Jewish Cuba

FACTS

Much to my surprise and delight I learned that there was no anti-Semitism in Cuba. The Synagogues are wide open and anyone can enter at any time. I am sure all of you who have visited Synagogues and other Jewish sights around the world are very familiar with the high security measures that are taken: fences, cameras, guards. This is not the case in Cuba.

After the revolution in 1959 the government took over all private businesses. There were only two businesses that were allowed to remain private, one is the only kosher butcher in the country and the other was…GUESS!!!! - (click here for answer) - Beef, which is very scarce, disappeared from state-owned grocery stores after the 1991 collapse of Cuba's old economic partner, the former Soviet Union. It is very expensive but is available at “CUC” stores (CUC is the Cuban Convertible Peso – one of the two currencies that are used in the country – I will tell you more about this later). “CUC” stores cater to foreigners and tourists, although if a Cuban has “CUCs” he or she may shop at any of these stores. Of course kosher meat is not available at the “CUC” stores (Manischewitz wine is for some odd reason) but the 50+ year old kosher butcher still survives. The meat here is only sold in pesos (the other currency in which all Cubans are paid) and each person is only allowed to buy their monthly quota of 2 pounds of meat per person. The shop sells only meat, which it receives about three times a month. On the “meat” days, shoppers are let into the store just a few at time. They must bring their own plastic bags. A big floor fan circulates hot air and chases away the flies. Butchers chop thick chunks on a wooden board or grind meat by hand.

Manischewitz on shelf of CUC store	Kosher butcher

The question I get asked the most is, “How many Jews are there in Cuba?” The answer is approximately 1,500, most of whom live in Havana. A map of the distribution of the Jewish population and/or Jewish sites was on the wall as Adela spoke to us. We visited many of those sites. Our first stop out of Havana was the city of Santa Clara.