Lithuanian passport
Global LT

Benefits of Lithuanian citizenship from the South African Litvak perspective

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. […]

Vilnius synagogue
Global LT

Lithuania: my journey of return

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. […]

Barack Obama. Photo Ludo Segers
Global LT

What are Barack Obama’s family links to Lithuania?

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

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

Monument for Gandhi and his Litvak friend unveiled in west Lithuania

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. […]

Nadine Gordimer
Global LT

Litvak lenses influenced sensibilities of Nobel prize winning author Nadine Gordimer

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. […]