The Jewish Political Elite in Vilnius and its Discussion Around Emerging Lithuania, 1915— 1918 / ההנהגה הפוליטית היהודית בווילנה והמחלוקת על דמותה של המדינה הליטאית המתגבשת, 1915—1918

• Published in: היסטוריה: כתב עת של החברה ההיסטורית הישראלית 2014-08 (33), p.117-156
• Main Authors: זילבר, מרקוס, Silber, Marcos
• Format: Article
• Language: Hebrew
• ISSN: 0334-4843

The article presents the changing attitude of the Jewish political leadership in Vilnius regarding the project of Lithuanian statehood during the fluctuating circumstances of the German occupation of Lithuania during World War I. What should the geographical borders of the new Lithuanian state be? What kind of relations should it have with neighboring states, and how should its various populations and societies relate to one another? How should they be governed? In short, what kind of country are we talking about when we speak of Lithuania, from the point of view of its ethnic Jewish population? The article shows that the broad approaches to these questions that had evolved a decade before World War I changed in light of the events of the war itself, and the development of the Lithuanian national movement. The article shows how it was precisely the Lithuanian Jews who thought in terms of a larger entitity, relating to the historical Lithuanian precedent, while Lithuanian nationalists thought in terms of a small and compact ethnically Lithuanian territory. The article claims that the majority of the Vilnius Jewish leadership were pro-Russian. They supported the inclusion of Lithuania in a federal and democratic Russia where Jews would acquire minority rights. Jewish leaders rejected the establishment of a Lithuanian nation state, because it aroused fears that the Jews would experience cultural and economic discrimination. Instead of a Lithuanian nation state they proposed a state of nationalities, presenting various elaborate models of autonomy that would enable equality among all the citizens of the state at individual and collective levels. Although representatives of the Vilnius Jewish community found the Lithuanian nation state project unacceptable, they began consultations and negotiations with the Lithuanian leadership. Because of the changing geopolitical circumstances of 1918, Zionist leaders were inclined to look for a compromise with the Lithuanians. However, as long as the Lithuanians received the support of the occupation administration and had no plan to discard the model of a national state within ethnic borders, it was difficult to reach an agreement. Both Jewish and Lithuanian politicians did not change their basic requirements until the very end of the German occupation in December 1918, when changing circumstances accelerated an agreement.