Around the world plans got underway last weekend to hold
tefilloh gatherings and protests against the
Lithuanian government for its ongoing desecration of the
ancient cemetery in Vilna.
Last week the first in a series of protest and
tefilloh gatherings was held in Brussels outside
international institutions the Lithuanian government belongs
to, including the European Commission. Hundreds of European
Jews headed by rabbonim and public figures from Antwerp held
a demonstration outside the European Union offices. The
demonstrators carried signs decrying the desecration of the
ancient cemetery and violations of human rights and
commitments made by the Lithuanian government. Hundreds of
demonstrators recited selichos and Tehillim and
rabbonim issued remarks to participants and reporters
condemning the terrible acts that have riled world Jewry.
Dozens of television crews and newspaper reporters showed
keen interest in the protest, which was covered widely in
Europe, especially in Lithuania.
Meanwhile representatives of the Committee for the
Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (CPJCE) met in
the EU offices with the Lithuanian government's
representatives to the EU. At the same time Committee
Chairman HaRav Eliakim Schlesinger and members of the Jewish
community of Vilna met with representatives of the Lithuanian
government on the site of the desecrated cemetery and at the
Vilna Municipality.
During the meeting, HaRav Yonoson Guttentag of Manchester, a
member of the CER's Permanent Committee, said the presence of
rabbonim from all of Europe at this meeting and the
enlistment of members of the governments of Britain, the US,
Germany and many other countries against the excavations
reveal the great importance all of humanity, especially the
Jewish religion, attribute to those lying in their graves.
"Even if the Communists removed all external trace from the
area of the cemetery, that does nothing to alter the sanctity
of the site and its historical importance. You are violating
the rights of the Jewish people, human rights, for each and
every grave desecrated by the bulldozers with the backing of
the Lithuanian government tramples the rights of the person
who purchased his burial plot in accordance with the law, and
nobody has the right to trample him under the bulldozers'
teeth."
HaRav Guttentag, who was a member of the committee of experts
the Lithuanian government set up several months ago, told the
Lithuanian representative he does not understand how a
government that belongs to international institutions and
receives recognition in EU institutions scorned the committee
it set up itself by not adopting the opinion of the experts
it brought to the site to assess the situation. Rather than
abiding by the committee's unequivocal opinion, the
destructive construction work continues full force at the
ancient cemetery in Vilna.
Lithuania's EU representative told participants at the
meeting that he understands the hearts of world Jewry in
light of the destruction of the holy cemetery and believes in
their human rights and the importance of the cemetery from a
historical standpoint as well. "I myself am the son of a
mother who grew up in a Jewish home and I feel an obligation
to assist in conveying the message to my government," he
said.
Due to staunch international opposition following the
desecration of the cemetery the Lithuanian government set up
a committee that recommended the setup of an expert committee
to determine how to proceed. The experts appointed to the
committee include HaRav Eliakim Schlesinger and HaRav Aharon
Dovid Dunner, representing the CPJCE, HaRav Yonoson Nachum
Guttentag, representing the CER, and experts and engineers
from the US and Israel. This committee unanimously determined
that all construction work at the cemetery should halt
immediately until the boundaries of the cemetery are set by
experts equipped with radar detectors and under the
supervision of the CER and the CPJCE. The experts also
demanded efforts be made to locate the dirt already excavated
in order to search through it.
HaRav Guttentag said the reason the committee decided to
conduct this test is that during the committee meetings and
the field inspection disputes arose regarding the boundaries
of the cemetery, currently based on maps alone since the
communist regime covered the entire area with dirt, grass,
flooring and structures. "In practice they are continuing
with the construction work and simply mocking us and the
entire Jewish world. They gathered us together from around
the world. We sat down for hours. We went out to the field.
The issue is too serious for a government that belongs to the
European Union to relate this way to its own committee. We
demand the immediate implementation of the committee's
conclusions."
