Ohio Jewish Chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1994-06-09, page 01 |
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Wygji'^Cw *y 'uyiwit J. JL Jl£L The Ohio Jewish Chronicle Serving Columbus and the Central Ohio Jewish Community since 1922 ■ VOLUME 72 NUMBER 23 JUNE 9,1994 30 SIVAN 5754 Israel and Palestinians locked in tug of war over Jerusalem page 3 JCC, Capital University in community partnership page 3 Holocaust denial ads: The right to refuse . j>age 4 liberal activism gives way to anti-Semitism at Kent State University page 4 I' .= Hillel 'Karaoke' meets ftmdraising goals page 8 ABOUT THE COVER Havana, Cuba's central synagogue is El Patronato, the largest of its three synagogues. Photo by David Frishbcrg. ■■■■■ In The Chronicle ■■■■ Community.. , 6-10 Federation 16 Fifty Years Ago :.' 9 FrontPage,... 2,3 In The News 12 Lifecycle : ; , 12 Marketplace ,. 11 ii . New Generation „ 15 , Synagogues.. .*; ,13 •- Viewpoint.... , „;......„4, 5 eWorld's Week , : 2 y '-. .,. ■ ' - - 4 w«»tAds .,.,.,; .". '^U»uMi is iy-,H,.;.;*t-, ,y y'/','. , ■■ ,-...,/:;.,;." ■ Ohio Hist.Society Libr 1902 Velma Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211 COMP INTERNATIONAL FEATURE Cuban Jewry struggling after the revolution By David L. Frishberg Special To The OJC There is no cheese. There are no tomatods. To make a pizza, Cuban style, they sprinkle some sugar on a piece of rolled dough and bake it in an oven when fuel is available. Since 1989, when the former Soviet Union stopped sending money and cheap oil and buying sugar at inflated prices, Cuba has become a victim of its own rhetoric with shortages, black-outs, rationing and black markets as its chief commodities. Communism in Cuba today is the equal distribution of poverty with equal opportunity for Jews and non-Jews alike. There are about 1,200 Jews among Cuba's nearly 11 million people with the vast majority living in Havana. There are smaller communities in Camaguay, Ciehfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, but none of them have a rabbi. Before the 1959 revolution, the Jewish population of Cuba numbered 15,000. By 1962, over 90 percent had emigrated. Today, there are close to 300 who remained who are still alive. Some were commit ted Marxists; some didn't think it would last. After the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, former General Colin Powell said: "I only have two bad guys left: Kim II Sung of North Korea and Fie- def Castro of Cuba." It is now the thirty-fifth anniversary of the revolution and there are no signs that the fatigue wearing, Cohiba smoking Fidel is about to be dethroned. No one believes a civil war is imminent, especially when nobody has arms and everybody's hungry. Even the police are accountable for their firearms and must return all guns and bullets at the end of their shift. None of this has stopped the pundits from frying to predict the fall of Cuba, but if history is a guide, their odds are slim, AH the predictions of what will happen in Cuba over the last 35 years have turned out to be wrong. Dr. Jose Miller, a surgeon at the Hospital General Docente Enrique Cabrera and a former classmate of Fidel's at the University if Havana, is the president of the Patronato synagogue and the de facto head of Cuba's Jewish community. The Great Synagogue, or El Patronato, is the largest of Havana's three synagogues. The other two are Adath Israel and Chevet Achim both located in Old Havana. Like Old Havana, one of UNESCO'S World Heritage sites, they are in advanced states of decay and crumbling. Although Cuba severed relations with Israel in 1973 and maintains an official anti-Zionist policy, Dr. Miller assures visitors that the government's policy on religion has liberalized and that Judaism is respected and given equal rights. "No fascists, racists, anti- Semites or Holocaust deniers are tolerated," says Dr. Miller. "In Cuba, a Jew is like any Cuban> As conditions have worsened, the Jewish community has actually become closer and, in some ways, is seeing a revival, Hadassah has just opened a chapter in Havana and David Said Levy, a 22- year-old telephone technician from Havana, will become the only native born rabbi in Cuba when he completes his studies at Yeshiva University. Still, the community depends on outside help, and un til Levy returns to Cuba, there is no one to perform circumcisions, marriages or burials. One ofthe outsiders taking up the slack is Samuel Sztein- hendler, a Conservative rabbi from Guadalajara, Mexico, who visits the Cuban community four times a year under the sponsorship of the Joint Distribution Committee. Rabbi Szteinhendler is an important link between two Hispanic neighbors, which are unburdened by the troubled history of Cuban and American bilateral relations which comphV cates American relief effort. While the 32-year U.S. trade embargo remains in effect and U.S. policy restricts travel to Cuba, those with a proper visa (journalists, scholars, Cuban Americans visiting relatives) or those defying the ban through third countries do not go empty handed. The pharmacy at the Patronato, run by Dr. Rosa Behar, is stocked with large quantities of donated medicines from visiting Jews and relief organizations. The medicines, impossible to find in Havana's empty- shelved pharmacies, are distributed to both Jews and non- sec-CUBA pg. 14 I m\ ■4i
Object Description
Title | The OJC the Ohio Jewish chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1994-06-09 |
Subject | Jews -- Ohio -- Periodicals |
Place |
Columbus (Ohio) Franklin County (Ohio) |
Creator | OJC Pub. Co. |
Collection | Ohio Jewish Chronicle |
Submitting Institution | Columbus Jewish Historical Society |
