Vilnius Its Jewish influence has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz. The name of the city originates from the Vilnia River. The city has also been known by many derivate spellings in various languages throughout its history: "Vilna" was once common in English. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include: , , , , , , ("Vilne"). A Russian name from the time
United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel Klein, who heads the Zionist Organization of America, said that Trump was "finally recognizing the obvious". The Simon Wiesenthal Center said Trump's announcement "will right an historic wrong". The announcement was also welcomed by the Republican Jewish Coalition. The Reform Jewish movement called it "ill-timed" and said it would "exacerbate the conflict", but also declared that "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel" and that they "share the President's belief that the US embassy should, at the right time, be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem." The Jewish Democratic Council of America similarly