The Jews of Cuba

Cuban Family Roots PODCAST

In this episode I recount the early settlement of Jews to Cuba beginning in 1508 when the new Christians arrived in Habana. I discuss the inquisition proceeding to the tribunals of 17th century until the abolition of the Spanish Inquisition in 1834. I also discuss the many contribution Jews made in Cuba from aiding Cubans in the war of independence to the founding of Cuba's cane sugar fields and the first refineries. Then in the 1900's the migration of the Young Turks which brought many Sephardi Jews to Cuba and later in the 1920's, Ashkenazi's began to migrate to Cuba. The Jews began a great emigration from Cuba after Fidel Castro assumed power in January 1959, following an armed revolution against Batista. The Jews begin to settle in South Florida, a community that still lives today. In the second Segment, my guest Marcos Kerbel, a distinguished international banker and University professor, consultant and community leader tells us about why and how his Jewish parents and grandparents ended up migrating to Cuba. Marcos was born in Cuba and raised in La Habana’s Guanabacoa neighborhood. Throughout the interview he recounts his life in Cuba and what it was like to be Jewish in Cuba during that time. When Castro took possession of Cuba in 1959, Marcos immigrated to the United States via Operation Peter Pan.

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