Lithuania, which has found it easier to declare independence from the Soviet Union than to implement it, is seeking recognition by Israel.
An indirect offer of diplomatic ties from Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis was conveyed Monday to President Chaim Herzog on Israel’s Independence Day.
It arrived by facsimile machine, along with telegrams from President Bush, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and other heads of state, congratulating Israel on its 42nd anniversary.
There was no official Israeli reply to the Lithuanian bid. But Foreign Ministry sources expressed hope that if the Lithuanian republic achieves independence, diplomatic relations with Israel would be established.
The message actually came from Yitzhak Maas, described as a personal friend of Landsbergis. He said he received the fax from the Lithuanian president on April 26, with the request that he pass on the message to Herzog.
“On Independence Day, we send best wishes to the Knesset of Israel and hope for good relations between us,” it said.
Landsbergis also claimed Lithuania was “doing all in its power to renew the cultural life, and guard and develop the religious and national identity of the Jews of Lithuania.”
The message noted that “part of Lithuanian Jewry lives today in Israel” and “we want relations with them and with the historic homeland of the people of Israel.”
It made reference to “the brutal and tragic fate that befell the Jewish citizens” when Lithuania lost its independence.
The country, given independence from Russia in 1919, was occupied by Soviet troops after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 and continued under Soviet control until June 1941, when the Germans invaded Russia.
At that time, the Lithuanians declared their independence a second time, and many Lithuanians collaborated with the Nazis until the Germans were driven out by the Red Army in 1945.
Israelis of Lithuanian origin demanded last month that the Baltic country acknowledge its role during the Holocaust before Israel would acknowledge its independence status.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
