Vilniaus intelektinis elitas ir "žydų klausimas" 1856-1863 metais

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Vilniaus intelektualinis elitas; Vilnius, elitas, intelektualai, žydai; Žydų klausimas 1856–1863 m; Jewish question 1856–1863; Vilnius' intellectual elite; Vilnius, elites, intellectuals, Jews.

ENVladas Sirutavičius, in "The intellectual elite of Vilnius and the ‘Jewish question’ (1856-1863)", looks at how the more liberal of the Lithuanian nobles comprehended the need for reforms regarding the Jews. Sirutavičius devotes most of his attention to the "Jewish question" in Lithuania’s press, specifically, in Kurjer Wileński, edited by Adam Honory Kirkor. The “maskils” of Vilnius, who in 1860 received permission to publish their weekly Ha-Karmel, joined in this public discussion. Sirutavičius concludes that the writers who had discussed the granting of "civil rights" to the Jews did not support this idea unconditionally. They felt that the Jews first had to "change morally;" only then could their "fusion" into society be considered. According to Sirutavičius, liberal Lithuanian nobles and the new intelligentsia feared that reforms would encourage partial Jewish cultural assimilation and would distance the Jews even further from Lithuania’s Polish society.