| SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE - EUROPE Wiesenthal Center Denounces Tisha B'av Desecration of Jewish Community in Vilnius H.E. Mr. Valdas Adamkus Dear Mr President, Last night's antisemitic profanation of the Jewish community of Lithuania headquarters, in Vilnius, fell on the 9th (Tisha) B'av fast day. For Jews, this commemorates the fall of the HolyTemple in Jerusalem, the exile and, by association, the history of Jew-hatred culminating in the Holocaust. The perpetrators of last night's assault showed a sophisticated knowledge of Jewish history, not characteristic of Skinhead hooligans. The symbols, daubed on the seat of the savingremnant of Lithuanian Jewry, speak loud and clear: swastikas, gallows, "Juden Raus" and the "Towers of Gediminas" national icon. Mr. President, if ever there was a time for your statement, it is now - not only to condemn this attack and severely punish its organizers and agents. It is time to validate the heroes ofthe anti-Nazi resistance and integrate their chapter into the historical narrative of all Lithuanians. The response to the daubing of the Jewish community must be perceived as an indignity to Lithuania itself. Most respectfully, Dr Shimon Samuels |
Mr. President, last Thursday in your Palace, (see photo left), we discussed the