VILNIUS, September 30,
2020
Accordingly, the auspicious Bnei Brak court issued an
injunction, ordering all parties connected to the project to "cease and
desist" from participating in the project.
A partner in the law firm of Hadad Roth Shenhar and Co., Adv.
Hanoch Ehrlich, served the order by the rabbinical court on the parties,
indicating that the proposed plan by the government, constitutes a violation of
Jewish law and cultural heritage considerations.
Turto Bankas, a government funded Lithuanian bank is a leading participant. See
FULL LETTER, injunction and communication by Hadad Roth Shenhar and Co.
The 500-year old Shnípeshok cemetery, in which the Vilna Gaon
was originally buried has been earmarked for development. The gravesite is the
final resting place of between 50,000 and 80,000 Jewish souls that were buried
there. During the Russian occupation following the World War II, tombstones
were desecrated and destroyed. Due to the shortage of building materials that
marked the communist era, marble from the graves was then repurposed and used
to construct buildings.
The cemetery is a protected site and under Lithuanian law
Leading Jewish authorities including the Chief Rabbi of Israel,
Rabbi David Lau and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky have expressed their objections to
the plan.
A recent court filing by Turto Bankas (Case No. civilinėje
byloje Nr. e2-625-918/2020) claimed that
the respective rabbinical court in Israel "did not have jurisdiction over
the matter, as rabbinical courts may only act in matters of marriage, divorce
and inheritance."
A leading expert in international law retorted that the Turto
Bankas misses the point of the rabbinical court's decision. "There is no
more powerful authority that can make that determination that the conference
center development constitutes an affront to Jewish cultural heritage. The
rabbinical court of Rabbi Nissim Korelitz is the equivalent of the Supreme
Court in the Jewish world. If they don't have the authority to make that
determination, no one does.
"Lithuanian law requires that a development on a protected
site must meet specific criteria and comply with cultural heritage
considerations. The rabbinical court ruling, together with all those of all
other Jewish authorities, demonstrates that the development plan does not pass
the litmus test," the expert said.
Separately, the Committee for Protecting Jewish Cemeteries in
Europe (the CPJCE), which had ostensibly been supervising the controversial
project with Turto Bankas, has had its authority to represent the Jewish
community in Europe revoked.
President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt issued a
statement, stripping
the CPJCE of its authority to participate in the development. The CPJCE was
also a recipient to the injunction, invoked by the rabbinical court in Israel,
preventing multiple parties from taking further action to develop the
conference center.
A letter by Mr. Paul Packer (Chairman United States Commission
for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad) communicated condemnation of
any proposal to use the Old Cemetery in Vilnius for a purpose other than as a
cemetery. The full text of Mr. Paul Packer's letter can be read here.
A pending court proceeding in Lithuania, contesting the
development of the conference center on the cemetery, is anticipated to set a
precedent for the desecration of cemeteries of all religious faiths in Europe.
A hearing for the court case
in Vilnius is scheduled for Thursday, October 1, 2020, when the parties
will submit filings and make their arguments. The plaintiffs include over 150
individuals who have ancestors buried in the cemetery. They are represented by
Advocate Modestas Sriubus and Advocate Salvija Sriubienė. Legal analysts say
that the proceeding represents a watershed moment for the court system and
human rights.
