Before a young bride was allowed to land here, the waiting husband, David Lichter, a young Palestinian farmer, had to promise the authorities a marriage immediately upon his wife’s arrival in port. The case nearly turned out to be a tragedy.
Before sailing, the young wife’s home was looted by vengeful Arabs, and among other things, her marriage certificate was stolen. She did not have time to procure another one, and not understanding the law, declared herself a single woman, believing she would be permitted to land as such.
As the steamer arrived a day earlier than scheduled her husband did not meet her and, there being no Jewish agents at the ship to straighten out her difficulty, she was not allowed to land and sailed a few hours later to Havana. When Lichter arrived next day at the dock he was informed of what had occurred. With great difficulty he secured permission to re-import and re-marry his wife.
Two other brides, who came to found homes with their waiting fiances, were also nearly deported to the home-country, due to a misunderstanding of immigration regulations.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
