News

On 8 April in Paneriai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and members of the Israel’s Lithuanian Jewish Community from Vilnius region, participating in the fifth Jewish Survivors March, gathered to pay homage to the victims of the Holocaust.

Vice-Chairman of Seimas Gediminas Kirkilas, Ambassador of Israel to Lithuania Hagit Ben-Yaakov, Vice-President of Litvaks from Vilna community in Israel and organiser of the March of Living, Mickey Kantor, and Vice-President of the Jewish community of Lithuania Faina Kukliansky welcomed the participants. Lithuanian politicians, diplomats, journalists, members of the Lithuanian Jewish community and representatives of the diplomatic corps residing in Lithuania also took part in the event.

Ambassador H.Ben-Yaakov stressed that in 1948, the State of Israel was established out of the ashes of the Holocaust. This year we will celebrate its 65th anniversary and the 21st anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Israel. According to the Ambassador, excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries were established during these years, and the commemoration of the Holocaust is one of the important issues on the bilateral relations agenda.

After the official ceremony in Paneriai, the participants visited the Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, where the Righteous among the Nations awards were presented by Israeli Ambassador H.Ben-Yaakov.

This year the participants of the traditional March of Living visited important historical, religious and cultural sites in Vilnius, Kaunas, Kupiškis, where Jewish communities had been living before the Second World War. They also met with Lithuanian officials.