלק באַ איר טוט זיפצן, בעטלען ברויט: זייערע חפצים די טײַערע האָבן זיי דאָך פאַר מאכלים געגעבן, זיך אַ קוויק טאָן די נשמה:
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„זע, גאָט, און קוק זשע אײַנעט וואָס פאַראַ פאַרביליקטע בין איך פאַרבליבן:
(יב) לוֹא אֲלֵיכֶם
„א י ר אַלע, פאַרבײַגייער — ל א ע ל י כ ם! קוקט⸗זיך גוט אײַנעט דען און זעט, אויבע פאַראַן איז גאָר אַ ווייטיק אַמער פון מײַן ווייטיק, אַוואָס מיר איז אָפּגעטאָן, מיט וואָס גאָט האָט מיר אַקעגנגעטאָן אין טאָג פון זײַן גרימצאָרן:
(יג) מִמָרוֹם שָׁלַח אֵשׁ
„פון הייכענישן ט′ער מיר אַ פײַער אין די ביינער געשיקט, און ער′ט עם אַראָפּגעלאָזן, אַ כאַפּערשע נעץ צו די פיס ט′ער מיר אוֹיסגעשפּרייט: ער האָט מיר אַף קאַריק געטאָן שיקן, פאַר אַ וויסטע מיר געמאַכט, אַז ס′איז אין חלשות אַ גאַנצן טאָג:
(יד) נִשְׁקַד עַׁל פְּשָׁעַי
„צונויפגעפלאָכטן זײַנען מײַנע אַלע זינד אין איין יאָך, באַ עם אין די הענט, און אײַנגעשפּאַנט אין זיי אַלע איז מײַן האַלדז: ער האָט באַ מיר דעם כח אַזש קאַלע געמאַכט: גאָט האָט מיר געגעבן אין די הענט פון [אַזעטקענע וואָס טוען], איך זאָל זאַך אופשטעלן גאָר ניט קענען:
(טו) סִלָּה כָּל אַבִּירַי
„אַז פאַרהֶפְקֶרְט האָט גאָט באַ מיר גאָר די יונגע גיבורים, אַוואָס אַרום מיר: ער האָט נאָך אַף מיר יום⸗טוב אַרוֹיסגערופן, אַף די בחורים מײַנע אײַנברעכן: אַזש ווי אין אַ ווײַנקלאַפּ, האָט גאָט די בתולה בת⸗יהודה צוטראָטן:
(טז) עַל אֵלֶה אֲנִי בוֹכִיָּה
„אַף אָטאָ דיאָ טו איך וויינען: מײַן אויג, מײַן אויג, לאָזט וואַסערן אַראָפּ, אַז איטלעכער וואָס טוט טרייסטן האָט זיך פון מיר פונווײַטגעהאַלטן: אַז די וואָס האָבן מיר די נשמה דאַקוויקט, סאַמע קינדער מײַנע, זײַנען זיי אַליין אין פאַרוויסטעניש: ווײַלע דער שונא′ט גובר געווען:
(יז) פֵּרְשָׁה צִיּוֹן בְּיָדֶיהָ
„אַ שפּרייט אוֹיס טוט צִיוֹן מיט די הענט אירע: אַז ס′ניטאָ ווער ס′עט טרייסטן: האָט דאָך גאָט געהייסן אַף יעקבן, אַז די פײַנטהאָבער זײַנע זאָלן עם אַרומענאַרום זײַן: און צווישן זיי אַלעמען, איז גאָר פאַר אַ נידה געבליבן ירושלים:
(יח) צַדִּיק הוּא יי
„איז דאָך גאָט פאָרט דער רעכטפאַרטיקער: אַקעגן ז ײַ ן וואָרט האָב א י ך דאָך ווידערשפּעניקט: איז הערט זשע זאַך צו, אַלע פעלקער און טוט זען דעם ווייטיק, אַז די בתולות מיט די בחורים אינאיינעם ט′מען אין געפאַנגענשאַפט אַרוֹיסגעפירט:
(יט) קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי
„כאָ′דאָך אַ רוף געטאָן מײַנע געליבטע, האָבן זיי מיר אָבער אָפּגענאַרט: אַזש די כהנים מײַנע, מיט די זקנים מײַנע, אַוואָס אין שטאָט, פאַר הונגער זײַנען זיי אוֹיסגעגאַנגען, באַם אוֹיסבעטן זאַך אַוואָס צובײַסן:
(כ) רְאֵה יי כִּי צַר לִי
„איז זע, גאָט, ווי אַזוי באַ מיר האַלט שמאָל, אַז ס′ברענט אַזש באַ מיר די אינגעווייד: אוֹי, האָב איך חרטה, אַז ווידערשפּעניקן האָב איך ווידערשפּעניקט: אינדרויסן האַקט אָפּעט די שווערד און אינעווייניק איז גלאַט ווי דער טויט:
