Save Vilna
Combating antisemitism, advancing Jewish education, fostering and preserving Jewish heritage.
18/07/2024
Where is this going?
Lithuania is surrounded by Russia and Belarus | Who's Next? Ep.1 Putin will not stop in Ukraine. This was reported by the intelligence services of Germany, the Baltic countries and Poland. But who will be next? One of the ...
18/07/2024
18/07/2024
The Jewish mother who became a crime boss in Gilded Age New York "Marm" Mandelbaum is the subject of a new biography by Margalit Fox, the celebrated obituary writer.
17/07/2024
Dr Phil's Exclusive Interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | Dr. Phil Primetime Dr. Phil sits down with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, for an in-depth interview. Join us as we discuss the war between Isreal and Hamas a...
28/11/2023
The Maccabian lion roars.
04/10/2023
It was the summer of 1938. For Lise Meitner, a Jewish scientist in Germany, the time had come to escape. Emigrating was no longer an option. A group of scientist friends who had become increasingly worried for her safety assembled a plan to smuggle Lise out of the country.
On July 12th, with two small suitcases of summer clothes in hand and accompanied by a male Dutch scientist, she made it to the Netherlands by train. Then a few weeks later, to Sweden. Where she settled and, while struggling with adjusting to her new life, continued to work.
Approaching sixty years old at this time, she had dedicated her life to science and friendship. Shy as a child, she grew up enthused by math and science, a researcher in mind almost from the beginning. By eight, she kept records of observations in a notebook. And after years of private schooling, as her hometown of Vienna did not permit women to receive a higher education during most of her teenage years, Lise graduated college and then earned a doctorate in physics.
After earning her doctorate, Lise became a physics professor. In the work she found purpose. And while she would deal with discrimination throughout her career, she became an essential contributor to the research in her field.
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Sources: Portrait of Lise taken in 1906 / Image reprinted in Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age with the caption "Shy Lise the doctoral candidate, 1906, Vienna.” (Courtesy Master and Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge, England) / Wikimedia Commons / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner
05/09/2023
https://youtu.be/cMGpCeVyyRw?si=eVRFX9PY7CDFeYLY
It was 1940, and the N**i regime had tightened its stranglehold on Europe. In Poland, Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance, hatched an unthinkable plan. His objective involved not just intelligence gathering but also the clandestine formation of a resistance group within the camp, with the audacious aim of inciting an uprising. Pilecki was arrested during a Warsaw roundup and was sent to Auschwitz, where he was assigned the prisoner number 4859. He quickly set about organizing an underground network, recruiting fellow inmates and gathering information on the camp's operations.
Auschwitz served as a harrowing crucible of human suffering. Pilecki's reports, smuggled out through daring means, were among the first to reveal the scale of the atrocities committed there. He documented the gas chambers, the medical experiments, and the relentless, dehumanizing conditions that inmates faced. Despite their gravity, Pilecki's dispatches encountered a wall of Allied incredulity and inertia. The world seemed unwilling to believe the extent of the N**i's barbarism, and Pilecki's pleas for intervention fell on deaf ears.
The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz: The Story of Captain Witold Pilecki #humanspirit Discover the incredible life of Captain Witold Pilecki, a Polish resistance hero who voluntarily entered the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp to expose...
24/07/2023
A Heart Stopping Escape: How a Little Girl Outsmarted the Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup Annette Muller was a young Jewish girl when her family was targeted during the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup. in Paris, Her father, realizing the danger, instructed An...
04/07/2023
Forged in Fire: The Legacy of the Jewish Partisans
As the war ravaged Europe, Abrashe Szabrinski emerged as a beacon of hope for countless Jewish people facing unimaginable horrors. With unyielding determination, he united a group of brave fighters and formed The Jewish Partisans, a resistance movement dedicated to sabotaging N**i operations and protecting the lives of innocent civilians.
"Forged in Fire" showcases the unbreakable spirit of Abrashe Szabrinski and his comrades as they employ guerrilla tactics, smuggling weapons, and orchestrating daring acts of sabotage. Their courage and ingenuity become the lifeblood of a resistance movement that inspires hope and ignites a flame of defiance against N**i tyranny.
A Legacy Project.
