Jewish Cuba: Past, Present and Future

Sunday, April 11

USA (10:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET)

UK 6:30 pm / France 7:30 pm / Israel 8:30 pm

The talk will last approximately 90 minutes

About this talk

Cuba was a refuge for Jews since 1492, when conversos sought a safe haven from the Spanish Inquisition. Today, a tiny but united community of one thousand remains after more than five hundred years of history and five distinct waves of Jewish immigration.

This will be a personal and historical account of Jewish life in Cuba from a Cuban native and member of the Jewish community of Havana, which at one point numbered over 15,000 members consisting of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews from both conservative and Orthodox denominations.

This journey will include pre- and post-revolution era life as well as Cuba in the current day. We'll explore the history of Jewish immigration waves to the island, the role of Jews in the social and economic fabric of the country and what the community looks like today, including current challenges and aspirations.

About Saul

Saul Berenthal was born in Havana, Cuba in 1944 where his parents found refuge after fleeing Europe. Following the 1959 Castro revolution, the family left Cuba in search of a new life. After graduating from college in New York, he started working as a software engineer with IBM and later built several successful software businesses achieving the proverbial American dream. After several years in retirement from the business world, he took an interest in revisiting his former homeland around 2008.

In a somewhat of a bittersweet return, he saw a faded and worn reminder of his childhood, but with limitless potential to return to its former glory with the right environment. As a businessman, he saw that there were opportunities to help the Cuban people by developing their own economy.

Saul and his family own and operate a Cuba specialized travel agency P2P and Cuba's first and only kosher boutique hotel, Chateau Blanc.

This event is live and interactive and spots are limited

You may also be interested in

A Tale of Three Kingdoms: The Jews of Andalusia, Morocco and Gibraltar on May 2

Jewish Barcelona on May 13

Choose your contribution amount

With your contribution you will also be donating to Pack for a Purpose. The Cuban Jewish "Juban" community needs our support now more than ever and we support them through our partnership with Pack for a Purpose, whose motto is "Small space, Little effort, Big impact".

Select below your type of admission. You will be asked to pay with credit card. We will process your payment using Stripe's payment processing platform.