By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound
Not long after the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle announced it would be leading a delegation to Cuba this spring, President Barack Obama announced that international relations would be restored between the United States and the small island nation after decades of strained ties. At the same time, the surprise release of Jewish American contractor Alan Gross from Cuban prison produced a happy reaction around the Jewish world.
“We are thrilled that Alan Gross has been released,” said Keith Dvorchik, the Federation’s CEO. “That is the first and most important thing.”
As for the thaw, he continued, time will tell what that means for both countries and their Jewish populations.
Cuba was once home to some 15,000 Jews spread across the country. Jewish presence on the island dates back 500 years, with the bulk of the community arriving from the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Europe in the 20th century. Following the rise of Fidel Castro to power in 1959, almost all of them took flight. As the country descended into communism and financial crisis, the Jewish community, just a shadow of its former self, struggled to maintain its identity and its institutions fell into disrepair.
Despite myriad problems, no iron curtain surrounds Cuba, and since the 1990s the American Joint Distribution Committee has been aiding the community of approximately 1,500 by bringing in medicine and extra food, providing challah and Shabbat chicken dinners, revitalizing Jewish life with Bar and Bat Mitzvah programs, religious education, Israeli dance, and summer camp, and cultivating the next generation of Cuban Jewish leaders. The JDC has been so effective, in fact, that last year they pulled their staff from the ground.
“The community has reached a point where they can implement programs,” said Michael Novick, executive director of strategic development at the JDC. “The need for an on-the-ground staff from the outside is no longer the case.”
Rachel Marinos at 206-774-2219 or
at rachelm@jewishinseattle.org.
For over a decade, according to Novick, Federations from around the U.S. have been visiting the Cuban community.
“I think it’s very important that there be a real connection between the Jews of Puget Sound and the Jews around the world,” said Dvorchik. “As we began looking for ways to enhance this connection, it became clear that there were synergies and great partnership opportunities with JDC.”
He spoke with Novick and other community leaders and decided Cuba would be a “great opportunity to showcase a Jewish community that many people have no idea about.”
The trip takes place March 25-29 and includes visits to synagogues, the mikvah, cemetery, community center, and the Holocaust memorial — which was the first in the Western Hemisphere — as well as sites of Cuban cultural interest, like Old Havana and art museums. The short program will not stop for Shabbat, but participants will spend Friday evening at the Patronato Synagogue in Havana with the community for dinner. On Saturday, they’ll visit the Sephardic Hebrew Center — Havana’s only Sephardic synagogue — and return to the Patronato for Havdalah and an Israeli dance performance. Kashrut cannot be accommodated in Cuba, but arrangements can be made for kosher-style meals. (Rumor has it that Cubans are pork enthusiasts, so beware.)
As far as trips go, Cuba is close and easy to get to on a religious visa.
“In the month of March it’s also pretty good weather,” said Novick. “It’s the Caribbean, after all.”