Wiesenthal Center Director for Eastern Europe Urges Boycott of Lithuania at Demonstration Against Planned Law Which Exonerates Entire Nation of Complicity in Holocaust Crimes

Tel Aviv - The Simon Wiesenthal Center Director of Eastern European Affairs, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, was one of the speakers who addressed a demonstration held here on Friday in front of theLithuanian embassy against a proposed bill which would exonerate the Lithuanian nation and its government of any responsibility or complicity in Holocaust crimes. In his speech, Zuroff called fora boycott of the cultural events planned in 2020 by the Lithuanian government to honor the revered Jewish sage the Vilna Gaon. if the bill is passed.

According to Zuroff:

"This bill constitutes an outrageous distortion and denial of the historical reality of the Holocaust in Lithuania, where all strata of local society participated in the mass murder of 96.4% ofthe Jews who lived under the Nazi occupation and the plunder of their property and belongings. Such a bill is an unforgivable insult to the victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. Every effortmust be mounted to prevent this colossal desecration of their memory, including even the boycott of events to honor the Gaon who also would certainly have been murdered had he lived in Lithuaniaduring World War II."

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over400,000 member families in the The United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin AmericanParliament (Parlatino).