Inside Jewish Cuba A Short History with Map of Havana’s Jewish Sites Today’s Jewish Community Today, Cuba’s approximately 1,500 Jews are actively shaping a vibrant and meaningful Jewish experience for their community. Jewish teenagers prepare for bar and bat mitzvahs through a study program Hundreds of Jews share in a communal chicken dinner following Shabbat services at the island’s five synagogues Children and adults participate in Jewish dance troupes that connect them to their cultural identity and each other About JDC Cuba’s Jewish History The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters. While the Jewish presence in Cuba dates back 500 years to the time of the Spanish Inquisition, organized Jewish life began in the 20th century with the founding of the island’s first synagogue in Havana in 1906 and the consecration of the first Jewish cemetery four years later. Several waves of Jewish immigrants— primarily from the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Europe—reached Cuba over the next five decades and together built more than a dozen synagogues in as many communities. Following the revolution in 1959, 90% of Cuba’s Jews left and Jewish life on the island lay dormant. To learn more, visit www.JDC.org Religious educators from Latin America visit Cuba to teach Jewish traditions More than 150 children and parents attend Jewish educational programs each weekend Due to a change in the Cuban constitution allowing for greater religious freedoms, in 1991 the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) began working with the community president, Dr. José Miller (z”l), and the remaining Jews to rebuild Jewish life on the island. JDC Jewish community development professionals have since created opportunities for local Jews to explore their heritage, resulting in a dynamic Jewish renaissance from one end of the island to the other. supported by the Jewish Federations of North America ”Some make love their home... others turn a dream into their home... Jews turn their religion into their home.” Photo Credits -José Martí, published in La Opinión Nacional, Caracas, December 24, 1881 Michael Priest from left to right: JDC/Julian Voloj (1,2,3) JDC (4) Michael Priest (5,6) Jewish Sites Michael Priest (1,2) JDC/Julian Voloj (3,4,5,6) Cover Inside pages 3/2011 Jewish Sites From the retro-chic neighborhood of Vedado to the colonial village of Guanabacoa, you can visit a number of major sites of Jewish interest in Havana. Highlights include the Patronato Community Center and Synagogue and the oldest Holocaust memorial in the Western hemisphere, found at the United Hebrew Congregation (Ashkenazi) Cemetery. Enjoy your Jewish journey through Havana, el alma de Cuba! Havana Santa Clara Cienfuegos Sancti Spiritus 1 2 Patronato (Beit Shalom) Synagogue Calle I #241 entre 13 y 15 Sephardic Center Calle 17 #462 esquina E M a 2 Capitolio Nacional s e or de Allend Ashkenazi Cemetery Guanabacoa ez óm Má xim tí oG ar M ta Zapa Plaza de la Revolución Ave. de la Independencia Este entre Obelisco y Puente 4 gi do E Ave. Salvad te ra da de Calle G entre 5ta y Final Old 3 Havana r se nt Mo te en a id a Central Havana id 23 Castillo del Principe en Av Cementerio Cristóbal Colón Line 6 Picota 52 esquina Acosta Havana Bay es Pr o se e Av Calza n Adath Israel, Orthodox Synagogue San Lázaro os da ni Pa Vedado 15 eL le l Ca .d Li e Av a ne fanta a de In ad lz Ca Calzad 1 ale e Av Sephardic Cemetery 4 East Havana Guantánamo n co a. 5 Calle San Ignacio #103 esquina Amargura Gulf of Mexico Camagüey Santiago de Cuba 5t Hotel Raquel Jewish Communities in Cuba Cuba ida 3 saria a Ro id Aven Havana Independen ci a O este 5 Independencia Este Miramar Car rete r a Ce ntra l 6