The 11th World Reunion of Liepaja/Libau Jewry was held in Liepaja from 21-24 of July. The opening ceremony was attended by Israeli Ambassador to Latvia Sharon Rappaport-Palgi and the mayor of Liepaja Gunārs Ansiņš. Among the guests of honour was Maria Boyar, now an Israeli. She was a child during the terrible years of war, but still keeps her beloved Liepaja and the Latvian language in her heart and memory. The participants visited places related to the Holocaust, where they commemorated Liepaja Jewish victims, and paid tribute to the rescuers of Jews by visiting the Alley of the Righteous among the Nations in Skede.
The program of the event also included a conference and panel discussion “Stay a mensch (human) in inhuman conditions” featuring Ilya Lensky, director of the Museum “Jews in Latvia”, Maija Meiere-Oša, researcher of the Žanis Lipke Memorial Museum, and Mārtiņš Vesperis, a researcher at the Medicine History Museum.
Chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia Arkady Suharenko during his welcome speech expressed his deep gratitute to organizers Ilana Ivanova, director of the Liepaja Jewish Heritage Foundation, and Anna Petrova, chairman of the Liepaja Jewish Community, for their hard work for the community, their contribution to the preservation of memory and history, maintaining relations with the Liepaja Jews currently living in different countries.
Photo: Liepaja City Council and Uniting History
27.07.2022
