St. Louis Jewish Light: Exploring Jewish Cuba:

In a meeting with Adela Dworin, the charismatic president of The Patronato Synagogue, we learned about the invitation she extended to then President Fidel Castro several years ago to come to the synagogue for Hanukkah. He accepted saying, “…if Hanukkah is the revolution of the Jews, then, I will come.” Later the president invited Dworin to visit him when he “affirmed the importance of Israel to exist and decried Iran’s non-acknowledgement of the Holocaust.” This past Hanukkah Castro returned to The Patronato to light the first candle, wearing a kippah, recalled Dworin.