The World in Front of Me: Cuba

In 1978 Bill traveled with a group to Cuba looking to document Jewish life there. The Jewish population, once robust and diverse, had shrunken to an estimated 1500 people under the rule of Fidel Castro. Cuba’s official atheistic state had driven out or discouraged many people from taking part in a religious life. Upon reaching Havana, Bill discovered that while a handful of synagogues remained open, they had small, aging congregations due to social pressures from the state. The size of the community had no adverse impact on the observance that Bill witnessed; rather, he found that the Cuban Jews he met were passionately dedicated and their services were all the more meaningful.

Even more remarkable, Bill found that a skill he had picked up in the Peace Corps became unexpectedly invaluable: his ability to speak Turkish! The Jewish population in Cuba included Turkish-speaking immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, who left or fled due to an increase in antisemitism during the Empire’s fall and dissolution. While visiting a synagogue in Havana, Bill met a woman named Celia, and, in an effort to avoid using the state-provided translator, the pair discovered this mutually shared language. AJHS Executive Director Gemma Birnbaum joins us for historical commentary on the Jewish population of Cuba and the country’s political relationship with the United States.

About “The World in Front of Me”: In the summer of 2025, journalist and writer Ruth Andrew Ellenson sat down with famed photographer Bill Aron, and recorded more than 12 hours of interviews. For nearly 50 years, Bill traveled the world, photographing Jewish communities as near as his home of Los Angeles and as far away as the Soviet Union. From the American South to Cuba, from New York to Jerusalem, Bill captured it all. This series reveals never before heard stories from the artist himself.

Presented by The American Jewish Historical Society. You can find “The World in Front of Me” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.