Lithuanian jews

Exploring Vilnius: the Jerusalem of Lithuania and its Jewish past

A walk through Vilnius reveals a city of cobbled streets and cafés layered over Jewish heritage, from the Vilna Gaon’s legacy to the ruins of the Great Synagogue.

|ByJACOB MAOR
THE FORMER Romm Widow printing house, where the famed Vilna Shas edition of the Talmud was printed.
A Zikaron Basalon event held at the Anti-Defamation League office in Jerusalem on April 14, 2026.

From Lithuania to Jerusalem, a Holocaust survivor shares his story with diplomats

At the event organized by Zikaron Basalon and the Anti-Defamation League at the latter’s Jerusalem office, Clevs brought the diplomats back in time to when he was eight years old.

|ByMICHAEL STARR
The Ninth Fort Memorial for Kovno Ghetto Jews executed by the Nazis, in Kaunus (Kovno), Lithuania.

From Vilna to Eretz Yisrael: One Holocaust survivor's journey to Israel

Dov Levin escaped the Kovno Ghetto, fought in the forests, and crossed war-torn Europe alone to reach Israel - documenting every step of a journey defined by loss, resilience, and purpose.

|ByDAVID GEFFEN
Dawn of Nemunas Party leader Remigijus Zemaitaitis attends a press conference after general election in Vilnius, Lithuania October 28, 2024.

Lithuania ruling party to stay in coalition with political ally convicted of hatred against Jews

The founder of the populist Nemunas Dawn party, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, was fined 5,000 euros ($5,800) last week for a series of social media posts against Jews and downplaying the Holocaust.

|ByREUTERS

Lithuanian bill would ban books critical of the country

The proposed law is said to be "one of the most blatant and harshest" laws curtailing free speech in Europe.

APRIL 3, 2018ByJTA
Vilnius, Lithuania

From darkness to the light

Lithuanian Jews helped build the country, and their legacy remains an integral part of Lithuanian history.

FEBRUARY 12, 2018ByLINAS LINKEVICIUS
A RED ROSE is pictured during the March of the Living to honor Holocaust victims in Paneriai, near Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2012.

Japan PM Abe honors 'Japanese Schindler' in Lithuania

The visit to Lithunia is the first by a Japanese prime minister and comes as Japan seeks greater cooperation with countries that were former adversaries in World War Two.

JANUARY 14, 2018ByREUTERS
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits a former home of Chiune Sugihara, a Jew-saving Japanese diplomat in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Lithuanian court nullifies Jewish community elections

The Dec. 21 ruling is the latest development in the fight against what many Lithuanian Jews consider a power grab by the community’s president, Faina Kukliansky.

DECEMBER 28, 2017ByJTA
Vilnius, Lithuania

Who will lead the Haredim?

The future of Haredim after the passing of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman.

DECEMBER 13, 2017ByJEREMY SHARON
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather during the funeral ceremony of prominent spiritual leader Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, who died on Tuesday at the age of 104, in Bnei Brak

Memories from the ashes

Max Leibowitz recalls his roots in Lithuania

NOVEMBER 29, 2017ByPETER BAILEY
A sign in Yiddish, Hebrew and Lithuanian saying,‘In this place the Hitlerist murderers and their local helpers in the year of 1941 murdered 250 Jews, children, women and men’

Writer censored for accusing Lithuanian hero of Holocaust crimes

The recall of Vanagaitė’s books came one day after she revealed that she is in a relationship with Efraim Zuroff, an Israeli Nazi hunter

OCTOBER 30, 2017ByCNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
Vilnius, Lithuania

Thousands of Jewish documents lost during the Holocaust discovered

Among the finds are letters written by Sholem Aleichem, a postcard by Marc Chagall, and poems and manuscripts by Chaim Grade.

OCTOBER 25, 2017ByJTA
YIVO unveils lost Jewish documents thought to have been destroyed during the Holocaust

Lithuanian FM: ‘Holocaust memory is important, but ties with Israel are the future’

Lithuania has been a staunch diplomatic ally for Israel, particularly at the UN and the within the EU.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017ByTOVAH LAZAROFF
LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Linas Linkevicius presents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a replica of a little girl from a Holocaust memorial in Lithuania during their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday.

‘Hatikva’ moments

Isn’t it all just bizarre? A “Hatikva moment” deluxe.

MAY 25, 2017ByPAMELA PELED
Sylvan Adams is an avid amateur cyclist whose medal haul includes five golds at Maccabiah games