The Jewish Lived Experience in Cuba
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THE JEWISH LIVED EXPERIENCE IN CUBA by DOROTHY DUGGAR FRANKLIN A DISSERTATION NATALIE ADAMS, CO-CHAIRPERSON UTZ MCKNIGHT, CO-CHAIRPERSON DIANNE BRAGG JERRY ROSENBERG KAREN SPECTOR Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2016 Copyright Dorothy Duggar Franklin 2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This research utilized an interdisciplinary qualitative approach to inquiry that requires border-crossing as its methodology for discovery in order to fully understand the lived experience of the Jews of Cuba. The study included a deep read of the Jewish Diaspora with a starting point being 597 BCE, then followed thousands of years of waves and world-wide movements, eventually leading to those Jews who settled in Cuba. For access into the lives of the present-day Jews, interviews with four participants who represented a cross-section of the Cuban Hebrew community were conducted; visits to the synagogues and to the kosher butcher shop were made; and many trips to the Ashkenazi and the Sephardic cemeteries in Guanabacoa, Cuba, were also made in order to take photographs and personally visit the sites. The four respondents interviewed were English speakers, were over 20-years old, and were citizens of Cuba. They were asked identical questions via e-mail with follow-up correspondence. For other narrative resources, 19 unpublished recorded stories were transcribed and included in the study to gain further access into the lives of Cuba’s Jewish population. To complete the inquiry, one published narrative was used to show parallels between those who were interviewed, as well as to show the similarities to those voices from the unpublished group. The end research result finds that today’s Cuban Jews, whose rich historical past on the island began as early as 1492, have survived despite all odds, and thrive with their traditions and laws intact. This research covered a period of 4 years—and four separate trips to Cuba. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There is not enough space to write everything I would like to say about my committee, so I will simply say “thank you” to Dr. Natalie Adams and Dr. Utz McKnight, who consented to co- chair this study even though they were neck-deep with their own work; to Dr. Karen Spector and Dr. Dianne Bragg, thank you for your support and willingness to help when I really needed you; and to Dr. Jerry Rosenberg, my mentor whose dedication to all of his students inspires the distance runner to go further and further; thank you for everything. I cannot leave out a thank you to my wonderful family and friends. Because of their help and encouragement, I have persevered and overcome. If special thanks are in order, Pat Norton, Ed.D., MLS, this one is for you. Without your tech knowledge, the Graduate School would have pulled out all of their hair. Also, thank you Erin Warner, my young, Ph.D. candidate right arm. She has always been there with a smile when I needed help, which was often. And lastly, thank you to The University of Alabama Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program that gave me this unique opportunity to reach another goal in life. iii CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... vi I. INTRODUCTION AND METHODS ............................................................................. 1 Defining “Lived Experience” .......................................................................................... 2 Project Development ........................................................................................................ 3 II. ARRIVING IN CUBA ..................................................................................................... 5 History of Jewish Movement ........................................................................................... 5 Dates of Arrival................................................................................................................ 6 Culture ........................................................................................................................ 9 III. COMMUNITY AND BLENDEDNESS ......................................................................... 12 Present Day Jewish Community ...................................................................................... 12 Religion and Politics ........................................................................................................ 14 The Jewish Collective ...................................................................................................... 17 Separation of Cuban Jewish Groups ................................................................................ 19 Lansky and Cuba.............................................................................................................. 27 The Beginning of Castro’s Cuba...................................................................................... 29 IV. NARRATIVES AND CEMETERIES ............................................................................. 34 Personal Stories ................................................................................................................ 35 iv Narrative From a Published Sources................................................................................ 44 Unpublished Recorded Narrative Transcribed by the Author ......................................... 45 Commonalities/Differences ............................................................................................. 57 Jews and Death ................................................................................................................ 58 V. DISCOVERY ................................................................................................................... 75 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 75 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX A: Interview Questions .................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX B: Kosher Slaughtering ..................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX C: History of Guanabacoa ................................................................................ 91 APPENDIX D: Comprehensive Early History of Jewish Diaspora ..................................... 97 APPENDIX E: IRB Approval .............................................................................................. 112 APPENDIX F: Layout of a Jewish Cemetery....................................................................... 114 APPENDIX G: Personal Email From Jews in Cuba ............................................................. 116 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. The Gates of the Ashkenazi Cemetery ....................................................................... 60 2. The Matsevot of Dr. Jose Miller ................................................................................ 61 3. View of the Sephardic Cemetery From Hill in Ashkenazi Cemetery ........................ 62 4. Children’s Graves ...................................................................................................... 63 5. The Ashkenazi Holocaust Monument ........................................................................ 64 6. Grave of Saul Yenlin ................................................................................................. 65 7. Page From a Record Book of the Dead ..................................................................... 66 8. Mastevot Bearing a Picture of the Deceased ............................................................. 67 9. The Gates of the Sephardic Cemetery ....................................................................... 71 10. The Sephardic Holocaust Memorial .......................................................................... 72 11. Graves in the Sephardic Cemetery ............................................................................. 73 12. Children’s Graves ...................................................................................................... 74 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND METHODS Jews are a people who won’t let go of the dead. The dead are honored through the recitation of the Kaddish at religious services. When Jews build temples, they cover the walls with the names of the dead. But before they build temples of worship, Jews build cemeteries. They want to be buried amid Stars of David. They want to be with members of the tribe when they return to dust. (Behar, 2007a, p. 41) This dissertation began in May, 2012, on my first trip to Cuba with The University of Alabama Study Abroad Program. The reason for the trip with the English department was to trace the footprints of Hemingway in Cuba. However, one special topics assignment led me to the Ashkenazi and Sephardic cemeteries in Guanabacoa, Cuba. My appreciation and love of cemeteries reaches far back into my childhood when families gathered on the first Sunday of May for “decoration day.” This day was for cleaning,