News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 27, 2025: Havana’s Jewish heritage is filled with resilience, community, and a fusion of cultures. Heritage tours offer a range of experiences, architectural wonders, and a glimpse into living traditions. The journeys reveal the city’s soul, history, and beauty.
Cuba’s diverse religion and Jewish historical roots
The Castro-led revolution in 1959 installed an atheist government in Cuba. But 66 years later, there is a wide diversity of religion in the country (per Luis Andres Henao of Associated Press). Bells toll on Catholic churches, Muslims are summoned to pray in downtown Havana, Jews enjoy Cuban food for Sabbath dinner, and Buddhists chant mantras together. Cuba is a “country of particular concern” according to the U.S. State Department, but the government says criticism is an excuse to justify the U.S. economic embargo dating back to the Cold War.
Jaime Suchlicki, a previous director of The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, said that a combination of factors may have revived religion in Cuba. The driving forces may include Protestants’ involvement in the island, frustrations among Cubans, or tolerance from the government, according to Suchlicki.
Jewish presence arrived with Columbus in 1492, but the community truly took root in the 20th century. Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, especially after WWII, contributed to Havana’s Jewish population. By the 1950s, an estimated 15,000 Jews lived in Cuba, with about 1,000 living in the country today.
Over 60% of people in Cuba are baptized Catholic, but according to Henao, experts have estimated that a similar percentage follows Afro-Cuban traditions such as Santeria. Monsignor Ramon Suarez, author of History of the Catholic Church in Cuba, has said that though Cubans are believers, “sometimes they believe in everything”. Suarez remembers hiding his Bible during military service in fear it would be confiscated. He says you couldn’t talk about religion.
Today, though, Cuba has a unique religious landscape, according to Maximiliano Trujillo, a Havana University philosophy professor. Trujillo says it’s not unusual for someone to meet a Santeria high priest in the morning then visit a Pentecostal temple in the afternoon, then go to Mass at night.
Heritage tours
Walking tours show a Jewish quarter in Havana Vieja and Vedado, with synagogues and cemeteries. In Vedado there is Beth Shalom Synagogue, the Sephardic Center and the former United Hebrew Congregation. Meanwhile, Old Havana is home to the Adath Israel synagogue, Parque de Los Hebreos, Hotel Racquel, which pays homage to Jewish culture with its décor.
Beth Shalom’s congregation dates back to 1904 with its modernist building completed in 1953. Inside is a collection of more than 15,000 books. It was restored in the 1990s and the synagogue now thrives with Shabbat services, folk dance programs, and holiday celebrations.
The Centro Hebreo Sefaradi has been described as the only institutional legacy of Sephardic Jews in Cuba (per World Jewish Travel). It was founded to honor Sephardic Jews and the synagogue seats 726. There is a Holocaust memorial featuring quotations from José Martí.
For travelers interested in Jewish culture beyond Cuba, the Israeli Judaica web for Israeli artists offers a rich collection of handmade pieces.
A chance to learn about Jewish culture
These tours turn travel into remembrance and bring Jewish history to life. Visitors can explore architecture, encounter local families, and learn about tradition. Meeting community hosts and attending a local Shabbat service can create lasting connections.
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