See: www.legacy.ngo
https://youtu.be/tpoPKDUKZpg
Forged in Fire: The Legacy of the Jewish Partisans in WW2 As the war ravaged Europe, Abrashe Szabrinski emerged as a beacon of hope for countless Jewish people facing unimaginable horrors. With unyielding determinat...
30/04/2023
What was the legacy of Anne Frank?
The Legacy of Anne Frank Anne Frank is famous for her diary which she wrote while she and her family were in hiding during the N**i occupation of the Netherlands. This is documentary...
Resistance & Redemption: The Inspiring Story of Luci Aubrac
Rising from the Ashes: The Treblinka Uprising.
Bravery, sacrifice, and hope in the face of horrors: the story of the Treblinka uprising.
30/01/2023
“We have a noose around our necks, when the pressure lets up for a moment, a scream escapes.”
Gustawa Jarecka is the likely author of these words, which appear in a harrowing account of the Great Action, a 1942 deportation wave in which German authorities sent more than 260,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to their deaths in just two months.
As a member of the underground organization Oneg Shabbat, Gustawa and her colleagues committed themselves to documenting the fate of Warsaw’s Jews in a secret archive.
She wrote, “These notes arise out of an instinctive yearning to leave a trace of ourselves, out of a despair that at moments wants to cry out, and out of a desire to justify our lives that continue amidst deadly uncertainty."
Gustawa managed to avoid deportation during this first wave, but when the Germans resumed deportations in January 1943, she was not so lucky. She and her two children were three of approximately 5,000 Jews rounded up by German SS and police units during the second wave of deportations.
During this wave, a small group of Jewish fighters armed with pistols fought back. Afterwards, ghetto residents began preparing for a larger uprising should German authorities attempt to deport the remaining inhabitants.
Sadly, Gustawa and her children would not live to see the famous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. They were murdered in the Holocaust. Gustawa was 34 years old; her sons were 12 and 4.
Photo: Jewish Historical Institute
24/11/2022
Jordon Peterson on Israel.
Jordan Peterson's Inspiring Thoughts on Israel Jordan Peterson's Inspiring Thoughts on Israel
23/02/2022
A proposal which outlines the restoration of the Snipiskes Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania has been released. The plan suggests restoration with the framework of Jewish law. The initiative is expected to attract strong interest from heritage tourist operators and educators, active in the area of Lithuanian history. https://www.savevilna.org/post/cemetery-restoration-proposal
Snipiskes Cemetery Restoration Proposal Goes Public The proposal is intended to stimulate further discussion, relating to issues driving a future vision for the Jewish cemetery.
22/02/2022
Save Vilna restoration proposal for Snipiskes cemetery goes public. Interview with Dr. Anthony Harper https://youtu.be/F8TMbCYB680
Vilnius Lithuania Jewish Cemetery Update Vilnius, Lithuania Jewish Cemetery spokesman Grant de Graf joins White House Correspondent Dr. Harper February 21, 2022 to share the latest update in protect...
24/01/2022
150-strong Jewish delegation urges Lithuanian government to restore Jewish cemetery
150-Strong Jewish Delegation Appeals for Snipiskes Cemetery Restoration Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel makes heartfelt appeal to Lithuanian authorities, to permit the restoration of Snipiskes Jewish cemetery.
04/01/2022
Restoration remains priority for Snipiskes Jewish cemetery in Vilnius Lithuania - as reported by Jonathan Harounoff
https://www.savevilna.org/post/restoration-remains-priority
Restoration Remains Priority A litany of memoranda and international agreements preclude the Lithuanian government from building further on sacred ground.
Lithuanian trio set to lead Baltic state to success
Lithuanian trio set to lead Baltic state to success.
savevilna.org How the Lithuanian government handle the Sports Palace cemetery controversy, will in many ways be a bell-weather, a barometer, for how effective they will lead the Republic of Lithuania.
How I became lead plaintiff in a class-action suit to protect a Jewish cemetery
The story of a man's personal quest to save a Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania.
savevilna.org A personal account by Itzik Pines about his role as lead plaintiff in the class action suit to stop the desecration of the Shipishok cemetery in Vilnius
Lithuanians Protest Desecration of Jewish Cemetery
Lithuanians Protest Desecration of Jewish Cemetery
savevilna.org Lithuanians from all walks of life came together recently, on the banks of the Neris river to protest the Turto Bankas’ plan, to develop a conference center on the 500-year old Shnipishok cemetery.
