As the world watches the brutal wars unfolding in both Ukraine and Gaza, Lithuania remains vocal about Russia’s actions and Hamas’ attacks on Israel. Yet, it maintains a striking silence when it comes to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, where numerous humanitarian organisations and international institutions have raised the alarm over what they describe as potential war crimes and violations of international law.
Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website contains no official statements expressing concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Instead, it hosts warnings for travel to Israel, announcements on combating antisemitism, and general condemnations of hate speech. These efforts appear to aim at distancing the Lithuanian government from the antisemitic rhetoric of controversial MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis while reaffirming its unwavering support for Israel.
When the United Nations General Assembly votes on resolutions concerning Israeli settlements or the war in Gaza, Lithuania tries to find a balance: usually votes like most EU countries, but sides with the US and Israel in important votes or abstains altogether. The only major exception came in 2017, when Lithuania voted in favour of a resolution rejecting US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompted by then-President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s last-minute intervention.
Silence on humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Lithuanian officials have not publicly condemned even the most egregious incidents involving Israel. One such event occurred in March 2025, when Israeli forces were accused of killing and burying 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers – actions denounced by human rights organisations. Lithuania’s leadership offered no public reaction.
More recently, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė visited Israel and met with her Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz. After the visit, she highlighted the countries’ shared “military spirit” but said nothing about the suffering in Gaza or the growing number of civilian casualties.
President Isaac Herzog of Israel is expected to visit Lithuania later this year. There’s little indication that topics such as alleged war crimes or international law violations in Gaza will be on the agenda.
Why Lithuania chooses Israel
Lithuania’s consistent support for Israel stems from both historical responsibility and pragmatic geopolitical calculation, says Tomas Janeliūnas, professor at Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science.
Lithuania still carries a moral burden from the Holocaust, when some Lithuanians participated in the extermination of Jews, Janeliūnas said
One of the earliest milestones was President Algirdas Brazauskas’ official apology to the Jewish people during a 1995 visit to Israel. This symbolic gesture helped reshape Lithuanian-Israeli relations and demonstrated a willingness to address historical injustices – laying the groundwork for political alignment.
“Brazauskas’ famous apology to Israel during his visit was very deliberate. It was a political choice to acknowledge the guilt of Lithuania or the Lithuanians for the murder of the Jews, to show that Lithuania was ready to compensate the Jews for the injustices they had suffered, including the expropriation of their property,” said Janeliūnas. “This part is directly related to foreign policy, to why Lithuanian politicians decided that relations with Israel should be improved.”
Cultural affinities, too, make Lithuanians sympathise more with Israel than with the Palestinian cause, according to Janeliūnas.
“We see Jews as a historically victimized group, and there’s a sense of connection to that,” Janeliūnas added.
Security first: The US factor
The second, and arguably more influential, reason for Lithuania’s pro-Israel stance lies in its strategic relationship with the United States. As a small NATO country bordering Russia, Lithuania sees the US as its primary security guarantor. Since Israel is one of America’s closest allies, supporting Israel helps Lithuania reinforce its bond with Washington.
This was particularly evident in the early 2000s, when Lithuania was seeking NATO membership, Janeliūnas said. High-level US diplomats “consistently urged Lithuania to address unresolved Jewish property restitution issues”.
Janeliūnas recalls that Lithuanian leaders saw clear benefits: aligning with US diplomatic expectations, improving ties with Israel, and ensuring continued American support in the face of Russian aggression.
“Since we’re mostly aligned with the US, this means supporting Israel,” he said. And voting patterns at the UN reflect that – apart from the Jerusalem vote in 2017, Lithuania has consistently avoided opposing the US or Israel on critical issues.
The 2017 decision to vote against the US on Jerusalem was exceptional. According to former Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius, the ministry initially intended to abstain, but was overruled by President Grybauskaitė at the last moment.
“The Americans were clearly pressuring us. They made statements in the General Assembly hall, even ultimatums that this would affect our bilateral relations,” Linkevičius recalled in Janeliūnas’ book Foreign Policy Analysis of a Baltic State: Lithuania and the ‘Grybauskaitė Doctrine’. “I had given instructions to abstain. But then, at the eleventh hour, the president’s office decided to support the resolution.”
Pragmatic silence
Janeliūnas notes that Lithuania’s foreign policy is largely pragmatic: show solidarity with Western powers, minimise controversy, and avoid jeopardising vital relationships, especially with the US.