(כא) שָׁמְעוּ כִּי נֶאֱנָחָה
„אַ ז י י האָבן דאַהערט אַזש ווי אַזוי כ′טו זיפצן, אַז ס′ניטאָ ווער זאָל טרייסטן: אַז די אַלע שונאים זײַנען געוואָר געוואָרן מײַנע צרות, האָבן זיי⸗זאַך דאַפרייט, אַלמאי אָדאָס האָ ס ט ע געמאַכט: דרום ווע ס ט ע בריינגין צו טראָגן אָדעם טאָג, אַוואָס ד ו ′ע ס ט עם אַרוֹיסרופן, און זיי אַלע, צו מיר וועלן זיי זײַן צוגעגליכן:
(כב) תָּבׁא כָל רָעָתָם
„טאָ זאָל די גאַנצע שאַלקהאַטפיקײַט ז י י ע ר ע קומען פון פאַר דיר: און ז י י טו אָפּעט אַוואָ′ דו′סט מ י ר אָפּגעטאָן אַף אַלע מײַנע זינד: באַ מיר איז אַ פולע זיצפן, און די האַרץ — אַ פאַרחלשטע“:
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Posted in Litvak Affairs
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Crying Over Dead Jews
O P I N I O N
by Geoff Vasil
Lithuania’s Jewish community isn’t immune from the broader issues facing Jewish existence in Eastern Europe and there are the same problems of Jewish identity that crop up in Russia, Bulgaria, Poland and elsewhere. And just as there are Christian Evangelicals and others who support the policies of the right-wing in the State of Israel elsewhere in Europe, there are those same voices among Lithuanian politicians and public figures.
What is perhaps different in Lithuania than elsewhere in Eastern Europe is that this Gentile support for Zionist ideals doesn’t translate into support for the surviving local Jewish community or contribute to a profounder and more sympathetic understanding of the Holocaust.
UPDATE OF 5 AUGUST 2012: This essay was republished with permission in the Algemeiner Journal; in 15min.lt (where it seems to have been taken down, but is still listed in Search); in Jewish Ideas Daily (where it was chosen as one of the editor’s picks for 1 August 2012).
Visitors to Vilnius will see any number of plaques dedicated to famous Jewish residents of Vilnius and several dedicated to the Holocaust. Those who look a little deeper under the surface might find there are a number of agencies, organizations and institutions operating in Vilnius which seemingly are aimed at promoting Jewish history, language and culture. In fact, both the plaques and monuments, and the majority of these “Jewish” organizations, serve as little more than window-dressing and display show-cases the Lithuanian government rolls out as exhibits evidencing Lithuanian sincerity in addressing the incomparable atrocity of the Holocaust.
Posted in "Jewish" Events as Cover?, Christian-Jewish Issues, Double Games, Geoff Vasil, Humor (Of Sorts), Identity Theft of Litvak Heritage, Israel, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Symbology, What Do Fake Litvak Games Look Like?
