Reciprocal Adoption of Naval Unit

On Memorial Day, the 8^th of May, 2011, about 70 Navy officers paid a visit to Vilna House. The connection between the two is not readily apparent; it began with the "March of the Living in Vilna" in 2010 in which Ze'ev Leviatan, a civilian working for the IDF in the seafaring department of the Navy participated. Ze'ev returned from Vilna deeply impressed by what was also a trip of roots for him. Upon his return, he managed, successfully, to interest the officers in the Holocaust via the story of Vilna. So, in December, 2010, Dr. Aharon Einat, a survivor and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association, whose PhD theses was about the life in the Vilna Ghetto, was invited to give a lecture to the officers of the department.

The visitors had a first-hand opportunity to learn about the myriad activities of the Association of Jews from Vilna and the vicinity, the history of the Jews in the city and the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust. During the visit, which was conducted by Etty Reuveny, a member of the Board, the visitors watched a docufilm, "Tales of the Defeated" (that won best film at the festival in Jerusalem in 2008-9); the director of the docufilm, Yael Reuveny, was also present and added her insights. Michael Shemyavitz, chairman of the Board, Simha Ben Shaul and Aharon Einat also addressed the group. The catering for the occasion was done by the wonderfully capable women of the Association.

The head of the seafaring department expressed his appreciation at what he saw and heard; he also expressed the hope that the Association and the Navy would further strengthen their ties.

In fact, after the meeting, the idea of reciprocal adoption was proposed: the Association would adopt the Navy unit and the unit would adopt the Association. Within this adoption framework, the Navy unit would participate in activities run by the Association and the Navy officers would invite the "Vilners" to their base. A program will be drawn up to strengthen ties and cooperation between the two organizations.

On Wednesday, the 3^rd of July, 2011, Ze'ev Leviatan and Dr. Aharon Einat and Mickey Kantor, members of the Board of the Association of Vilna and the vicinity held a meeting with Major Sivan Rom, the Navy representative, at Vilna House.

The objective of the meeting was to think of ways to enhance reciprocal cooperation about the heritage of "Jerusalem in Lithuania", the annihilation of the Jewish community in Vilna and the lessons to be learnt.

A number of possibilities were discussed:

Joint activities of the two organizations

Navy participation at the annual memorial services:

In September, on the anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto – the Association holds a memorial event at Vilna House in Tel Aviv and Yad Vashem holds an annual memorial service jointly with the Association and the Lithuanian ambassador to Israel at the Hall of Remembrance and the synagogue at Yad Vashem.
On International Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27^th of January, the Association holds a one-day seminar at Vilna House.
On Holocaust Memorial Day (one week after Pesach) the Association holds a traditional memorial service by the Ponary monument at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv.
Participation of Navy units in the March of the Living at Ponary, Vilna:
On Holocaust Memorial Day, the Association holds a March of the Living to the Ponary pits, an official ceremony beside the memorial monument in the compound of the extermination pits; official government representatives from Lithuania and Israel attend. It is followed by awards to "Righteous Among the Nations" at the "Tolerance Center" in Vilna. At the same time, a delegation of the Association also participates in a march around Vilna and the vicinity to learn about the heritage of the "Jerusalem in Lithuania" community. This project is undertaken jointly with the Prime Minister of Lithuania, the Israeli Foreign Office, the local Jewish community and the Jewish Day School.
Participation of the Navy unit in cultural activities at Bet Vilna
Seminars and memorial events – the Association periodically holds cultural events on topics relating to the glorious heritage of the Jewry of Vilna and the vicinity, perpetuating the memory of personal and communal events for the survivors and their extended families at Vilna House.
Seminars – the Association runs annual seminars relating to a particular topic in which academic lecturers and laymen participate.

Resolutions:

The Navy unit will attend every event they are invited to and ways will be sought to actively involve them.
An application was made to Yad Vashem requesting that the Navy unit be present in full military dress at the memorial service every September; the request was granted.
Mickey Kantor will contact the head of the "Witnesses in Uniform" department at Yad Vashem to check out the possibility of including the Navy unit in the annual March of the Living at Ponary since the Army has been sending groups there for the past two years. The possibility of their inclusion in the Association's March of the Living will also be checked out.

A visit to the Navy base by the survivors and their extended families.

A visit to the naval base and the Navy museum in Haifa by the survivors and their extended families.
The visit will be organized by the Navy unit and will include guided tours of the naval base and the National Maritime Museum in Haifa.

Resolution: