Lithuania to Build Congress Center Over Historic Jewish Cemetery, Sparking Global Outrage

Lithuania’s government has ignited widespread condemnation by announcing plans to construct a €133 million Vilnius Congress Centre atop the historic Šnipiškės (Piramónt) Jewish Cemetery, the oldest Jewish burial ground in Vilnius, dating back to the 15th century. Once the resting place of thousands, including revered rabbis and scholars like the Vilna Gaon, whose remains were moved in 1949, the cemetery symbolized Vilnius’s pre-Holocaust Jewish vibrancy, known as the “Jerusalem of Lithuania.” Before Nazi occupation, which killed 90% of Lithuania’s 168,000 Jews with significant local collaboration, it was a cultural cornerstone. In 1971, Soviet authorities demolished the graveyard, building the Vilnius Concert and Sports Palace, which closed in 2004 and now stands derelict, vandalized, yet still covering countless graves.

On July 28, 2025, then-Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, who resigned days later amid unrelated corruption allegations, revived a decade-old proposal to transform the site into a conference center, projecting 1,200 jobs and €133 million annually in tourism revenue. Vice Minister of Economy Agila Barzdienė defended the project, stating, “Conference tourism is one of the most profitable sectors for any city,” and claimed the site’s current state lacks respect or security. However, Jewish organizations globally decried the decision as a desecration and betrayal of prior commitments. In 2023, a Lithuanian government committee recommended preserving the site as a memorial, not a commercial venue.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, called it “a painful betrayal of Lithuania’s own past commitments and a desecration to the interred deceased,” urging, “This is not a matter of politics, but of moral and historical responsibility. Thousands of Jewish graves lie beneath that site. Turning it into a venue for entertainment and gatherings is a profound desecration of their dignity.” The American Jewish Committee labeled the move “shocking,” stating, “This reverses an internationally endorsed decision of the previous government, which rightly committed to transforming the site into a place of Jewish remembrance and education. The abrupt nature of this decision raises serious questions and casts a shadow over Lithuania’s stated commitment to Holocaust memory and Jewish heritage.” Social media on X echoed the outrage, with one user posting, “Lithuania’s disrespect for Jewish graves is a disgrace, profit over memory?” Protests, including a July 25 Vilnius Jewish Community demonstration, demand reversal, citing violations of Jewish law and human rights.