Temple Beth Shmuel Cuban Hebrew Congregation was once a fading congregation, but the rising number of students at the temple’s Jewish Montessori School helped revitalize the congregation.

For Cuba’s minority of Jewish citizens, political strife makes expressing loyalty to Cuba and Israel difficult and complex.

Elza Habif, 76, emigrated from Turkey in 1952 to marry Alberto, another Turkish Jew already living in Cuba. Eleven years later the couple fled from Castro’s regime to pursue the American dream in Miami.

Dr. Jaime Suchlicki is the director of the Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies, which he helped found in 1999. He began teaching for UM in February 1968 and has been a consultant on Cuba and Cuba-US relations for the United States government for the past 30 years.