Vilnius – Jewish groups are appealing to the Lithuanian Government to halt the excavation and desecration of WWII era mass grave in Šiauliai. Local authorities were quoted in the press that they decided to excavate the remains – found during road construction – and conduct anthropological testing, which is prohibited under the Halachah.
“In accordance with Halacha — Jewish Law — and indeed, common human values of all humankind, and the ethical standards of the European Union, the people murdered by the Nazis deserve to be left intact where they perished,” Rabbi Chaim Burshtein, Lithuanian Chief Rabbi, wrote in a statement. “I ask you to immediately halt the works underway to disturb and move the remains of these hundreds of victims of the Lithuanian Holocaust, and to preserve the grave precisely where it stands.”
The plea of Rabbi Burshtein, the respected Chief Rabbi of Lithuania, created an outcry worldwide. Rabbinic Organizations and famous institutions – including the Central Rabbinical Congress of USA and Canada – contacted the Lithuanian authorities to halt the desecration of this holy site, in accordance with the ruling of the country’s leading Rabbi.
Asra Kadisha – the organization that is active to protect Jewish cemeteries worldwide and is currently fighting to stop the renovation of a sports palace in the Snipisek Jewish cemetery – contacted US authorities to intervene to preserve the mass graves. “Unfortunately, there is a total disconnect between the words and deeds of Lithuanian authorities. At a time when they are forming commissions and organizing conferences to preserve the Jewish heritage, the opposite is happening on the ground. We appeal to the Lithuanian authorities to fulfill their various commitments to honor and fully preserve the little that was left from the once-glorious Vilnius and Lithuanian Jewry, their cemeteries and rest-places,” said Rabbi Lazar Stern, NY Chairman of Asra Kadisha.
“We call upon Lithuanian descendants and world-Jewry to contact the Lithuanian Embassies in their respective countries and the Lithuanian government to ask them to fully preserve the Jewish rest-places in their country – including the mass grave in Šiauliai, and cancel plans to renovate and reestablish an entertainment center in the Snipisek Jewish cemetery,” Rabbi Stern concluded.
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2 Responses
Very nice. But in Eretz Hakodesh, in Yerushalayim ir Hakodesh, Har Hazeisim is allowed to be desecrated & vandalized and nobody gives a —-! Europe is the new “in” and is much more important than Eretz Yisroel. Eretz Yisroel is Governed and controlled by “Jews” and with their inaction, encourage & welcome Jewish cemetery desecration! Ah, its not the “Heimisha” section anyway so who cares? Outrageous!
To #1: you are right, but the Chief Rabbi of Lithuania and the Central Rabbinical Congress of USA and Canada do not have jurisdiction in Eretz Hakodesh. On the other hand, the Asra Kadisha organization is based here and definitely should be more involved in securing the cemeteries on Har Hazeisim. Incidentally and unfortunately, graves in “heimishe” sections have also be desecrated. Hashem yishmor. There have actually been some concrete steps taken in recent weeks to improve security on Har Hazeisim. Im yirtzeh Hashem, it will be a step in the right direction.