The cornerstone of a memorial to Lithuanian Jewry was laid here this weekend on the grounds of Ponevezh Yeshiva in the presence of Minister of the Interior Moshe Shapiro and hundreds of Lithuanian Jews. The memorial, to be built at a cost of 1,000,000 Israeli pounds ($560,000), will contain 700 miniature tombstones, one for each of the Lithuanian Jewish communities destroyed in the Nazi holocaust.
The structure, to be known as “Ohel Kedoshim,” will also house subterranean vaults containing a collection of historical documents and manuscripts of the various communities. Construction of the memorial will be financed by private funds raised abroad through the efforts of Rabbi Joseph Kahaneman, dean of the Ponevezh Yeshiva.
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