DESCRIPTION:

On this journey across Cuba, learn about the island’s Jews as well as the larger society in which they live. Cubans love the arts; see paintings, watch – and try – salsa dancing. See how these mediums express Cubans’ changing feelings about their island and their lives. Learn about Cuban and Jewish politics, history, architecture, their outlook on the USA, and the island's struggling economy. Walk through cobblestone streets little changed in decades, see the vintage 1950’s American automobiles that cruise the boulevards, and listen to the music that seems to escape from almost every doorway. Cuba is vibrant, fascinating, and changing quickly.

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The history and heritage of the Jews of Cuba is rich, layered, and influenced by an amalgam of Jews primarily from Turkey, Eastern Europe, and those who fled Europe prior to the Holocaust. Jews first arrived in Cuba as conversos (the descendants of baptized Jews suspected of secret adherence to Judaism), sailing with Columbus, who landed here in 1492. In the 1900s, Sephardic Jews from Turkey arrived after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and Ashkenazi Jews fleeing the Nazis arrived because Cuba lacked the immigration quotas of the US. Many stayed, building businesses and synagogues in a country with very little anti-Semitism. In 1959, Cuban Jews numbered 15,000. The vast majority lived in Havana, which supported five synagogues, five Jewish elementary schools, a Jewish high school, and a kosher restaurant. But after the Revolution, 94 percent of Cuba’s Jews emigrated, most of them to Miami.

 

CONSIDER:

Havana has one or two luxury hotels and several three-star hotels. However, outide of Havana the quality of lodging drops fairly signicicantly to basic but clean accommodations. If luxury is important, then a Havana-only trips is best. That said, the vast majority of visitors to Cuba only visit Havana, thus the experience outside of the capital is truly fascinating: a window on the "real" rural Cuba.

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Because of Cuba’s difficult economic straits, Jewish tourism to Cuba is often seen as a mitzvah.

 

OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS & ADD-ONS:

Visit Pinar del Rio, Cuba's beautiful, remote, and traditional tobacco-growing region.