History of the Jews in Cuba

Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived on the island of Cuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to Marranos who fled the Spanish Inquisition, though few of these practice Judaism today. There was significant Jewish immigration to Cuba in the first half of the 20th century. Like others, many Jews left Cuba for the United States after the coming of Fidel Castro, and today there is a large community in South Florida. In modern Cuba there are many communities of Middle Eastern descent, including Jewish and Lebanese populations.

In February 2007 the New York Times estimated that there are about 1,500 known Jews living in Cuba, most of them (about 1,000) living in Havana [1]. They also state that Cuba has only one kosher butcher shop on the entire island and not a single rabbi, and that "This small Jewish presence [in 2007] is in stark contrast to the bustling community that existed before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. In those days, there were 15,000 Jews and five synagogues in Havana alone" [2]. The article also writes: "After Mr. Castro took power and nationalized private business and property, 90 percent of the Jewish population, many of them business owners, fled the island, and the remaining 10 percent were largely not observant" and that "Even though Israel is the only country with which Cuba has cut off diplomatic relations, there is no evidence of anti-Semitism in Cuba."

"Jewban"

"Jewban", "Juban", "Jewbano", or "Jewbana" is an ethnic nickname originating in South Florida. It was probably coined by Bernardo Benes in the 1960s. As president of Miami's Cuban Hebrew Congregation, Benes chose Jewban as the name of the synagogue's newsletter.

The term is used in a positive, self-identifying manner by Jewish Cubans, Cubans of Jewish heritage, and Jews of Cuban heritage. It is also used as an Internet domain name (http://jewban.org/) by Jewish Cuban Connection, a non-profit relief organization. In 1999, actor and playwright Frank Speiser debuted his one-man play Jewbano about growing up half-Jewish and half-Cuban in Brooklyn. Although primarily used in a positive sense, some confusion has arisen in the past where "Jewban" has been misinterpreted as an ethnic slur, or as a political statement (i.e. "Ban Jews"). In 2003 the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles attempted to withdraw a "JEWBAN" vanity plate which had previously been issued to Tabares Gomer, a Jewish Cuban, arguing that the plate could be considered anti-semitic. The department later relented and permitted Gomer to keep the license plate.

See also

• Cuban American
• Culture of Cuba
• History of the Jews in Latin America
  • List of Latin American Jews

External links

• Jewban.org
• Miami Herald article: 'JEWBAN' to state: Hands off my plate!
• Mambo mensch: Frank Speiser’s cross-cultural memoir
• 'Havana' article from the new Encyclopaedia Judaica
• Hadassah Magazine: Two-Hyphen Identity
• "The Jews of Cuba" website