Jewish Cuban

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Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived on the island of Cuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to Marranos who fled the Spanish Inquisition, though few of these practice Judaism today. There was significant Jewish immigration to Cuba in the first half of the 20th century. Like others, many Jews left Cuba for the United States after the coming of Fidel Castro, and today there is a large community in South Florida. In modern Cuba there are many communities of Middle Eastern descent, including Jewish and Lebanese populations.

[edit] "Jewban"

"Jewban" or "Juban" is an ethnic nickname originating in South Florida. It was probably coined by Bernardo Benes in the 1960s. As president of Miami's Cuban Hebrew Congregation, Benes chose Jewban as the name of the synagogue's newsletter.

The term is used in a positive, self-identifying manner by Jewish Cubans, Cubans of Jewish heritage, and Jews of Cuban heritage. It is also used as an Internet domain name (http://jewban.org/) by Jewish Cuban Connection, a non-profit relief organization. In 1999, actor and playwright Frank Speiser debuted his one-man play Jewbano about growing up half-Jewish and half-Cuban in Brooklyn. "Jewban" is a term affectionately used Although primarily used in a positive sense, some confusion has arisen in the past where "Jewban" has been misinterpreted as an ethnic slur, or as a political statement (i.e. "Ban Jews"). In 2003 the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles attempted to withdraw a "JEWBAN" vanity plate which had previously been issued to Tabares Gomer, a Jewish Cuban, arguing that the plate could be considered anti-semitic. The department later relented and permitted Gomer to keep the license plate.