Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 Lithuania returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999, having withdrawn after their debut entry in 1994. Lithuania's second Eurovision entry came from Aistė, who performed "Strazdas" (The song thrush) at the 1999 Contest in Jerusalem, Israel. For Lithuania's return to Eurovision after five years, the Lithuanian broadcaster Lietuvos radijas ir televizija (LRT) held a national final to select the second Lithuanian entry. The contest was held on 27 December 1998, but was not broadcast on television until 31 December, and was recorded in the capital Vilnius, hosted by Vilija Grigonyte and Vytautas
History of the Jews in Lithuania "kahals" were not successful. The impoverished Jewish merchants, having no capital of their own, were compelled to borrow money from the nobility, from churches, congregations, monasteries, and various religious orders. Loans from the latter were usually for an unlimited period and were secured by mortgages on the real estate of the "kahal". The "kahals" thus became hopelessly indebted to the clergy and the nobility. In 1792 the Jewish population of Lithuania was estimated at 250,000 (as compared with 120,000 in 1569). The whole of the commerce and industries of Lithuania, now rapidly declining, was in the hands of the Jews.