The Shabad statue in Vilnius’s old town (wartime territory of the Vilna Ghetto) was defaced in a paint attack. Report on Delfi.   Photo by Kirilas Cachovskis.

The sculpture, unveiled in May 2007, commemorates Dr Tsemakh Shabad (1864-1935), a near-legendary figure in Vilna Jewish lore.

Upsetting as such events are, it was rather more painful for the Jewish community when the former director of the ‘Litvak Foundation‘, who had worked tirelessly to organize the monument, came out with a highly disturbing article last summer (see below, 2009 → 16 July).