The move by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party to form a government with the Nemunas Party has inspired concern from the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“The Social Democrats’ decision to enter a coalition with the Nemunas Party—a party whose leader has been indicted for inciting violence and hatred against Jews—undermines the core values that unite our nations,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said in a statement on Nov. 8.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the party’s founder and leader, stepped down from parliament earlier this year rather than face impeachment following a court ruling that he had violated his oath of office with antisemitic social-media postings. Zemaitaitis awaits trial and disputes that his online writings promoted hate.
Cardin warned that “at a time when antisemitism is on the rise around the world, giving a platform to antisemitic rhetoric and acts of hate is not just a betrayal of shared democratic ideals, but a physical threat to the safety of Jewish and minority communities.”
Describing the attack in Amsterdam against Jewish soccer fans as “a stark reminder that violent antisemitism is a real and escalating threat,” the senator called for Lithuania “to protect the rights and dignity of all its citizens, including its Jewish community, and words and acts of violence must have consequences.”
Gitanas Nauseda, the president of Lithuania, said he would not allow anyone related to the Nemunas Party to assume a cabinet position.
“I think a mistake has been made,” he stated, and that “a primitive, everyday antisemitism is taking hold in our country.”
