DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇱 Israel /Energy & Infrastructure

US antisemitism envoy pressures Lithuania to stop construction on Vilnius Jewish cemetery

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • US antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun urged Lithuania to stop renewed development plans at the historic Snipiskes Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius.
  • Kaploun warned that thousands of Jewish graves and human remains may still lie beneath the site, which already contains a Soviet-era sports palace.
  • He called on Lithuania to reject a pending parliamentary resolution and prevent the site from being converted for commercial or cultural use.

US antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun has intervened in the dispute over Vilnius's historic Snipiskes Jewish Cemetery, warning Lithuania against allowing renewed development at the site.

risk legitimizing the ongoing and shameful attempts by members of the Seimas to further desecrate it.

· Yehuda KaplounThe US envoy warned that official statements could encourage further development at the cemetery.

In an August 10 letter to Culture Minister Lukas Alsys, Kaploun objected to proposals involving the former Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, a Soviet-era building located within the burial ground. The cemetery, also known as Piramont or Shnipishok, served Vilnius's Jewish community from the late 16th century until its official closure in 1831.

The site suffered extensive desecration during the Soviet occupation. Headstones were leveled, and the sports palace was built over the grounds in the 1970s. Preservation advocates and religious authorities nevertheless say thousands of Jewish graves and human remains remain beneath the surface.

would send a clear signal to Jews around the world that not only can cemeteries be desecrated in Lithuania but that the rich, 600-year history of the Jews in this country before the Nazi regime is meaningless.

· Yehuda KaplounHe described the message he said a conference center project would send if approved.

Kaploun said official remarks suggesting that the site's future remained open “risk legitimizing the ongoing and shameful attempts by members of the Seimas to further desecrate it.” He warned that moving ahead with a conference center project “would send a clear signal to Jews around the world that not only can cemeteries be desecrated in Lithuania but that the rich, 600-year history of the Jews in this country before the Nazi regime is meaningless.”

Cemeteries are a sacred ground for all of mankind.

· Yehuda KaplounHe invoked religious and universal principles while urging Lithuania to protect the burial site.

He urged the Lithuanian government to oppose the pending parliamentary resolution and reject any attempt to convert the Soviet-era structure for commercial or cultural purposes. “Cemeteries are a sacred ground for all of mankind,” Kaploun wrote. He ended by invoking the biblical story of Cain, saying, “Now, the blood of every Lithuanian Jew denied a proper burial during the Holocaust cries out to us as well.”

Now, the blood of every Lithuanian Jew denied a proper burial during the Holocaust cries out to us as well.

· Yehuda KaplounHe concluded his appeal by invoking biblical language and Holocaust victims.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog