Stanley Cohen, regional
chair of the B'nai B'rith Center for Public Policy (CPP),
represented B'nai B'rith at the recent rededication
of the Beth Shalom Synagogue, Havana's only Conservative
Jewish synagogue. The synagogue was restored after many
years of disrepair, thanks to the donations made either
through or by B'nai B'rith, the Joint Distribution Committee,
Jewish Federations, and other organizations.
A crowd of approximately 300
people, including several officials from the Cuban government,
attended the rededication. The restored synagogue - the upper
half of the Patronato, Havana's de facto JCC - now boasts
air conditioning (a must in tropical Cuba), an electronic
sound system, and renovated classrooms and offices. The hole
in the main sanctuary's roof, a seeming magnet for birds in
years past, was also fixed.
While in Cuba, Cohen also
attended a meeting of the B'nai B'rith Maimonides Lodge
of Havana and presented President Isaac Gelen with an
antique bejeweled prayer book as a gift. Among those
attending the meeting was June Safran of Oakland, California,
who heads up B'nai B'rith's relief efforts for Cuban
Jews in the Bay Area. "Our B'nai B'rith group [in
Cuba] appears to be very active and we will continue
to work with them in the coming months," says Cohen.
While many Cuban Jews
have quietly immigrated to Israel over the past two
years, over a thousand remain to form the basis of a
21st century Jewish community. With their synagogue
restored, the community's spirits are high, Cohen says.
"They really feel as though the synagogue is here
to stay," he says.
Dan Joseph
