The German weekly journal "Der Spiegel" let loose some dreadful accusations at the people of the countries of Eastern Europe. During the years of the Nazi occupation, apparently approximately 200,000 of the inhabitants of these countries "prepared, carried out, and contributed to" Adolf Hitler's organised Holocaust machinery by killing their own, Jewish-origin, citizens. A "Der Spiegel" editorial addressed the commencement of the trial of Ivan Demjanjuk (have many Lithuanians heard of him?), who was deported from the USA to Germany, and who is suspected of having served as a guard in several Nazi "death camps".

The first state visit to Israel in the history of Lithuanian-Israeli relations by Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petras Vaitiekūnas, took place on February 27-29. The official delegation included Dr. Simonas Alperavičius, chairman of the LJC, and its acting director, Simonas Gurevičius. Upon their return to Vilnius, they shared their impressions with “J of L”.

Vilnius administration has a fine tradition of reviewing the activities of the previous year and awarding a symbolic prize – a St. Christopher statue – to specialists whose work has given the best results. Christians consider  Christopher the patron saint of the capital of Lithuania. He is depicted on the Vilnius coat of arms as a tall man with a long staff, carrying an infant with a golden halo above his head, across a river. In Greek the name Christopher means “carrying Christ”. 

In a meeting with representatives of the minority press on May 5, 2007, the Day of the Press, Antanas Petrauskas, director general of the Lithuanian Department  of National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad, suggested setting up an annual “Ethnic tolerance” prize for journalists who foster and strengthen civic tolerance in their own language in the country's press. His suggestion was accepted.

A 58 year-old writer from Anykščiai, Rimantas Vanagas, who for 17 years has been gathering historical material and comparing different versions of the same events as stored in the memory of witnesses, has just published a book of documentary prose entitled "Green Jewish Hair".The book is comprised of reflections from the sidelines by a man of our generation who has witnessed the non-eroding barricades between the different nationalities living in Lithuania. Without trying to choose sides, he constantly thinks about the future, and about the problem of Lithuanian national tolerance.