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WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF THE CUBAN
JEWISH COMMUNITY
Thanks to the endeavour of many valuable comrades
we can publish the Website of the Cuban Jewish Community. We aim
at showing life in our community as it is, by giving as much information
as possible about history, traditions, customs and peculiarities
of the Jewish life in Cuba.
Nowadays, in the world, there are diverse Websites about the Jewish
Community in Cuba, but none of them has been developed in our Community;
thus, much of the information shown in them doesn’t reflect
the true characteristics or lacks information about relevant issues
of the development of our congregation.
By publishing this website, the Hebrew Community of Cuba creates
an informative and illustrative site that will let other Jews know
about the history, groups, organizations and projects developed
in our Community.
CUBA AND ITS JEWS
In 1893, when Jose Marti was fighting for the necessary war, which
would bring independence for Cuba, he wrote for the newspaper Patria,
the journal of the Cuban revolutionary party , promoter of the independent
movement he had founded in the exile, an article about the racial
issue he wrote was threatening to damage the union of the revolutionaries.
From this article we quote:* ... racist has been a confusing word,
we have to clarify the term. Who would dare to be conceited about
his race and think he has special rights?
Men have no special rights just for being from one race or another;
say man, and you would say all rights. What divides men, everything
specifying, everything framing or isolating men is a sin against
humanity.
These are Marti’s concepts. His principles are the foundation
of our Republic and our national spirit. Our concepts of nationality
and citizenship reject the old religious and racist prejudices which
exclude any individuality, ethnic or cultural. These have been changed
for respect and mutual understanding, tolerance and coexistence
that grow from human comprehension.
Since its origin, the most intelligent leaders of The Jewish Community
have looked for, through the most relevant non Jewish citizens,
their traditions and customs, both religious and cultural and they
were understood and accepted naturally as the lifestyle of a part
of the citizenship, which particularly constituted a different community,
but in general is as Cuban as any other.
In this way, this immigrant community that began coming to Cuba
from the very beginning of our Republic was forming families and
upbringing their children: The First Cuban Jews.
Everything our Community has created is a part of the historical
and cultural inheritance. The Historian of the city of Havana, Eusebio
Leal Spengler PhD has known and assessed this value and relevance
in the historical center.
The opening of The Raquel Hotel with its Cuban-Jewish atmosphere
and its kosher food, the permanent exhibition of “The Forgotten”
painted by Victor Manuel, one of the greats of the Cuban fine arts,
who was inspired by the tragic incident of the ST. Louis Ship with
more than 900 Jewish passengers, who at that time were persecuted
by The Nazis while looking for the shelter in America, and had to
go back to the Holocaust Europe as it didn’t find where to
land.
Dr Leal has to reproduce the painting and place it at The Raquel
Hotel and that is another sign of his and the Cuban people’s
respect for the imprints of the Jewish presence in Cuba. This year
a booklet was published by The Fernando Ortiz Foundation under the
sponsorship of the writer Miguel Barnet, this launching was made
with enthusiasm in the first days of February.
The Jewish Community thanks Dr Eusebio Leal,
Historian of The City of Havana, Dr Miguel Barnet, President of
The Fernando Ortiz Foundation, and B, A. Maritza Corrales, publisher
of the booklet for their contribution in pointing out the place
The Jewish Community has in the history and life of The Republic
of Cuba.
Jose Miller, Dr.
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