There are Jews in Cuba?

People ask Dr. Joseph Shuman this question innocently enough when they find out he’s from Cuba, but few are prepared for his dramatic story.

It begins with his mother and father fleeing Eastern Europe. Both witnessed horrifying pogroms-violent riots in which Jews were murdered and their homes and businesses destroyed. To escape the terror, they emigrated in the 1920s, landing in Cuba, which had fewer immigration restrictions than the United States.

Many immigrants stayed only as long as they had to before heading to the United States. Shuman’s parents, who met and married within Cuba’s close-knit Jewish community, chose to stay. Shuman grew up in the Cuba of the 1940s, a carefree and joyful decade.

But Shuman’s family watched in dread as the political climate turned toxic in the 1950s, culminating in Fidel Castro seizing power and transitioning Cuba’s government to communism. Jewish citizens who had fled communism before were on edge, and Shuman and his family joined the flood of refugees hoping to make a new life in the United States.

A Jewban’s Story is a powerful look into the persecution and successes of a resilient people across continents, decades, and cultures.