The current coronavirus pandemic and political climate, said Berenthal’s son, “are making for extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and the people of Cuba, including the Jews of Cuba, are suffering.”
Over the years, explained the younger Berenthal, Jews have traveled to Cuba to see and experience what was once one of the largest Jewish communities in the region prior to the revolution. “They have brought vast quantities of medicine, food, supplies and aid to the point where the pharmacy at the Patronato synagogue has historically been better stocked than most state and even retail outlets,” said Scott. “Sadly, the lack of travel and continued punitive U.S. economic policy has forced them to reduce their supplies to dangerously low levels, with many items no longer available, including medicine. These are unfortunately desperate times for the community, and its survival hangs on the precipice.”
As it’s difficult to send aid to Cuba now, related Berenthal, “we have to think of other ways to become less dependent on charity and more self-sufficient, perhaps by participating in business opportunities.”
Berenthal hopes to return to Cuba in December to make a plan with the community and decide how to move forward, and he feels “very optimistic” about improving commercial ties between the United States and Cuba’s private sector. “Political issues will take time,” he acknowledged, “but having the will on both sides to become better neighbors will make it easier.”
