The governing Lithuanian Social Democratic Party is to form a government with the Nemunas Party, the founder and leader of which has been indicted for inciting violence and hatred against Jews.
The move by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party has raised concern from the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who said it would „undermine the core values that unite our nations”, reports The Jewish News Syndicate.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the founder and leader of the Nemunas, has been indicted for inciting violence and hatred against Jews in the past. He 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 is still awaiting 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.”
Lithuania’s president, Gitanas Nauseda, 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.”
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