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Amherst’s NYBC Caught Up in Lithuanian Government’s Jew-less, Yiddish-less PR Library
Last March 11th, Lithuanian Independence Day, when over a thousand neo-Nazi marchers passed the sign for the government’s Jewish Public Library on the capital’s main boulevard, no member of the library’s staff turned up to oppose the neo-fascists, with even a modest, polite sign of disapproval. The march proceeded with official permits and the participation of several members of parliament identified with the ruling coalition. The Lithuanian Embassy in Washington DC failed to respond to a DC based petition that attracted 2,156 signatories, many from Lithuanian citizens.
Posted in "Jewish" Events as Cover?, Double Games, Events, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory, United States, Vilnius Jewish Public Library, What Do Fake Litvak Games Look Like?, Yiddish Affairs
Tagged Amherst, National Yiddish Book Center (NYBC), Vilnius Public Library
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Landsbergis. Then and Now.
O P I N I O N
Vytautas Landsbergis is one of the giants of the late twentieth century. Along with Poland’s Lech Wałęsa and then-Czechoslovakia’s Václav Havel, Landsbergis led his people from foreign domination to freedom and democracy. Nothing these gentlemen might later on have said or done to their own legacies, particularly in the subsequent century, can detract from their singular achievements in contributing to the downfall of the Soviet Union and the freedom of the subjugated nations on its western periphery.
Posted in Double Games, Dovid Katz, Human Rights, Identity Theft of Litvak Heritage, Legacy of 23 June 1941, LGBTQ Equal Rights, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Roma
Tagged Ambrazevicius Brazaitis, Jewish + Lithuania, Maceva, SLS (Summer Literary Seminars), Vytautas Landsbergis
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Trilingual Memorial Plaque Unveiled on Zhager Town Square
O N – S I T E R E P O R T / O P I N I O N
by Dovid Katz
ZHAGER, northern Lithuania. Over a hundred people gathered here today on the historic town square to unveil a trilingual plaque memorializing the erstwhile Jewish population of thousands in the town, today Žagarė. The event was incorporated into the annual Cherry Festival and suitably entitled “You can’t fudge the history.”
SEE ALSO THE REPORTS BY ROD FREEDMAN AND SARA MANOBLA
THE QUESTION: IS IT THE ONLY TOWN-CENTER IN ALL THE LAND WITH CLEAR AND TRUE WORDS ON THE TRUE FATE OF THE JEWISH POPULATION?
The text — in English, Lithuanian and Yiddish — summarizes the unvarnished history, with prominent reference to local Lithuanian collaboration (though historians will quibble with the use of “some” in place of “many” among other points). It is placed right in the center of town, rather than at a mass grave site deep in the forest; that might well be a first in modern Lithuanian history.
Posted in Commemorations for Destroyed Communities, Defense of Old Jewish Cemeteries and Mass Grave Sites, Dovid Katz, Events, Exotic Jewish Tourism, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, South Africa, The Great SLS About-Face, Vilnius Jewish Public Library, Zháger (Žagarė)
Tagged Azubalis, Cliff Marks, Holocaust in Lithuania, Jewish + Lithuania, Lithuanian shtetl, Litvak, Roger Cohen, Valdas Balciunas, Zagare, Zhager, Zhager (Zagare)
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On the Recent Amateur Treatments of the Role of the Provisional Government of 1941 in the Mass Media
O P I N I O N
by Shimon Alperovich
Authorized translation from Lithuanian by Geoff Vasil of the 26 June 2012 statement issued by Dr. Shimon Alperovich (Simonas Alperavičius), chairperson of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. Posted on the community’s website at: http://www.lzb.lt/en/home/691-recent.html. According to sources in the community, Dr. Alperovich wrote this in response to an article on Delfi.lt by Vidmantas Valiušaitis called “Why are Historians Afraid of the Facts?” (Lithuanian text here), and when Delfi allegedly declined to publish Dr. Alperovich’s response, the community placed it on its own webpage and elsewhere.
