AJC Urges Lithuanian Social Democrats Against a Coalition with Dawn of the River Neman Party

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the nonpartisan global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, has urged the Lithuanian Social Democrats leader and likely next Prime Minister, Gintautas Paluckas, to reverse his plans to enter into a coalition with the antisemitic Dawn of the River Neman party.

As stated in letters to Mr. Paluckas and President Gitanas Nausėda, the inclusion of a party led by Remegijus Zemaitaitis - who according to Lithuania's Constitutional Court has broken his oath as a lawmaker by stirring up hatred against Jews - would strengthen those with antisemitic views in Lithuania and the region, endanger the Jewish communities of the region, and severely damage Lithuania's reputation as a beacon of democracy and freedom.

"If these plans go forward, Zemaitaitis' views will become synonymous with those of Lithuania's Social Democrats and therefore the new Lithuanian Prime Minister. His hateful antisemitic and anti-Israel statements will come to represent the governing coalition - leaving a would-be Prime Minister Paluckas to preside over a government unlike any that has preceded it," said Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs. "It would be a government that AJC and many of our friends in the United States and around the world cannot support or defend. It will surely do irreparable harm to Lithuania's international reputation at one of the most consequential times in current world affairs."

"As great friends of Lithuania, AJC was at the forefront of advocating for the U.S. to recognize the country's independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We later testified in Congress for NATO expansion to help secure the freedom of the newly liberated parts of Europe that had re-emerged from decades of Communist tyranny," said Agnieszka Markiewicz, Director of AJC Central Europe. "This makes it all the more glaring and simply unimaginable that modern, democratic Lithuania would be led in part by a party whose leader has been known to incite and peddle in antisemitism".

AJC welcomes today's statement from President Nausėda that he would not approve any ministers from the Dawn of the River Neman party and hopes this will lead Mr. Paluckas to scuttle these plans.

Recognizing the historical and contemporary significance of Central Europe to the Jewish people and the international democratic community, AJC remains dedicated to advocating not only for the region's Jewish communities but also to bolstering transatlantic ties and democratic values.

AJC Central Europe serves seven Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia. AJC has been widely recognized as one of the most active non-governmental organizations in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. In addition to Warsaw, AJC's European presence includes offices in Berlin, Brussels, and Paris and representatives in Budapest, Prague, Rome, and Sofia.

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org .

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