News

(New York, NY) –  The Lithuanian parliament has designated 2020 as the Year of the Vilnius Gaon and the History of the Jews of Lithuania.  In preparation of this very important commemoration to cherish the history and the cultural heritage of Lithuanian Jews, the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania, in partnership with the Lithuanian Culture Institute, the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché in the USA, the Center for Jewish Studies at Hunter College and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, is pleased to announce the first Litvak days in New York.

The program of the Litvak Days in New York:

On Thursday, September 4, 2019 7:00 pm, the Hunter College, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger Center (Room 706, Hunter East), will host the lecture and conversation with Prof. Tomas Venclova “The Holocaust and Lithuania Today".

The talk will concentrate on the challenges of multiculturalism in contemporary Lithuania, with a special emphasis on Lithuanian-Jewish relations, remembrance of the Holocaust and the historical memory traumas. It will address the ongoing sharp public debates in Lithuania over the controversial historical figures of the Second World War that reveal an emerging divergence between public glorification of armed resistance as a secular religion and an intimate exploration of a troubled past.

Tomas Venclova is a Lithuanian poet and scholar, professor emeritus at Yale University, former dissident and founding member of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group. After a successful career in the U.S., where he emigrated in 1977, Venclova returned to his native Lithuania last year.

The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies at Hunter College, in partnership with Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.

Reservations and more information is available at https://www.reechunter.com/current-events.html#Venclova

 

On Thursday, September 5, 2019, 7:00 pm to celebrate Lithuanian Jewish heritage, YIVO, at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011, will host a discussion on The Challenges of Multiculturalism in Contemporary Lithuania.
The program will feature Professor Tomas Venclova (Yale University, Emeritus), who will give a presentation titled, "Lithuanians and Jews: What’s Changed and What Hasn’t over the last Forty Years?”

Professor Venclova will be joined in this compelling discussion by Jonathan Brent (Executive Director of YIVO), Mindaugas Kvietkauskas (Minister of Culture of Lithuania), Professor Saulius Sužiedelis (Millersville University, Emeritus) and Rabbi Andrew Baker (American Jewish Committee, Director of International Jewish Affairs). 

“YIVO is delighted to host this celebration of Lithuanian Jewish heritage that will also give serious consideration to the challenges and opportunities for rebuilding Jewish life in Lithuania and reclaiming the memory of the Jerusalem of the North.” –Jonathan Brent

“It’s important that the first Litvak days in New York is organized at YIVO. We highly value the long-lasting partnership with YIVO and we hope that the first Litvak days in NYC will give us an opportunity to foster the ties between Jewish, Lithuanian, and American communities, linking intellectual dialogue, promoting mutual understanding and tolerance.”-Gitana Skripkaitė, Acting Consul General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York

This event will be held in partnership with the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.

Reservations and more information is available at: https://yivo.org/LitvakDays2019