Cuba
Overview
Cuba has a unique and compelling place in the history of Jewish life in Latin America. Most are aware that Cuba—only 90 miles south of Key West, Florida—has had extremely strained relations with the U.S. since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. (He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his brother, Raul.) What is less well known is that Cuba is home to 1,500 Jews and that this community had lost connection to Jewish culture and tradition under communism. A change in Cuban law allowing religious expression in 1991 enabled JDC to re-enter the country. Since then, JDC has supported the community’s remarkable resurgence. The majority of Jews live in Havana, with smaller but active communities in Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Guantanamo, Sancti Spiritus, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.
Need
Cuba has struggled economically since the fall of the Soviet Union and the loss of subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion, annually. There is a need for humanitarian aid as well as religious and cultural support for the island’s small Jewish community.
Response
Since 1991, JDC has helped to provide food and medicine to the Jewish community; organized a non-sectarian medical consultation and training program; and worked to reconnect the community to its Jewish roots through Sunday school classes, study groups, and communal holiday celebrations. JDC’s efforts also include:
- Rehabilitation of Jewish communal institutions
- Establishment of a community pharmacy at the Patronato, the Jewish Community Center and Conservative Synagogue in Havana
- Leadership training to ensure that synagogues and other community institutions can be sustained
- Home repairs for the elderly or people with special needs, carried out by community youth
Impact
JDC helps ensure that the Jewish community’s welfare and cultural/religious needs are met while developing young leaders who will ensure a self-sustaining future. JDC successes include:
- Some 400 Shabbat meals served weekly
- 80 children and 40 adults attend weekly Jewish education classes
- The first Bar/Bat Mitzvah Jewish study effort in Cuba in 40 years was organized in 2003, with 9 Bar/Bat Mitzvahs celebrated in 2009
- Youth leaders and teachers, trained by JDC, give Hebrew and Jewish studies classes throughout Cuba
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