- José Miller
Dr. José Miller (1925,
Yaguajay, Cuba -February 27 ,2006 ,Havana ) was the leader of theJew ish community ofCuba for 25 years, from 1981 when the community was tiny and endangered, through the 1990s during which they returned to vigorous growth and reemerged on the world stage. He held the dual positions of head of the Coordinating Commission (the official organization of Cuban Jewry) and head of the Patronato (the country's largest synagogue). [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=ddSNkCR3hIkC&pg=RA3-PA261&dq=Jos%C3%A9+Miller+cuba&sig=ACfU3U1TJYB_ausl84Hq30klrXFouG6O1w Trading with the Enemy: A Yankee Travels Through Castro's Cuba] ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=-EUYAAAAYAAJ&dq=Dr+Jos%C3%A9+Miller+cuba+Patronato&q=Dr+Jose+Miller&pgis=1 Jewish Community of Cuba: The Golden Age, 1906-1958] ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=RPw1AAAAIAAJ&dq=Dr+Jose+Miller+Cuba+Jewish&q=Dr+Jose+Miller+&pgis=1 Children's rights in Cuba: hearing before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights] ]Miller was the interface between the Cuban Jewish community, the government of
Fidel Castro , and the world organizations which wished to provide assistance to Cuban Jewry. His skills indiplomacy andarbitration allowed him to meld the often conflicting demands of these disparate groups into a compromise which was acceptable to all.In 1924 Miller's parents immigrated from
Poland to Cuba, where his father became apeddler and eventually amerchant . Although his family maintained a traditional Jewish home, in the small town of Yaguajay there were few other Jews, and Miller grew up having close relationships with non-Jewish Cubans, giving him the wide understanding which was to serve him in his career.In the 1950s Miller was active in the Maimonides Lodge (Havana) of
B'nai B'rith .ee also
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Jews in Cuba References
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