Recently there has been an increasing number of internet articles by amateur, non-professional authors without training in history expressing approval for the actions of the 1941 Provisional Government of Lithuania toward the Jews of Lithuania, without regard for the antisemitic actions of that government in the context of the mass murder of the Jews of Lithuania already underway at that time.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community earlier provided an assessment of the Lithuanian Activist Front and the Provisional Government.
It is saddening that the authors of these texts choose to ignore the conclusions of professional historians as well as the findings of the special commission established by decree of former president Valdas Adamkus and operating under the Lithuanian government, which clearly and categorically judges the actions of the LAF and PG thus:
Posted in Antisemitism & Bias, Bold Citizens Speak Out, Collaborators Glorified, History, Legacy of 23 June 1941, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, Media Watch, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Shimon Alperovich (1928 – 2014), Vilnius's Genocide Center and the Genocide Museum it Manages
Tagged Dr. Shimon Alperovich (Simas Alperavicius), Jewish Community of Lithuania, Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF), Provisional Government (PG) of Lihtuania in 1941
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Kaunas University History Professor on the Glorification of Nazi Puppet PM Ambrezevicius-Brazaitis
The following is a translation of today’s Lietuvos rytas publication of an interview with Vytautas Magnus University professor of history and director of its Émigré Studies Center Egidijus Aleksandravičius. The interview was conducted by Valdas Bartaševičius. In the interview’s final paragraph, the professor decries the university administrators who cancelled (under pressure) one of the festive events celebrating reburial of the Nazi puppet prime minister (who personally signed papers ordering the Jewish citizens of his city, Kaunas, into a ghetto, after others were massacred at the Seventh Fort), explaining (see final paragraph, below): “This wasn’t the academic community but a decision of the VMU administration which became frightened that they were going to get hit over the head with a club by the Jews.” The text of the interview as PDF (Lithuanian original in Lrytas.lt).
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Egidijus Aleksandravičius: “By Reburying Brazaitis, we Wanted to Show that the Lithuanian Drama hasn’t Yet Ended”
by Valdas Bartaševičius (Lietuvos rytas)
The mortal remains of the controversial head of the Lithuanian Provisional Government, Juozas Brazaitis, were flown from the United States to Lithuania and reburied Sunday in Kaunas.
The ceremony for the reburial of Brazaitis gave rise to protests by Jews who judge negatively the activities of the Provisional Government of 1941, which published antisemitic statements.
This led to the decision by Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) not to allow a conference on Brazaitis which had been planned there.
“Are Jews justified in being angered by the idea of honoring Brazaitis by reburying his remains in his homeland?” Lietuvos Rytas asked Egidijus Aleksandravičius, a VMU professor and director of the Émigré Studies Center.
Posted in Collaborators Glorified, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory
Tagged Holocaust collaborators glorified in Kaunas, Holocaust in Lithuania, Vhytautas Magnus University, VMU and Jewish issues
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Joint Statement by the Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum on the Ceremonies for the Reburial of Juozas Brazaitis (Ambrazevičius)
The following statement, drafted by the head of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, appeared today on the community’s website, and is republished here with permission. Presumably it will appear also on the website of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum. [Update of 15 September 2012: it has not thus far appeared on the museum’s website.]
On May 19 and 20 of this year rites to re-inter Juozas Brazaitis (Ambarazevčius), the head of the Provisional Government of Lithuania, and commemorations and events in connection with this will take place in Kaunas.
Every person has the right to leave this world maintaining their inherited traditions and religious convictions. The Lithuanian Jewish Community and the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum do not protest and are not expressing dissatisfaction over the return of the mortal remains of Juozas Brazaitis (Ambarazevčius) to Lithuania.
Nonetheless, we are deeply hurt because of the ceremonies and events surrounding the reburial ceremony of this controversial political figure. This figure is connected with the actions of the puppet Provisional Government of Lithuania and with the calls by the Lithuanian Activist Front for inciting the mass murder of Jews which led to the execution of barbaric “justice” by the mob.
