Cuban Jewish leader dies at 80

Posted on Wed, Mar. 01, 2006

DEATHS
Cuban Jewish leader dies at 80
BY FRANCES ROBLES
frobles@MiamiHerald.com

When there weren't any Jews saying Friday night shabbat prayers in
Havana, Dr. José Miller went house to house in his car to pick up the
aged and bring them to temple.

When synagogues were deteriorated and abandoned, it was Miller, a dental
surgeon, who got them renovated and reopened.

The president of Cuba's tiny Jewish community died Monday in Havana
after suffering complications from heart disease. He was 80.

''If there is a Jewish com munity in Cuba, it's because of his
leadership,'' said Eddie Levy, chairman of Jewish Solidarity, a South
Florida organization which assists the Jewish community in Cuba. ``It
was his job, his work, his life.''

Levy said Miller helped resurrect a dwindling Jewish community by
cutting through the red tape needed to reopen closed temples in Santiago
and Camaguey. Under his leadership, a community that saw many members
emigrate or die of old age suddenly celebrated weddings, conversions and
even adult circumcisions.

Only about 1,200 Jews now remain in Cuba.

Miller's parents moved to Cuba from Lithuania in the early 1900s. Born
in Yaguajay in 1925, he studied dentistry at the University of Havana
and specialized in facial reconstruction surgery.

He retired in 1994 after a heart attack and dedicated himself to the
Jewish community, serving as president of the Grand Synagogue of the
Jewish Community.

He is survived by his wife, Dahlia, of Havana; daughter Miriam of Miami;
and sons José David of Ottawa, Canada; Mihail of Hollywood and Irving of
Israel.

Miller was buried Tuesday in the Jewish Cemetery in Guanabacoa, Havana.

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