The Blogs: Words have meaning

A feature of Putin’s war against Ukraine is the relentless and pervasive rewriting of Russian history, and elevation of Russian murderers into their national heroes. Russia has even rewritten their school textbooks to teach their youth a fabricated history. If the West is to defend Ukraine from Russia, we must ensure Russia’s behavior is not replicated in NATO countries. NATO cannot be seen to be defending conduct we find abhorrent.

In a strange and ironic twist of fate, Russia is now seeming to be copying Lithuania’s disgusting Holocaust mis-education. Lithuania has rewritten history, elevated Holocaust perpetrators into their national heroes, and are teaching schoolchildren lies. Sounds familiar? While Russia is only trying to miseducate their own youth, Lithuania is trying to export their historical frauds into western education.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a friend as “a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another”. This definition does not apply to the relationship between Lithuania and Russia. They are not “friends”. They do not like each other and there is no trust. Russia’s conduct is generally repugnant, there is no basis for anybody to trust Russia. After all, a proven compulsive liar will lie about anything, always. Russia lies so much, so often, that everything they communicate must be assumed to be false unless proven otherwise. Lithuania is walking a fine line when they disparage dastardly acts by their enemy. They joyously identify missteps by Russia and demand the West intervene. Lithuania continually tells the West what NATO “MUST” do. Lithuania does not have the humanity, integrity, credibility or power to tell anybody what they “must” do.

Screenshot of a Tweet by Lithuanian President Nauseda

The West should take cognizance of Lithuania’s concerns, they are sometimes valid. However the finger pointing “MUST” demands are an absurdity, especially given that the Lithuanian Government showed the American Congress their middle finger when Congress asked Lithuania to stop using Congressional documents for Holocaust revisionism.

Many of the issues Lithuania identifies about Russia – are practices widely originated and replicated by Lithuania itself. Historical fraud, the honoring of murderers, inverting facts, and so many more. It seems the difference between Lithuania and Russia is negligible (the nut does not fall far from the tree).

Source: Twitter screenshot

Russia’s honoring of Stalin is repugnant. It is a repudiation of humanity, an assault on decency; it is utterly dishonest, and an insult to Stalin’s victims, and to victims everywhere. Honoring genocidal murderers is an anathema to civilization. Elevating genocidal murderers to national hero status enables future genocides. Putin is abominable, just as is every entity who considers mass murderers as their national heroes is repulsive.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “hypocrite” as “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings”. Lithuania does exactly the same as Russia, but objects only when their own enemy mimics their own behaviors. It is the equivalent of a tiny temper tantrum that Russia can and does ignore. Lithuania does not have the power to do so. NATO cannot allow this repugnant behavior within our own member governments. It is contrary to NATO’s standard operating procedure.

Bishop Kauneckas blesses a new monument for genocidal murderer of Jews – Jonas Noreika.
Date: September 5, 2019. Location – Vilnius, Lithuania
Source: https://alkas.lt/2019/09/06/visuomenininkai-po-mitingo-prie-prezidenturos-atidenge-nauja-atminimo-lenta-j-noreikai-nuotraukos-video/#google_vignette

Just as Russia rehabilitates Stalin and rewrites history, Lithuania has rehabilitated many Holocaust perpetrators and rewritten their history. The most widely known case is Jonas Noreika. Noreika was a Lithuanian Holocaust perpetrator who was responsible for the murder of approximately 14,500 Jews.

Lithuanian Bishop Emeritus of Panevėžys, Jonas Kauneckas, hung a grotesque monument to evil on a Heritage Listed, State building. There were mass joyous celebrations by Lithuanians. The monument hung on this State building until American officials refused to attend the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, unless the Lithuania government removed this abomination. Lithuania capitulated and removed the monument for “cleaning”. They did not remove it out of any sense of decency or humanity or integrity.

The difference for Lithuania between the two monuments is that Stalin murdered Lithuanians, while Lithuanian murderers “only” murdered Jews. A distinction which cannot be missed or forgotten.

The Lithuanian Government maintains a legal standard which says that Jonas Noreika was never placed on trial during his lifetime, so he “must” have a Constitutional presumption of “complete innocence”, no matter what facts are apparent. However, neither Stalin nor Hitler were prosecuted nor convicted during their lifetime, so does Lithuania consider them the same as they do Noreika? No! Lithuanian legal standards apply by ethnicity – Lithuanian murderers of Jews are good, Russian murderers of Lithuanians are bad. There are three reasons:

To Lithuanians, Jews are not really human, and are not deserving of truth or justice.
antisemitism
Truth is not generally a component of Lithuanian society.

Just as Putin re-writes history for his propaganda war, so does Lithuania. Lithuania looks in the mirror and sees Russia in their reflection but do not see the irony in their two-faced, hypocritical outrage. The dictionary definition of hypocrite fits Lithuania exactly. So do the words deceiver, immoral, unethical, degenerate, dishonest, heinous, brutal and many more.

Stalin was responsible for the murder of millions. The only reason Noreika murdered fewer than Stalin is that there were fewer Jews for him to murder, and he didn’t have the same geographical reach.

As Stalin said – “a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic”. For Lithuania, the slaughter of Jews by Lithuanians is of no consequence, but the murder of Lithuanians by Russians is an unforgivable offense. The term for this continual philosophy by Lithuania is “morally reprehensible”, or, as Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it: “Evil”.

The dictionary definition of friendship “a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another” means this definition cannot be applied to the past, present, or future relationship between Lithuania and Jews. The relationship is simply transactional. Lithuania has shown its true face too many times to be accorded credibility again. Perhaps, in a few generations from now, Jews might re-visit this issue.

NATO and the EU should ask themselves which values they are defending when offering Lithuania protection from its own mirror image.

With thanks to Dr. Melody Ziff

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