Lithuanian PM, in Israel, calls for zero tolerance of anti-Semitism

  • 2019-01-29
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, on a visit to Israel, called for a zero tolerance toward any forms of anti-Semitism.

"We cannot tolerate any form of anti-Semitism. It is the duty of the government and every citizen to identify and stop manifestations of anti-Semitism," the Lithuanian government quoted him as saying in a press release on Monday. 

Skvernelis attended a conference hosted by Beit Vilna, the association of Jews from Vilnius and the region of Vilnius, in Tel Aviv to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  

The Prime Minister underlined that Lithuania's Jews were an inseparable part of the Lithuanian state and its history.

He thanked Jews in Lithuania and around the world who feel attached to their ancestral homeland despite all the harm done to their their ancestors here.

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, is accompanying the prime minister on his visit to Israel as a member of his official delegation.  

Skvernelis is scheduled to meet with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday.

Lithuania has traditionally been one of Israel's strongest diplomatic supporters in Europe, due in part to the Holocaust's legacy and Vilnius' alignment with the United States.