It was a Litvak night in more ways than one. Aside from heads of diplomatic missions and a few other guests, almost everyone present was either born in Lithuania or had roots in Lithuania, such as the representative of the government, third-generation Israeli and Deputy Transportation Minister Rabbi Uri Maklev, who traces his roots to Lithuania and belongs to the Lithuanian branch of the United Torah Judaism party in the Knesset.
MK Simon Davidson, the head of the Knesset’s Israel-Lithuania Parliamentary friendship group, was born in Lithuania, as was Yona Bartal, deputy director of the President’s Office during the presidency of Shimon Peres and founder and executive director of the Peres Circle at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. Both she and Davidson were born in Vilnius, which in pre-Holocaust times was known as the Jerusalem of the North.
All three, as well as many other people of Lithuanian birth or descent, were gathered at the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People this week to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Lithuanian Independence, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, who is regarded as the greatest Lithuanian artist of all time.
Lithuanian Ambassador Audrius Bruzga delivered a longer address than usual because there is so much Jewish history in Lithuania and because so many of Israel’s pioneers and national leaders were born in Lithuania. Bruzga’s wife, Imsre, wore a Lithuanian costume, as did some other women connected to the Lithuanian Embassy.
This is Bruzga’s second stint in Israel, albeit the first as ambassador. He initially served in Israel in the early years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Lithuanian Embassy will host or co-host numerous events throughout the year in conjunction with YIVO and other institutions and in celebration of Ciurlionis. Bruzga invited all present to congregate again the following evening at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to see the film Secrets of the Great Synagogue of Vilna at the “Vilnius – Then and Now” symposium.
At the reception at the ANU Museum, the ambassador, in his opening remarks, spoke of Lithuania’s breakaway from the former Soviet Union and his country’s policy of democracy, peace, and friendship with other countries.
Yet, in the period in which Lithuania and some of its neighbors have achieved democracy, the world has not become a better place, he noted, and “We are confronted with the evils of the past.” In this context, he commented on political changes in Europe and also underscored that “after October 7, Israel is not the same country.”
After calling for the immediate release of the hostages still in Gaza, Bruzga turned to Ukraine, declaring, “We all have to defend Ukraine,” and remarking that after three years of fighting, the world has lost the sense of who is right and who is wrong. “We can no longer tell who is the victim and who is the villain.”
Regarding YIVO, Bruzga delved into its history and wealth of information on the culture and heritage of East European Jewry. YIVO was founded in 1925 in Berlin and Vilnius as the Yiddish Scientific Institute, with the help of Albert Einstein and other intellectuals. It existed and thrived in Vilnius until the Second World War, and in 1940, it relocated to New York, where it is permanently headquartered.
YIVO owns the single largest and most comprehensive collection of materials on East European Jewry and its influence in the world. Some 24 million items covering all aspects of Jewish culture are in the YIVO archives, including 400,000 books in all European languages. YIVO also hosts a variety of cultural and educational programs.
Maklev, who is an alumnus of the famed Ponovezh Yeshiva – named like many other Lithuanian-style yeshivot in Israel after the great yeshivot of Lithuania, including Kelm, Kovno, Slobodka, Telshe – thanked the Lithuanian government for its support for Israel after October 7 and for or its firm stand against antisemitism.
Among the areas of cooperation between the two countries that he mentioned are innovation, cyber threats, climate control, education, culture, economics, and health. Nonetheless, there is potential for more, he said.
He, too, called for the instant release of the hostages, who he said have been abused, starved, and tortured.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation on security matters and commended the Lithuanian government for recognizing the dangers posed by Iran. It must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, he said, adding that Tehran must also be prevented from disrupting stability in the region.
Davidson, a Yesh Atid MK, recently led a Knesset delegation, to Lithuania where the Israelis met with their Lithuanian counterparts and members of the Jewish communities in Vilnius and Kaunas. Davidson described the trip as a powerful and emotional experience.
A year of milestone anniversaries
■ YIVO IS not the only institution celebrating a milestone anniversary. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is also celebrating its centenary; the United Nations will celebrate its 80th anniversary in October; the Israel Museum is celebrating its 60th anniversary; and the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
In the latter case, a delegation of major Jewish leaders from around the world came to Israel on a four-day mission that showcased MJB’s critical role in shaping policy and improving lives.
The delegation explored Israel’s pressing social challenges and MJB-led solutions, from child trauma and elderly care in the South to emergency medical response in the North. Meetings in Jerusalem focused on employment and workforce integration, culminating in a special gathering with President Isaac Herzog and a gala celebration of MJB’s legacy of impact.
At their meeting with President Herzog, members of the delegation expressed their solidarity and commitment to Israel.
Herzog's ancestral service
■ EVERY PRESIDENT of Israel gets to see much more of the human mosaic of the country than anyone else, but President Herzog does more so due to the legacy of public service left by his parents and grandparents.
In addition to all the invitations he receives to attend important conferences, milestone anniversaries, and other significant events, are those that pay tribute to one or more of his close relatives. He has such a packed back-to-back schedule that when these latter events are close at hand in Jerusalem, they start early in the morning before 9.
That was the case on Monday when he and his wife, Michal, visited Emunah College for the opening of the Hazon V’Emunah exhibition inspired by the president’s paternal grandparents Rabbi Yitzchak haLevi and Sarah Herzog.
The title could refer to Emunah, the religious women’s Zionist organization, which, among its other activities, supports the college or could be translated as Vision and Faith. Either is appropriate.
The exhibition was part of the organization’s International Women’s Day events. World Emunah was founded by the president’s grandmother, and his grandfather was the first chief rabbi of the nascent State of Israel.
Works on display represented the creativity of students studying confrontational communication.
Adi Angel, who guides these students, emphasized the connection between the deep faith that steered the path and activities of Rabbi Herzog and his wife.
President Herzog said he was very moved that his grandparents had been chosen as the source of inspiration for the exhibition. His grandfather, he said, had been a great authority on Halacha and a great statesman to whom all the who’s who of the state turned for advice. His grandmother, he added, has been a model for him.
Emunah College director Dr. Efrat Grossman was certain that if Rabbi and Rabbanit Herzog could see the wonderful creations they had inspired, they would derive great pleasure.
Israeli celebrity chefs
■ SEVERAL OF Israel’s celebrity chefs who own restaurants have a kosher menu in one and a non-kosher menu in the other, but, for the most part, the two or more restaurants have different names.
However, there are some chains in which the kosher and the non-kosher restaurants have the same name, and unless the non-kosher restaurant has items like prawns, oysters, bacon and eggs, and ham and cheese sandwiches on the menu, the kosher consumer, who has dined in the kosher restaurant of that chain, may be totally unaware that he or she is eating forbidden food.
Although some people might frown at the thought of non-kosher food in the Holy Land, there is no reason to ban it in a country that is presumed to be a democracy.
But there is something wrong when someone who is used to eating in the kosher restaurant of a particular chain is unaware that the chain also operates non-kosher eateries under the same brand name.
That’s the case of The Grill Room in Tel Aviv, which is owned by the Dan Hotels chain and operated by Chef Roi Antebi, the executive chef of the King David Hotel, which has a nearly identical American-style Grill Room in Jerusalem, which happens to be kosher.
The fault lies less with the Dan chain than with the kosher certification division of the Chief Rabbinate.
If kashrut was properly supervised in Israel, and the rabbinate would crack down on those enterprises that run kosher and non-kosher under the same title, fewer people would mistakenly consume food they would not ordinarily touch.
It’s not going to kill such people in the literal sense, but it could have a disastrous effect on them psychologically if they find out after they’ve already eaten.
greerfc@gmail.com