A Zionist youth group held a Purim celebration in the Jewish Community Center in Havana yesterday, according to a report from Havana to the New York Times. The report stated the Castro Government permits Cuban Jews to pursue cultural, religious and Zionist activities, having recently allowed three Cuban Zionists to attend a conference in Israel.
Cuba’s Jewish population, which numbered about 10,000 in pre-Castro days, has now been reduced to about 2,500, most of the Jews have emigrated to the United States, the report said. It added that Jews in Havana still maintain five synagogues, but have no rabbi. They receive kosher meat and poultry from the Government slaughterhouses and matzoh from Canada.
“Judaism and the Hebrew and Yiddish languages are still being taught after regular classes in Havana’s Albert Einstein School. This institution has been nationalized, like all other private schools, and only 60 of its 400 pupils are Jewish,” the report stated.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
