South Africa Archives - the Lithuania Tribune

Benefits of Lithuanian citizenship from the South African Litvak perspective

April 12, 2017 Claire van den Heever 0

“South Africa is more Litvak than Lithuania itself,” Markas Zingeris, the Lithuanian playwright and novelist once remarked. And, as one of very few members of Lithuania’s Jewish community to remain in the country, he would know. The vast majority of Lithuanian Jews have found good reason to leave at one time or another in history, whether it was unrest in Europe between 1868 and 1914, or the economic hardship that characterised the period from Lithuania’s independence in 1918 until June 1940 when the Soviet army took control. It was during this time that thousands of Lithuanians came to South Africa in droves, in search of a more peaceful life. And it is here where many have remained. […]

Lithuania: my journey of return

February 8, 2017 Gary S Eisenberg 0

As a Cape Town born Jew, my life has come full circle. Although I was born after his death, my zeida, Rabbi Shimon Ze’ev Aysenberg, played an indelible influence in my life. My father, Isaac Eisenberg, born in a stable in Mogilov, Belarus, in 1922, a medical doctor and writer, spent his life interpreting his childhood memories. […]

Several hundred Litvaks granted Lithuanian citizenship after legal amendments

December 27, 2016 BNS EN 0

Several hundred applications for Lithuanian citizenship have already been approved since the country amended the law last June to ease the rules for descendants of Jews who left Lithuania in the interwar period to apply for a Lithuanian passport. […]

Inna Rogatchi (C). Our Memory. Lithuania. 2014. Fine Art Photography. Black Milk & Dark Stars series

The stones of Molėtai: Shoah lesson in Lithuania

September 2, 2016 Inna Rogatchi 0

August 29th, 2016, has become truly important day for Lithuanian people, for Israel, and for all of us who does not know the past term for Holocaust. On that day, a small Lithuanian town of Moletai has become a scene of tangible and penetrating lesson on the Shoah. It was a rare event – unpretending, quiet and sincere; determined and devoted; the real thing. […]

What are Barack Obama’s family links to Lithuania?

May 19, 2016 Lithuania Tribune 1

Following on from Hollywood star Sean Penn, it now appears that US president Barack Obama also has family links to Lithuania. […]

Lithuanian parliamentary committees to investigate refusal of citizenship to Litvaks

May 9, 2016 BNS 0

Amid complaints from Lithuanian Jewish Community representatives and Litvaks living in Israel and South Africa, at least two Lithuanian parliamentary committees are planning to look into the reasons why citizenship restoration applications from Jews who left the country in the interwar period and their descendants are being rejected. […]

The impact of Panama Papers in Eastern Europe – and rest of the world

April 13, 2016 STRATFOR 0

On April 3, the Panama Papers hit media outlets around the world, and the fallout was swift. […]

Lithuania’s U-turn on granting citizenship to Litvaks

April 11, 2016 BNS 0

Some Jews in Israel and the Republic of South Africa who left Lithuania between the two world wars and their descendants have been applying to have their Lithuanian citizenship restored, but receiving a negative answer. […]

‘We have traditionally strong ties given South Africa took in refugees during the pogroms and WWII’ – Honorary Consul

March 17, 2016 the Lithuania Tribune 0

In a series about those remarkable individuals who promote Lithuania’s image abroad and build the country’s brand around the world, Paul Berman, Lithuania’s Honorary Consul in South Africa, talks about his work for Lithuania. […]

Mahatma Gandhi, his secretary Sonia Schlesin and Dr. Hermann Kallenbach

Monument for Gandhi and his Litvak friend unveiled in west Lithuania

October 2, 2015 Lithuania Tribune 0

A sculpture depicting India‘s independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and his Jewish-Lithuanian architect friend Hermann Kallenbach was unveiled in the town of Rusnė in western Lithuania on Friday. […]

Lithuanian president hands credentials to first ambassador to South Africa

July 22, 2015 BNS 0

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė on Wednesday handed letters of credence to Sigutė Jakštonytė, the country’s first ambassador to the Republic of South Africa. […]

Lithuanian government approves candidates for ambassadors in US, South Africa and Switzerland

June 26, 2015 BNS 0

The Government of Lithuania on Friday approved candidates for three ambassadorial positions. […]

Lithuania could open embassy in South Africa in November

August 28, 2014 ELTA EN 0

Lithuanian embassy in Pretoria, the South African Republic, could be opened in November. The related draft decree was prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. […]

Lithuania to open embassy in South Africa

August 9, 2014 BNS 0

Lithuania plans to open an embassy in the Republic of South Africa in November. […]

Litvak lenses influenced sensibilities of Nobel prize winning author Nadine Gordimer

July 18, 2014 Christine Neijstrom 0

Earlier this week the media honoured Nadine Gordimer, a Nobel and Man Booker prize winning novelist with a wealth of obituaries. Gordimer died at the age of 90 on 13 July in her native South Africa. Reverent fans and curious new readers peppered social networks with quotations highlighting her defence of human rights and literary bravery in the face of censorship. […]