The ten thounsand Jews of Cuba have been living in a sort of vicious circle since last August. The brutal Mchado dictatorship called forth a reaction so untamed that at times is is difficult to believe life here can ever take on a normal aspect again. In five months there have been five revolutions here and five presidents, with at least twice that number of cabinets.
While the whole population suffered because of the abnormal conditions, foreigners, Jews and the laboring class were the most seriously affected. The poisonous propaganda a gainst foreigners which was begun under the Grau San Martin government is being continued by projects and laws which provide protection and privileges for natives and place foreigners in the second categrory of citizens.
The result of the nationalist and Fascist tendencies is hatred, disatisfaction and misinterpretation of the foreigner by the masses of people. Other foreign colonies, thanks to their dippomatic representatives, are protected, but the Jewish group is small and poor and without diplomatic protection or influence.
FUTURE UNCERTAIN
The general effect of this state is to create a great deal of uncertainty among the Jews as to their immediate future here. To add to this, the Grau San Martin government inaugurated a privileged status for Cuban labor as against foreign by means of the fifty per cent labor law. This law is being maintained by the present government and has antagonized native labor against the foreign workers. Purely economic strikes are interpreted as having political significance and intended to usurp the power of the government. The people are constantly being fed propaganda to the effect that all the froubles besetting the country are the resuit of imported Communism which is being spread by paid agitators.
BLAME THE JEWS
The natural persons to single out as being the “paid agitators” are, of course, the “Poliakos”-that is the Jews, persons who come from the East, from Russia. Cbans accept such propaganda at its face value, and the Jewish community suffers accordingly.
Despite these adverse conditions, however, the Jews of Cuba have begun a more inensive group life. The Inter-Social Committee, which reprents all Jewish institutions here, has renewed and strengthened its anti-German boycott activities. Meetings at which the boycott will be dscussed and literature concerning it are being planned for the non-Jewish as well as for the Jewish population.
The intensification of the boycott work was undertaken by Jewish leaders, the most prominent including the Messrs. Bliss, Tenenboim and Camioner, when it was found that a number of Jewish merchants were not cooperating. Although there is still some difference of opinion as to whether the boycott should be carried on among the non-Jewish population, it is believed that some agreement on the matter will soon be reached and the boycott movement will have the desired success.
MORE INTEGRATED LIFE
Other indications of a more integrated Jewish life are the formation of a Maccabi group, which has about 150 members, and the establishment of a Hashomer Hazair orgnization. Both attract numbers of the Jewish youth and succeed in spreading the Zionist idea among them.
The Hechalutz, whic has about 100 members, will send several of them to Palestine this month. A fund has also been established to help needy members migrate to Palestine.
The Keren Kayemeth has done a great deal to spread some idea of Jewish Culture among Jewish children here, 200 children attending the Hezl Schoo, Abraham Camioner, president of the zionist Union, announced.
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.