As long as Russia remains an existential threat, Lithuania will avoid alienating any of its key allies, he said.
Janeliūnas argues that Lithuania’s muted response is not about denial, it’s about calculated diplomacy. “This is a case of shelving our values,” he said. “We simply don’t want to get involved where it is too hot.”
But beyond pragmatism, there’s identification with Isarel’s siege mentality.
“We are looking for similarities with ourselves. We are also a small nation opposing Russia, we keep saying: Let’s be like Israel, let’s train our defence forces like Israel, let’s learn from them,” Janeliūnas said.
By contrast, Palestinians seem alien, associated with terrorism and “we do not have a great deal of empathy for them”.
“Therefore, it is natural that politicians are not under pressure from the public to change their attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to Janeliūnas.
A missed opportunity?
International legal bodies have painted a bleak picture of the conflict. In late 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif (who has since died), accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As a party to the Rome Statute, Lithuania is legally obligated to detain Netanyahu or Gallant if they were to enter the country – just as it would be for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces similar ICC charges.
The International Court of Justice has also declared Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem to be illegal and has called for an immediate halt to settlement construction.
In September 2024, a UN special committee stated that Israeli actions in Gaza exhibit signs of genocide, including mass civilian deaths and the use of starvation as a weapon.
Despite these findings, Lithuania has made no official statements acknowledging them. Skirmantas Bikelis, a legal scholar at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, believes this is a mistake.
If countries like Germany, with even deeper historical responsibility toward Jews, can name the violations for what they are, so can we, Bikelis insisted. “Political decisions to build arms factories or to organise bilateral visits are up to politicians, but it would be good to state that white is white and black is black.”
He pointed to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who, despite her staunch support for Israel, has repeatedly condemned settlement expansion and insisted that humanitarian aid must reach Gaza.
“The basis is legal reality, and the legal reality is war crimes in Gaza and violations of international law in the West Bank. There are a lot of these gross violations. And when it comes to Lithuanian foreign policy, I have not heard any acknowledgement of these blatant violations,” said Bikelis.
Cultivation of guilt
Lithuania’s muted response to Israel’s military actions in Gaza may be less about current geopolitics and more deeply rooted in historical guilt, according to Vytautas Magnus University professor Egdūnas Račius.
Račius, who studies the Middle East, argues that the lingering shame over Lithuanian collaboration in the Holocaust continues to shape political behaviour toward Israel. “Israel has been very successful in cultivating guilt,” Račius said. “They do it professionally. […] I’ve even been asked personally, ‘What was your grandfather doing between 1941 and 1944?’”
He believes this strategy has successfully worked not so much on the Lithuanian public, but on the country’s political elite.
Economic and strategic interests also play a role. Račius points out that avoiding tension with Israel is seen as beneficial for attracting investment from Jewish business communities abroad, especially Litvaks – Jews of Lithuanian descent – in Israel, the United States, and South Africa.
Lithuania also cooperates with Israel in defence, as it expands its military capabilities and seeks partners for arms development. “There are many reasons why Lithuania is favourable to Israel,” Račius said. “And realistically, why would Lithuania side with Arab nations? We have no strong economic or cultural ties, no Arab diaspora, and no embassies here.”
Regarding public opinion, Račius said he has not seen recent polling but senses a growing critical view of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which has nothing to do with antisemitism. “People are becoming more aware,” he said. “But there’s also political correctness. Any criticism of Israel is quickly labelled antisemitic.”
This makes no sense, he added, since Palestinians are Semites too.
MFA: ‘Lithuania is not insensitive to the current situation’
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys reiterated that Lithuania supports Israel’s right to self-defence, especially following the October 7 Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages. He said Hamas must release remaining hostages and return the bodies of those killed.
However, Budrys acknowledged that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is alarming. Over 52,000 Palestinians have reportedly died in Israel’s offensive, and international aid has been largely blocked since March.
“Among other things, we are concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Budrys said. “We support immediate access to humanitarian aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, because what is happening now is clearly unacceptable and is not in the interest of Israel’s fundamental security interests. I do not want to leave any doubt that Lithuania is not insensitive to the current situation. Gaza is a humanitarian disaster.”
Budrys insists that Lithuania, like the EU, supports humanitarian aid, hostages’ release and endorses a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
However, such a resolution is increasingly unlikely, as Israeli settlements continue to expand in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, further undermining the prospect of a viable Palestinian state.
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