Posted in Antisemitism & Bias, Collaborators Glorified, Events, History, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, Museums, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Shimon Alperovich (1928 – 2014)
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Box Coverage to 5 May 2012: Quisling Litvaks?
It seems to some that the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry continues to seek naive Jewish acolytes to help cover for ongoing obfuscation: pursuit of the Double Genocide model of WWII history (e.g. the “Prague Declaration”), while deflecting attention from: whitewash of the murderous role of the Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF); projects to actually honor the killers; state-countenanced antisemitism. “Fake Litvak” initiatives include events and op-eds that omit the living Jewish Community of Lithuania, as well as the genuinely valiant members of the Lithuanian parliament who signed the Seventy Years Declaration and were rapidly trashed by the current foreign minister. . .
♦Embassy anoints vassal “King of Sunflower Litvaks” (9 Nov 2011).
♦H. Felstein & A. Oleck in the Jerusalem Post (23 Nov 2011). Replies: D. Katz (28 Nov 2011; 24 Apr 2012).
♦E. Cassedy in Haaretz (12 April 2012).
♦Sunflower Litvaks do the Windy City (15 April 2012). Reply: DefendingHistory.com (15 April 2012).
♦H. Felstein in the Times of Israel (17 April 2012).
♦E. Cassedy in the Baltimore Sun (18 April 2012). Reply: O. Zabludoff (23 April 2012).
DISCUSSION IN VILNEWS.COM (AS HTM)
BUT THE EMBASSY NEVER REPLIED TO THE 2,156 PEOPLE (INCLUDING MANY HUNDREDS OF LITHUANIAN CITIZENS) WHO PETITIONED FOR THE CANCELLATION OF THE CAPITAL’S NEO-NAZI MARCH ON THE NATION’S INDEPENDENCE DAY. IT CONTINUES… RECRUITING FOR THE RED-BROWN COMMISSION.
Posted in Identity Theft of Litvak Heritage, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory
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“Moderate Litvak” Status is Conferred by his Highness, the Norwegian Property Magnate cum Editor-in-Chief of Vilnius
O P I N I O N
by Dovid Katz
Getty Images
Thought experiment: Imagine an African American in the city of Columbia, South Carolina, being called an extremist or fanatic for peacefully expressing the opinion that it is offensive for the Confederate flag to be hoisted on the grounds of the state capitol building. Imagine him or her being called extremist or fanatic for failing to be grateful that the flag was, after much protest, moved from atop the dome to the mere grounds of the capitol and its design slightly changed to conform to the Confederate Battle Flag (as a “concession”).
Imagine if a snow-white editor of a web journal singled out for David Duke style praise “Moderate African Americans” who just say “Thank you” when a pathetic morsel of PR is offered up by local authorities in the face of mounting international opprobrium.
There would be public outrage at the racism.
Posted in Antisemitism & Bias, Dovid Katz, Free Speech & Democracy, Human Rights, Litvak Affairs, Media Watch, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, Racism, South Africa, Vilna's Great Synagogue & its Courtyard (Shúlheyf), VilNews.com, What Do Fake Litvak Games Look Like?
Tagged Aage Myhre, Holocaust in Lithuania, Norwegian property magnates in Vilnius, VilNews.com
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Baltic “Double Genocide” Discourse Slips into Naive American Jewish Articles on Lithuania
O P I N I O N
by Dovid Katz
Can history be bought up by even a small state’s nationalist government that has talked itself into the idea that revision of history and wide acceptance of that revision is somehow a national cause? It becomes a serious issue when that state is willing to invest heavily in the enterprise, at a time when the targeted influential foreigners are far from the issues at hand and easily manipulated.
