Jews Cuba

Many of the 35 people gathered at the Northridge craft store had never painted. Others were regulars at Kids N' Paint, where customers decorate ceramic gifts or have art-oriented parties for birthdays and other special occasions. But they all felt a connection to the menorahs they painted as gifts for 90 Jews in Santiago, Cuba--many of whom this year will celebrate Hanukkah for the first time. The observance begins at sundown Dec. 23.

Israel confirmed that 400 Cuban Jews were brought to the country in the past five years in a secret operation that had the blessing of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Cuban immigrants interviewed at a center in the southern coastal town of Ashkelon said the operation was common knowledge in Cuba. But a spokesman for the small Jewish community in Cuba angrily denied any secret operation, saying some Cuban Jews had left for Israel, but not in high numbers and not as part of a secret pact.

The traditions began with Abraham and they've been passed down faithfully for nearly 4,000 years. But they came close to dying out for a generation of Jews in Communist-controlled Cuba. Fidel Castro never said they could not worship, but most of Cuba's Jews fled the island after he took control in 1959. Many others gave up going to the synagogue and the island was left without a rabbi. One man now hopes to become the only native-born rabbi in Cuba.

Many of the 35 people gathered at the Northridge craft store had never painted. Others were regulars at Kids N' Paint, where customers decorate ceramic gifts or have art-oriented parties for birthdays and other special occasions. But they all felt a connection to the menorahs they painted as gifts for 90 Jews in Santiago, Cuba--many of whom this year will celebrate Hanukkah for the first time. The observance begins at sundown Dec. 23.

Israel confirmed that 400 Cuban Jews were brought to the country in the past five years in a secret operation that had the blessing of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Cuban immigrants interviewed at a center in the southern coastal town of Ashkelon said the operation was common knowledge in Cuba. But a spokesman for the small Jewish community in Cuba angrily denied any secret operation, saying some Cuban Jews had left for Israel, but not in high numbers and not as part of a secret pact.

Many of the 35 people gathered at Kids N' Paint last week had never painted. Others were regulars at the craft store, where customers paint ceramic gifts or have painting parties for birthdays and other special occasions. But they all felt a connection to the menorahs they painted as gifts for 90 Jews in Santiago, Cuba--many of whom this year will celebrate their first Hanukkah, which begins at sundown Dec. 23.

In a dimly lit basement in the section of the city known as Old Havana, a game of dominoes is going fast and furious. Elderly men hover around the table, betting and bickering in two languages--Spanish and Yiddish. Again and again, Cuban pesos change hands. "Moishe, Moishe, pay up," insists Abraham Berezniak, the lone middle-aged player and this night's big winner. "Hurry." They hurry because sunset is six minutes away.

The 15th anniversary Jewish Film Festival, boasting eight world or North American premieres and offering 42 films this year, opens today in San Francisco and continues there through July 27. The festival also runs in Berkeley from July 29-Aug. 3. While similar, smaller festivals are held in other cities around the country, this is the largest of its kind. The works come from 14 countries, and they are all by and about Jews.

He carries a dictionary under his arm and wears a very large Star of David around his neck. His name is Fidel Babani, but you can call him Senor Scrabble. Babani, in addition to being an active member of Cuba's tiny Jewish community, is president of the also small, but growing, Cuban Scrabble Assn. Two very different passions, perhaps, but in his island nation, adherents have followed parallel paths: From both vantage points, Babani has seen slow, sometimes contradictory change.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, the largest crowd of worshipers since Fidel Castro's Communist revolution all but silenced the Roman Catholic Church here in the early 1960s overflowed into the streets outside the Cathedral of Havana. As Cardinal Roger Etchegaray of France ended an unusual Vatican mission to Cuba with a solemn New Year's Mass, he posed a crowd-pleasing question: "What message shall I take to the Pope?" "That he come! That he come! That he come!"

Many of the 35 people gathered at Kids N' Paint last week had never painted. Others were regulars at the craft store, where customers paint ceramic gifts or have painting parties for birthdays and other special occasions. But they all felt a connection to the menorahs they painted as gifts for 90 Jews in Santiago, Cuba--many of whom this year will celebrate their first Hanukkah, which begins at sundown Dec. 23.

The traditions began with Abraham and they've been passed down faithfully for nearly 4,000 years. But they came close to dying out for a generation of Jews in Communist-controlled Cuba. Fidel Castro never said they could not worship, but most of Cuba's Jews fled the island after he took control in 1959. Many others gave up going to the synagogue and the island was left without a rabbi. One man now hopes to become the only native-born rabbi in Cuba.

In a dimly lit basement in the section of the city known as Old Havana, a game of dominoes is going fast and furious. Elderly men hover around the table, betting and bickering in two languages--Spanish and Yiddish. Again and again, Cuban pesos change hands. "Moishe, Moishe, pay up," insists Abraham Berezniak, the lone middle-aged player and this night's big winner. "Hurry." They hurry because sunset is six minutes away.