When I saw that an Interim Course in Cuba was offered by Gender and Race Studies at the University of Alabama, I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of a student group studying “Culture, Religion and Race.”  I registered for the class with Dr. Marouan and received approval to study the Jewish Diaspora in Cuba as my special topic.  Beforehand, I located books and bits of information on Cuban Jews to learn as much as possible about my subject.  Next, upon arriving in Havana, my first approach was to visit the Synagogues of the Ashkenazi (European) and the Sephardic (Spanish).  I found English speakers in each synagogue who provided me with valuable information about Cuban Jewish culture before, after, and during the Revolution.  I even got interviews from some who had their families killed during the Holocaust and some whose families had escaped and settled in Cuba before 1933. As I asked more and more questions, I learned that a few Holocaust survivors were buried in both the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi cemeteries in Quanabacoa (quite a distance from Havana).  I knew that I would not be satisfied with my investigation of the survivors without visiting their graves.  The reason I chose this topic is because I am a student of Holocaust Studies, although a non-Jew.  I believe that every history of a culture is important and my topic, about which little is discussed, required a good bit of research concerning the Jewish Disapora to Cuba.  I share just a bit of what I found below.   
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There is no definite date of when the first Jews arrived in Cuba, but historical data places three Jews among Columbus’s 1492 crew to set foot on the island. Their names were Luis de Torres, Juan de Cabera, and Rodrigo de Triana Marranos (of course, they were all forced converts to Catholicism). 

Interestingly enough, describing Havana, Columbus stated, “…the loveliest land ever beheld by human eyes.” For later Jews, Havana was to become thought of as simply a “hotel,” or stopping off place on their never-ending journey to somewhere else.  For some, Cuba became home, at least for a while until they were forced to move on.  A few, however, remained entrenched despite all odds, even to this day..

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In records of Cuba’s founding (that also documents Cuba’s Jewry) show that there was no escape for Jews from persecution, even though they were far away from  their previous homeland of Spain.  By 1519, the Holy Inquisition had reached Cuba and Jews were hunted out and exposed as conversos, “Secret Jews.”  Francisco Gomez de Leon, as is recorded, was sought out and captured as a converso.  He was a Jewish merchant who was tried in Havana and executed in Cartagena.  For the Jews of Portugal during the 16th and 17th century, their escape from persecution led them in their diaspora to relocate in Cuba from Brazil.  These industrious immigrants established trade that led as far away as Amsterdam and Hamburg.  However, due to constant anti-Semitic violence, many just simply assimilated into Catholic Cuba.
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In 1762, during a ten-month period of English occupation of Cuba, “international trade was opened up and Jewish merchants permitted to sail with the English fleet led by Admiral George Pocock who had captured Havana the previous summer.”  By that time, Jews had helped establish the sugar industry.  Hernando de Castro, called “the father of Cuban sugar industry” was with Pocock’s fleet along with Jacob Franks, a New York based Jewish merchant.  Franks was known for working with Jews of Cuba, importing thousands of slaves to them under British occupation to use as workers in the sugar-cane fields. By the late 1800s, many Jews from the Dutch Antilles had also settled in Cuba and  supported Jose Marti, the liberator of Cuba from Spanish colonial rule in 1898.  Finally, in 1904, due to the growing Jewish diaspora to the island, a Jewish congregation was founded in Havana. 

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Approximately 1,500 Jews remain in Cuba today, many in this same congregation.  Although dwindled in numbers due to circumstances, their rich heritage lives on through them, of a people determined to survive and live to tell their story. (Tropical Diaspora: The Jewish Experience in Cuba by Robert M. Levine ).
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Today, according to Maritza Corrales’ The Chosen Island – Jews in Cuba, “Hebrews in Cuba…are seen as Cuban citizens, with equal rights” which reflects the ideas of Jose Marti, of tolerance, respect, and the rights of all minorities and mankind.  When public religious institutions were nationalized and private industry was taken over in 1961, the government sponsored school, the Albert Einstein, was allowed to teach classes on Jewish history, Hebrew, and Yiddish.  Also, their radio program in Yiddish was allowed to continue broadcasting and the kosher butcher shop remained open as the only private business in the country.  The Jewish community kept their religious buildings and those who wanted to immigrate to Israel were allowed to do so.  Although their congregations are very small today, they are quite active, not only on their Sabbath, but during the week in which they reach out to every age of their community, from youth to elderly.  Even though they are a very tiny minority in Cuba, Jews maintain a strong sustainable community, even reaching out to non-Jews by sponsoring a weekly pharmacy, dispensing whatever medications they can gather to anyone in need.  They are Cubans first.