US antisemitism envoy opposes Vilnius building on Jewish cemetery

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, sent a letter to Lithuania’s culture minister, Lukas Alsys, on August 10, urging him to block plans for a conference or cultural center on the ancient Piramont/Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius. The cemetery, where thousands of Jews including prominent rabbis are buried, was razed by Soviet authorities who built a sports complex on the site. Kaploun stated, “I urge you to oppose the pending parliamentary resolution and reject any attempt to develop the sacred site for profane purposes.” The Lithuanian government revived plans in May to transform the former sports complex into a conference center, despite previous shelving of the project in 2021 and ongoing opposition from some local Jewish communities who cite Jewish religious law prohibiting the disturbance of burial sites.