VILNIUS - The Lithuanian government and Vilnius City Council are moving forward with their plan to construct a conference center on a 500-year old Jewish cemetery. The property accommodates between 50 to 80 thousand Jewish souls, many of whom were prominent Torah sages. World leaders, multi denominational community heads , the White House, senators and congressmen from both sides of the house, have slammed the proposal. In an attempt to fudge the claims that desecration will be perpetrated to the Jewish cemetery, the government is promoting several misnomers.
Firstly, protagonists for the government’s plan argue that the cemetery was sold to the Russian Czarist regime about 150 years ago. This is a lie. According to Jewish law, a cemetery cannot be sold. It was purchased by the Jewish community about 500 years, under a freehold license, to be held in perpetuity. The claim is being made despite the fact that no deed of sale has ever been produced. But then of course, if the Czar wanted to confiscate or expropriate the property, seemingly that would have been within his province without the need to obtain permission from the Jewish community. The bottom line is that the cemetery accommodates tens of thousands of Jewish souls. This cemetery was designated as their final resting place. Even according to the Geneva Convention and the EU Charter of Human Rights, what the Lithuanian government is doing is a violation of the most basic principles of human rights.
The second claim by the government is that all the skeletal remains have been moved. This too is a lie. In 2005, the Lithuanian government further desecrated the cemetery by constructing two apartment buildings on the property. During this process human bones and skeletal remains were uncovered. Further, the existence of several layers of human bones which extend several meters below the surface also confirms that even where construction may have occurred on the property, skeletal remains still exist. A geological report verified that bodies lie buried across large segments of the property, also covering areas where construction has taken place.
Save Vilna is an action group spearheading an effort to stop the construction of the conference center (Vilnius Congress Centre) on a cemetery, by the Lithuanian government. The initiative has the support of world leaders, U.S. senators, congressmen and multi-denominational spiritual leaders. You can view more about the saga in video here.
Jonathan Braun
Website: www.savevilna.org/
Email: reviews4hotspots@gmail.com
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