U.S. diplomat urges Lithuania to abandon conference center plans at Jewish cemetery site

A U.S. diplomat has urged Lithuania to abandon plans to turn Vilnius’s former Concert and Sports Palace into a conference center, saying the building stands on sacred Jewish cemetery grounds.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, made the appeal in an August 10 letter to Culture Minister Lukas Alsys. He called on the minister to oppose a parliamentary resolution and halt plans for a conference center or any other commercial or cultural institution on the site.

“Cemeteries are a sacred place for all humanity,” Kaploun wrote. “No self-respecting government, institution or community organization claiming to represent the interests of Jewish citizens can allow them to be desecrated.” He also urged Lithuania to stand with its Jewish communities, warning that any attempt to desecrate the cemetery would bring shame on the government and face opposition.

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Cemeteries are a sacred place for all humanity. No self-respecting government, institution or community organization claiming to represent the interests of Jewish citizens can allow them to be desecrated. I urge you to oppose the parliamentary resolution and reject any attempts to develop this sacred place for secular purposes.

The dispute follows a spring vote in parliament to approve, at the initial stage, a proposal to designate the Vilnius cultural and sports palace as a nationally protected cultural heritage site. The plan would adapt it for congresses, conferences and cultural events. A separate resolution submitted by 23 lawmakers from several parliamentary groups calls for urgent reconstruction and the creation of a national congress, conference and cultural center, while also commemorating the Sąjūdis movement and other historical events.

The lawmakers support allocating state funds for reconstruction and exploring private financing. The building, constructed in 1971 on the grounds of the former Šnipiškės Jewish cemetery, has stood unused for years. Since 2015, proposals to convert it into a congress center have remained controversial in the Jewish community. Preliminary estimates from the Economy and Innovation Ministry say the center could generate up to 133 million euros a year and create as many as 1,200 jobs.

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I urge Lithuania on this important issue to stand together with its Jewish communities.