The mission of the new political action committee, New Cuba, is to lobby Congress to end travel restrictions for Americans wanting to visit the communist-run island, as well as well as expanding trade, its organizers say. The announcement comes after the historic Dec. 17 announcement by Washington and Havana to seek the renewal of diplomatic…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal filed by Alan Gross, the U.S. contractor detained in Cuba for five years who had sued the U.S. government for negligence. Gross, who was released in December as part of the recent thaw in relations between the United States and Cuba, had sued in 2012. A…
This exclusive interview took place the morning of February 3 at the gracious hacienda of Fidel Castro just outside Havana, overlooking the ocean. The idea was initiated by Castro through a signed letter hand-delivered to the offices of the Backward by an officer of the Cuban army. “In the spirit of friendship and brotherhood, I…
(JTA) — On the freshly painted, salmon-colored walls of Alberto and Rebeca Meshulam’s apartment, two portraits of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, frame the entranceway leading to a wide, airy vestibule. Miniatures of the same portrait sit atop a glass-covered countertop near an image of the Meshulams’ son, Moises, taken at the Chabad-Lubavitch…
Alan Gross basks in applause at the State of the Union address./Getty Images If you didn’t know anything about Alan Gross other than what you saw on television, you probably thought it was right for him to sit next to first lady Michelle Obama as guest of honor at this year’s State of the Union…
(JTA) — Alan Gross wore a gray suit, red tie and a perpetual smile as he took the stage Thursday night at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, Md., at a welcome-home reception in his honor sponsored by dozens of Jewish organizations, including the the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. But while he celebrated…
(JTA) — On a recent Friday night inside this city’s Beth Shalom synagogue, Aliet Ashkenazi, 25, stood draped in a blue-and-white prayer shawl leading prayers in a mix of Spanish and near-perfect Hebrew. It was the first time she had ever led services – a feat considering she converted to Judaism seven years ago after…
(Reuters) — Alan Gross, the Jewish aid worker whose release from a Cuban prison helped pave the way toward restoring diplomatic ties with the communist nation, will be among First Lady Michelle Obama’s guests for Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Gross and his wife Judy were reunited late last year, after Pope Francis helped…
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