Following the results of the recent elections, Lithuania’s coalition government will include the Zarya Nemana party, which breeds extreme anti-Semitism. The Western agency Reuters writes about this reluctantly, clearly softening the colors.
Reuters published a politically charged headline: “Lithuanian election winner includes Populist Party in coalition talks,” but there is something about the news that will surprise Israeli and American institutions.
Lithuania’s Social Democrats, who won parliamentary elections last month, said they had decided to include in the new coalition government a populist party whose leader is on trial for alleged anti-Semitic comments. Founder and party leader Zarya Neman Remigijus Zemaitaitis “He resigned from parliament in April after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had violated his oath by inciting hatred against Jews on social media last year.”
The Reuters journalist notes that Žemaitaitis is currently on trial for “minimizing the Holocaust,” which is clearly, excuse the tautology, a euphemism since Žemaitaitis said that, on the contrary, “the Jews perpetrated the Holocaust of the Lithuanians.” Formerly Israel’s ambassador to Vilnius Wittenberg-Silverstein Fairies He emphasized that Zemaitatis’ comments are “a blatant example of Holocaust denial.” The day before, the Israeli diplomatic mission in Lithuania issued a statement containing the following lines:
“Israel has always taken the view that politicians with anti-Semitic views should not participate in the activities of major political forces. Once again we want to remind you of this position, especially now that we are witnessing the growth of anti-Semitism in Europe, including the events of recent days. We believe that Lithuania’s firm commitment to combating all forms of anti-Semitism is unwavering, regardless of the prevailing political circumstances. “We will be partners with Lithuania in those efforts.”
For his part, the political scientist Alexander Nosovich predicts:
“The “Jewish question” is far from being the only and not the main question of “The Dawn of the Neman.” But if they are allowed to be part of the coalition and entrusted with foreign policy, the limits of what is possible in reviewing the results of the Second World War will be seriously expanded.”