Jewish Perspective on Cemetery Preservation
Rabbi Eliezar Einhorn speaks about the importance of preserving a Jewish cemetery from desecration, in the framework of a Jewish perspective.
We will not eat caviar while our Jewish brethren are being cattle-carred to the gas chambers.
We will not eat caviar while our Jewish brethren are being cattle-carred to the gas chambers
savevilna.org Proclaiming the year 2020 as the year of the Vina Gaon was an amazing idea. It had the makings of being a fitting tribute to a rabbinical giant such as the Vilna Gaon.
White House Reports Slams Lithuania's Antisemitism
White House reporter, Dr. Anthony Harper is interviewed by Sivan Abelson of Newsrael, during which they discussed the antisemitic actions of the Lithuanian government to desecrate the Old Vilna Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Israeli Knesset members say plan would seriously offend the Jewish nation
Israeli Knesset Members appealed to Lithuanian President to nix conference center on Jewish cemetery
savevilna.org Several Israeli Knesset signed off on an appeal to the President of Lithuania urging his government to cancel its plan to build a conference center on the Shipishok cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania. The MKs included, MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, MK Yair Lapid, MK Dov Khenin, MK Michael Malkieli, MK Yinon....
Chief Rabbi of Israel warned President of Lithuania against Sports Palace development
Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, warned President of Lithuania against Sports Palace development
savevilna.org JERUSALEM, October 5, 2020 - In a letter addressed to the President of Lithuania, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, urged the the President to terminate their government's plan to develop a conference center on the Shnipishok cemetery, the original resting place of the Vilna Gaon. Rabbi La...
Press Secretary Underscores President Trump's Opposition to Cemetery Desecration in Vilnius
Dr Anthony Harper, White House press reporter interviews Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern, who restates President Trump's opposition to the proposed development of a conference center on a Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuanian
Chief Rabbi of South African urges Lithuanian President to terminate development on Jewish cemetery
South African Chief Rabbi appeals to Lithuanian President to stop desecration of Jewish cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania.
savevilna.org Jewish law forbids the construction of any public facility over a Jewish cemetery.
The Battle Against Desecration of a Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania.
According to Jewish Community records, the year 1487 was the earliest dated gravestone at the Old Jewish Cemetery at Piramónt, in the Shnípeshok district of Vilnius (Šnipiškės). Lithuania is a NATO and European Union member.
Purchased by the Jewish community with royal permission as freehold property, to serve as the eternal resting place for their deceased, it was expanded over the centuries by further adjacent land purchases, with interments in the range of fifty to seventy thousand. Included are the holy graves of great Torah giants such as the immediate and extended family of the Gaon of Vilna, R. Abraham Danzig (famed author of the "Chayei Adam”), R. Moshe Rivkes (author of the "Be’er Hagolah") and hundreds more. It reached capacity in 1831, but a multitude of graves were maintained by descendants up to the N**i invasion of 1941.
After the war, fearful of the total annihilation of the cemetery by a hostile Soviet Union, which forcibly incorporated Lithuania as a constituent republic, Jewish religious leaders arranged to move the remains of the holy Gaon of Vilna and adjacent graves to the new Jewish cemetery at Sudervės Street in the Saltoniškės district. These gravestones were plundered for construction use, and in the 1960s, the regime initiated development of the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports (“Sporto Rumai”) in the center of the cemetery, in stark Soviet style. It opened its doors in 1971, and seated 4,400. After Lithuania became independent in 1991, the building was left to deteriorate and was abandoned to complete disrepair in 2004.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Lithuanian and municipal authorities permitted the er****on of two apartment complexes (with commercial areas) on the site of the cemetery, despite international protests. The majority of the cemetery is still intact, and a 2008 ground radar survey showed thousands of graves, indicating that the two buildings are within the cemetery perimeter. Shockingly, the earth and bones excavated for that construction were not made available to the Jewish community for reinterment.
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