FEBRUARY 1 • 2024 | 21

ment policies and now a lack 
of agricultural supplies. The 
Communist regime, which 
discourages political dissent, 
allows limited private enterprise 
— mainly small family-owned 
businesses. 
On the positive side, 
Levinson says, “The people of 
Cuba are very respectful of the 
Jewish community. There is 
no discrimination or antisem-
itism.
” 
According to Steve Boudin of 
West Bloomfield, members of 
the Cuban Jewish community 
were “nervous about talking to 
us,
” and he thought an official 
talk to the group was a “pro-
paganda speech.
” Forman said 
that some Cubans had “some 
animosity toward Americans 
and the embargo.
” 
Havana’s Ashkenazi and 
Sephardic Jews hold joint ser-
vices at Beth Shalom, adjacent 
to the Patronato, the Jewish 
community center which 
has a social hall, library and 
other facilities. According to 

Levinson, Adath Israel, the 
Orthodox congregation, has 
separate services. Visiting rab-
bis come from Costa Rica and 
Venezuela, says Levinson. 
Prior to the American group’s 
arrival, the synagogue asked 
for decorations and candy for 
Chanukah. The group brought 
these items as well as some 
clothes, over-the-counter med-
ications for the synagogue’s free 
pharmacy and donated funds. 
Levinson says that medication 
is in short supply.
The community has men’s, 
women’s and seniors’ clubs and 
celebrates all Jewish holidays. 
Free Shabbat dinners are held 
twice a month since the end 
of the pandemic, funded by 
a Detroit couple who want to 
remain anonymous.
Levinson said that four other 
cities in the interior have small 
Jewish communities, which she 
visited prior to the pandemic. 
The Detroit-Chicago group vis-
ited her family’s former Havana 
home where the current resi-
dents still have one of her fami-
ly photos on the wall.
While some Cuban Jews 
seek to emigrate for economic 
reasons, others are content to 
remain. Boudin said that many 
Cuban Jews are old and, for 
them, “it’s home.
” 
“It’s really a beautiful com-
munity — very caring for each 
other. They were very touched 
by our visit,
” Levinson says. 

continued from page 19
Ashkenazi synagogue

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