Before the Catastrophe, Yiddish was the principal daily language of the Lithuanian Jews. Vilnius played a special role in fostering Yiddish culture, and in researching and standardizing the Yiddish language. For world Jews, Vilnius was a symbol of Yiddishkeit.

During the Holocaust the Nazis and their local collaborators destroyed the centers of Yiddish knowledge and education in Lithuania, and murdered nearly all of its Yiddish speakers. After the War the Soviet regime destroyed the remnants of Yiddish culture. Nevertheless, the Yiddish language continues to play a role in Lithuania's Jewish community. A not insignificant percentage of the older generation of Jews, especially litvakes, know Yiddish, and some still use it in their daily lives. Given the special role that Vilnius continues to have in fostering Yiddish culture, a Yiddish Institute has been set up at the Vilnius University; it organizes summer programmes which are attended by dozens of students from various countries around the world. Some Lithuanian VU students also study Yiddish. The LJC newspaper, "Jerusalem of Lithuania", is published in 4 languages, including Yiddish. Approximately 15 people regularly attend events organized by the Yiddish lovers' club at the Community Center. Music ensembles and soloists perform Yiddish songs.

Realistically speaking, however, the elderly people are practically the only ones who use Yiddish, and unless the situation changes drastically, Yiddish will disappear from Lithuania in the near future.

Given the special meaning of Yiddish to a Jewish consciousness (including as an effective balance against assimilation), the great world importance of Yiddish culture and literature, and recognizing the particular role therein of Vilnius as one of the most important historical centers of Yiddish culture, and the fact that its role in fostering Yiddish culture is one of the principal factors attracting world Jews to present-day Lithuania, the LJC Council has resolved the following:

1. To declare as a Community priority the fostering of the use of Yiddish.

2. To encourage in all ways possible the general use of Yiddish, and to strive that Yiddish becomes the language of communication at the Community Center.

3. To make special efforts to encourage young people to adopt Yiddish. To accept the suggestion by M. Jakobas, director of the Sholom Aleichem Secondary School, to organize Yiddish as an optional class at the school, as well as for the members of the "Simcha" ensemble (rep. M. Jakobas); to organize a Yiddish language class at the Community Center for young people (rep. S. Gurevich); to teach kindergarten children Yiddish songs and poems; to approve the initiative by the "Ilan" club leaders to include Yiddish in the training program for new youth leaders (madrichim).

4. To expand co-operation with the Yiddish Institute.

5. To approve the initiative by the "Gesher" club leaders to include Yiddish language activities in the 2006 "Limud" project (rep. J. Berznitski).

6. To increase the membership of the "Libhober fun Yidish" club, and to develop club activities (reps. F. Zimanienė, I. Lempertas).

7. To congratulate the "Abi men zet zich" club choir for performing Yiddish songs and for explaining in detail the text of songs to those who do not understand the language. The Council recommends that choir members be taught the basics of Yiddish, and that special attention be given to its correct pronounciation (rep. Ž. Skudovičienė).

8. To use Yiddish with Lithuanian subtitles when possible on the "Menora" TV program (rep. V. Karakorskis). To use more Yiddish in radio broadcasts (rep. O. Ugriumova).

9. To propagate Yiddish more actively in the Sunday lecture series; to organize more lectures in Yiddish (reps. F. Zimanienė and I. Lempertas).

10. To approve the Yiddish literature reading group organized by the Kaunas Community; to recommend that such a group be organized by the Šiauliai Community. To discuss the possibility of creating a Yiddish language class in Kaunas.

11. To print the name of the "Chadashot" magazine in Yiddish and Hebrew. To discuss the possibility of publishing its material in Yiddish.

12. To recommend that "Jerusalem of Lithuania" editor M. Chersonskij periodically print material on the fostering of Yiddish throughout the country. To make the heads of all LJC organizations responsible for the distribution of the newspaper's Yiddish edition.

13. To recommend that the "Ruach" Jewish children's theater organize a play in Yiddish.

14. To recommend that LJC and all regional organization leaders seek to have Yiddish or Hebrew inscriptions on cemetery stones.

15. To recommend that the LJC Executive discuss the possibility of creating a Yiddish office at the Community Center, and to subscribe to "Forverts" and "Yidishe heftn".

16. To make it the responsibility of a commission formed by the Executive to prepare materials to improve Yiddish propaganda, to extends its work, to follow-up on the implementation of this resolution, and at the end of 2006 to inform the Executive of developments.

To disseminate this resolution throughout the country's Jewish institutions and organizations in Yiddish and in Lithuanian. To publish the resolution in the next edition of "Jerusalem of Lithuania".
 
Lithuanian Jewish Community
chairman Dr. S. Alperavičius.

Lietuvos žydų bendruomenės laikraštis “Lietuvos Jeruzalė” 2006.