Posted in American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Lithuania, Double Games, Double Genocide: The New Form of Holocaust Revisionism & Denial, Dovid Katz, Foreign Ministries: Holocaust Politics Abuse?, Identity Theft of Litvak Heritage, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Opinion, Politics of Memory, United States
Tagged Adrienne Oleck, American Jewish Committee, Antisemitism in Lithuania, Double Genocide, Harley Felstein, Holocaust in Lithuania, Holocaust Obfuscation, Mervyn Danker
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Seventy Years Declaration in European Languages
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THE TEXT
Early history and coverage of the Seventy Years Declaration (Jan-Feb 2012)
Presentation at European Parliament (March 2012)
The documentary film Rewriting History now available free online; launched in Australia (Sept 2012) and in the United States (April 2013)
The film Defending Holocaust History (Spring 2013)
The SYD website
Defending History section on the Seventy Years Declaration
Historians’ mentions: Dan Stone; Gareth Pritchard & Desislava Ganeheva
Posted in 70 Years Declaration, Collaborators Glorified, Double Genocide: The New Form of Holocaust Revisionism & Denial, It Pays to Defend History: Success Over the Years..., Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views
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Holocaust Survivors Picket TA ‘Gala’ Where South African Bigwigs Honor Lithuanian Right-Wing Politician
Kovno Ghetto Survivor and Resistance Hero Joe Melamed, 87, Leads March 5th 2012 Picket Line Against “Sellout Gala” at the Tel Aviv Dan Panorama
MORE IMAGES
Lithuanian Foreign Minister and Brothers Zingeris are Greeted by Protesting Holocaust Survivors
A FIRST-TIME PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LEYVIK HOUSE YIDDISH CULTURE CENTER, THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER ISRAEL OFFICE AND THE ASSOCIATION OF LITHUANIAN JEWS IN ISRAEL
Report on YNET. The Times of Israel. 15min.lt. Itongadol.com. Agencia Judia. Forverts (Yiddish Forward). Background. More.
Holocaust survivors Shlomo Cheskov (left, from Shavl/Šiauliai), and Joseph Melamed (from Kovno/Kaunas) at the Tel Aviv demonstration. Mr. Cheskov’s sign says (in Yiddish) “With our partisan heroes, against neo-Nazism. We are here!” Mr. Melamed’s (in Hebrew) addressed to the South African businessmen diners at the gala dinner: “Dear Diners! Where is your conscience? Your solidarity with Holocaust survivors and resistance fighters and partisans?” Photo: Bella Bryks-Klein.
Posted in A 21st Century Campaign Against Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors?, Boxes, Israel, Joseph Melamed, Kaunas, Lithuania, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, South Africa, Yiddish Affairs
Tagged Audronius Azubalis, Efraim Zuroff, Holocaust in Lithuania, Holocaust Survivors demonstrate againstAzubalis, Israel-Lita, Joseph Melamed, Lithuanian-Jewish relations
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Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors Protest Tel Aviv “Gala”
Kovno Ghetto Survivor and Resistance Hero Joe Melamed, 87, Leads March 5th 2012 Picket Line Against “Sellout Gala” at the Tel Aviv Dan Panorama
Lithuanian Foreign Minister and Brothers Zingeris are Greeted by Protesting Holocaust Survivors
A FIRST-TIME PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LEYVIK HOUSE YIDDISH CULTURE CENTER, THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER ISRAEL OFFICE AND THE ASSOCIATION OF LITHUANIAN JEWS IN ISRAEL
Posted in A 21st Century Campaign Against Lithuanian Holocaust Survivors?, Efraim Zuroff, Israel, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory, South Africa
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Images from a Survivor Demonstration at the Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv
Most counts put at eighteen the number of participants in a small, polite but determined picket line outside the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv this evening. The protesters, Holocaust survivors from Lithuania and their supporters, sported signs in English, Hebrew and Yiddish taking to task the government-manipulated gala evening being held inside the hotel by “Yisrael Lita” at which the Lithuanian foreign minister, a determined opponent of accurate Holocaust comemmoration, was “guest of honor.”
Posted in Events, Israel, Joseph Melamed, Litvak Affairs, News & Views, Politics of Memory
Tagged Audronius Azubalis, Holocaust in Lithuania, Holocaust survivors protest Lithuanian government, Joseph Melamed, Lithuanian-Jewish affairs
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