LITHUANIAN JEWISH HERITAGE AT THE 26TH INTERNATIONAL JERUSALEM BOOK FAIR
On February 10, 2013, the opening of the International Jerusalem Book Fair took place. Lithuania takes part in the fair for the third time in a row among 30 other countries. On February 11, a discussion on the heritage of the Litvak history and culture was hold. In it recently published books on the subject of the Litvak heritage were presented. Dr. Larisa Lempertienė, author Ilja Lempertas, deputy director of Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum dr. Kamile Rupeikaite, and writer Grigory Kanovich took part in the discussion.
The comments of G. Kanovich drew special attention of the participants. G. Kanovich overviewed the Lithuanian period of his creation and introduced his latest books published in Lithuanian - "A Cloud Called Lithuania" (2009) and "The Romance of a Small Town" (2013). The writer expressed his appreciation of Lithuania’s accomplishments in preserving Lithuanian Jewish heritage, in its attempts to restore objective historic truth and respecting the memory of the tragedy of the Lithuanian Jewish community.
The participants of the discussion were greeted by the Lithuanian Ambassador Darius Degutis.
On the same day, a documentary „Days of Memory“ (1993), directed by Saulius Berzinis, was screened at the Jerusalem Cinemateque. The documentary reflects the 50th anniversary of the annihalitation of Vilna Ghetto.
On February 12, the Lithuanian representatives continued their work at the book fair with the second discussion during which modern book publishing and digital media opportunities in Lithuania were introduced, and the most interesting examples of the Lithuanian electronic books, including books on the topic of the Lithuanian Jewish heritage, were presented. In the evening, the discussions were followed by the screening of the documentary “The Pit of Life and Torment“ (director L. Kopac) at the Jerusalem Cinemateque. The documentary shows the dramatic Holocaust survival of the Kukliansky family. Memories of Moshe Kukliansky, who now lives in Israel and is the sole witness of those events, were used for the documentary.
The International Jerusalem Book Fair was first opened 50 years ago and takes place every 2 years.
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