Rights | This item may have copyright restrictions. Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information |
Type | Text |
File Name | index.cpd |
File Size | 3598 Bytes |
Searchable Date | 1994-06-09 |
Format | newspapers |
LCCN | sn91075643 |
Date created | 2016-10-31 |
Description
Title | Ohio Jewish Chronicle. (Columbus, Ohio), 1994-06-09, page 01 |
Searchable Date | 1994-06-09 |
Full Text | Wygji'^Cw *y 'uyiwit J. JL Jl£L The Ohio Jewish Chronicle Serving Columbus and the Central Ohio Jewish Community since 1922 ■ VOLUME 72 NUMBER 23 JUNE 9,1994 30 SIVAN 5754 Israel and Palestinians locked in tug of war over Jerusalem page 3 JCC, Capital University in community partnership page 3 Holocaust denial ads: The right to refuse . j>age 4 liberal activism gives way to anti-Semitism at Kent State University page 4 I' .= Hillel 'Karaoke' meets ftmdraising goals page 8 ABOUT THE COVER Havana, Cuba's central synagogue is El Patronato, the largest of its three synagogues. Photo by David Frishbcrg. ■■■■■ In The Chronicle ■■■■ Community.. , 6-10 Federation 16 Fifty Years Ago :.' 9 FrontPage,... 2,3 In The News 12 Lifecycle : ; , 12 Marketplace ,. 11 ii . New Generation „ 15 , Synagogues.. .*; ,13 •- Viewpoint.... , „;......„4, 5 eWorld's Week , : 2 y '-. .,. ■ ' - - 4 w«»tAds .,.,.,; .". '^U»uMi is iy-,H,.;.;*t-, ,y y'/','. , ■■ ,-...,/:;.,;." ■ Ohio Hist.Society Libr 1902 Velma Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211 COMP INTERNATIONAL FEATURE Cuban Jewry struggling after the revolution By David L. Frishberg Special To The OJC There is no cheese. There are no tomatods. To make a pizza, Cuban style, they sprinkle some sugar on a piece of rolled dough and bake it in an oven when fuel is available. Since 1989, when the former Soviet Union stopped sending money and cheap oil and buying sugar at inflated prices, Cuba has become a victim of its own rhetoric with shortages, black-outs, rationing and black markets as its chief commodities. Communism in Cuba today is the equal distribution of poverty with equal opportunity for Jews and non-Jews alike. There are about 1,200 Jews among Cuba's nearly 11 million people with the vast majority living in Havana. There are smaller communities in Camaguay, Ciehfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, but none of them have a rabbi. Before the 1959 revolution, the Jewish population of Cuba numbered 15,000. By 1962, over 90 percent had emigrated. Today, there are close to 300 who remained who are still alive. Some were commit ted Marxists; some didn't think it would last. After the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, former General Colin Powell said: "I only have two bad guys left: Kim II Sung of North Korea and Fie- def Castro of Cuba." It is now the thirty-fifth anniversary of the revolution and there are no signs that the fatigue wearing, Cohiba smoking Fidel is about to be dethroned. No one believes a civil war is imminent, especially when nobody has arms and everybody's hungry. Even the police are accountable for their firearms and must return all guns and bullets at the end of their shift. None of this has stopped the pundits from frying to predict the fall of Cuba, but if history is a guide, their odds are slim, AH the predictions of what will happen in Cuba over the last 35 years have turned out to be wrong. Dr. Jose Miller, a surgeon at the Hospital General Docente Enrique Cabrera and a former classmate of Fidel's at the University if Havana, is the president of the Patronato synagogue and the de facto head of Cuba's Jewish community. The Great Synagogue, or El Patronato, is the largest of Havana's three synagogues. The other two are Adath Israel and Chevet Achim both located in Old Havana. Like Old Havana, one of UNESCO'S World Heritage sites, they are in advanced states of decay and crumbling. Although Cuba severed relations with Israel in 1973 and maintains an official anti-Zionist policy, Dr. Miller assures visitors that the government's policy on religion has liberalized and that Judaism is respected and given equal rights. "No fascists, racists, anti- Semites or Holocaust deniers are tolerated," says Dr. Miller. "In Cuba, a Jew is like any Cuban> As conditions have worsened, the Jewish community has actually become closer and, in some ways, is seeing a revival, Hadassah has just opened a chapter in Havana and David Said Levy, a 22- year-old telephone technician from Havana, will become the only native born rabbi in Cuba when he completes his studies at Yeshiva University. Still, the community depends on outside help, and un til Levy returns to Cuba, there is no one to perform circumcisions, marriages or burials. One ofthe outsiders taking up the slack is Samuel Sztein- hendler, a Conservative rabbi from Guadalajara, Mexico, who visits the Cuban community four times a year under the sponsorship of the Joint Distribution Committee. Rabbi Szteinhendler is an important link between two Hispanic neighbors, which are unburdened by the troubled history of Cuban and American bilateral relations which comphV cates American relief effort. While the 32-year U.S. trade embargo remains in effect and U.S. policy restricts travel to Cuba, those with a proper visa (journalists, scholars, Cuban Americans visiting relatives) or those defying the ban through third countries do not go empty handed. The pharmacy at the Patronato, run by Dr. Rosa Behar, is stocked with large quantities of donated medicines from visiting Jews and relief organizations. The medicines, impossible to find in Havana's empty- shelved pharmacies, are distributed to both Jews and non- sec-CUBA pg. 14 I m\ ■4i |
Format | newspapers |
Date created | 2009-11-23 |