heritage

Awhile back I wrote a diary about a Jewish cemetary in Vilnius, Lithuania, that was threatened with destruction due to development. It proved a controversial diary and I have gotten any emails and comments over the months about this cemetery. The comments seemed to break down into two categories:

1. Non-Jewish Lithuanians (some who lived in Vilnius) who claimed there WAS no Jewish cemetery there, that it had been destroyed by the Soviets, and that the story was in fact a lie.

2. Jews NOT from Lithuania who insist the story is true.

I have been on and off trying to follow up this story to find out the truth.

Choral synagogue in Vilnius

An old photo of the Jewish quarter.

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 Vilnius and had a profound effect on yeshiva teaching. There even seems to be a modern Lithuanian museum dedicated to the Vilna Gaon.

[UPDATE: There is an update to this diary here]

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)