LITA
LITA STILL LIVES
REIGNITING THE SPARK OF LITHUANIAN JEWS
ROBYN SHAPIRO
friendship and begin new ones, and
together with the Jews living in
modern day Lithuania, to become a
community again.
Lita Lives was founded, and is
driven, by a creative team
consisting of Robbie Brozin, Mendi
Katz and Justine Seeff. “Lita Lives
aims to provide a sustainable
funding structure to assist with the
much-needed funds for the Jewish
community in Lithuania,” explains
Mendi Katz, CEO of the initiative.
STEEPED IN tradition and pulsing
with Jewish Life, Lithuania was once home to 240 000
Jews spread across the country in over 84 rural shtetls
and towns. Before World War II, there were over
110 synagogues and 10 yeshivas in the town of Vilna
alone.
The Jews who remained in Lithuania almost entirely
perished during the Holocaust. There are roughly
5 000 Jews living in Lithuania.
Today, the children of Lithuanian Jews are spread
across the globe, living in different countries and
speaking different languages. They have adopted new
cultures and developed new identities, but in so many
ways they still preserve the spark of Lithuania in their
hearts, minds and values. In so many ways Lita still
lives in all the children of Lithuanian Jews.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
An initiative known as Lita Lives, has recently been
launched to reconnect the descendants of the
Lithuanian community. Through its website it aims to
bring 240 000 Jews back to Lita in a virtual space, to
reconnect families and rekindle old bonds of
“Lita Lives
aims to
provide a
sustainable
funding
structure...
for the Jewish
community in
Lithuania.”
- Mendi Katz,
CEO of Lita
Lives
“In the past, individual
philanthropists and businessman
have been called upon to
contribute to the large budget
needed for Jewish life in
Lithuania. We are introducing a
global platform through which the
reliance on these individuals would
be lifted, as many more people,
regardless of their means, can
contribute smaller amounts to the cause at hand,
through very novel and significant avenues. The
project is non-profit, and the proceeds will be directly
infused into the current Jewish activities running in
Lithuania, as well as helping to fund some new ones”.
Katz continues, “Many Jews worldwide descend from
Lithuania, and have a special part of Lita in their
family values and traditions. So, historic Lita is very
much alive throughout the world.
With this in mind, we developed a creative venture
with the underlying slogan , “Ensuring that Lita can
also live in Lita.” The goal being that we can give
back to the Jew