Lithuanian Jewish Leader Blasts Antisemitic Graffiti Attack

Vilnius (AFP) — A Lithuanian Jewish leader Monday blasted a graffiti attack which combined antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling it a ploy to sow tension in the Baltic state.

"How much longer will we allow provocateurs to pit the Lithuanian and Jewish people against one another," said Simonas Gurevicius, executive director of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, in a statement.

Over the weekend, unknown individuals daubed "Palestine" and "Kill Jews" on a Jewish community building in the Baltic port of Klaipeda. They also painted a swastika, the symbol of Nazi Germany, alongside the words.
Such attacks taint Lithuania’s image worldwide, Gurevicius said, adding that broad public condemnation would be "the greatest punishment for the ringleaders of strife".

There was no immediate comment from Lithuanian officials.

There have been several similar paint attacks on Jewish organisations’ buildings in Lithuania in the past.
Last August, swastikas were daubed on the Lithuanian Jewish Community’s headquarters in the capital Vilnius, leading to a sharp condemnation by President Valdas Adamkus.

Such graffiti attacks fall under the criminal offence of inciting hatred, which carries a two-year prison sentence in Lithuania. But perpetrators are rarely caught.

Currently there are around 4,000 Jews living in Lithuania.