"Battle" in Lithuanian Jewish community over property restitution

Tempers are still running high in the Jewish community of Lithuania, with the row between orthodox and liberal Jewish organizations about property taken from Jews during the Nazi occupation in World War II. Its is estimated that in the capital Vilnius, which was once called "Jerusalem of the East", two fifths of all property in the old center belonged to Jews. The country's parliament has passed a law which allows for the restitution of this property to the rightful owners, including many sites that used to be synagogues, schools and community centers. The law requires that such properties be restituted to a "religious community". The argument in the Jewish community is about whether the Chassidic community led by the self-declared Chief Rabbi Shalom Ber Krinsky or the lay community, which runs soup kitchens and other welfare programs, should get the properties. The row also overshadowed the second World Congress of Litvaks (i.e. Jews with Lithuanian origin), which was held over the weekend in Vilnius' only remaining synagogue. Some participants even resorted to fist-fighting to express their views.