Rabbi Lau’s Private Meeting with Fidel Castro: A Surprising Conversation

Fidel Castro, the powerful and often controversial leader of Cuba, passed away this week at the age of 90. Following his death, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, shared the little-known story of his private meeting with Castro that took place in February 1994.

Rabbi Lau’s visit to Cuba was motivated by a deeply personal mission. “During the Holocaust,” he said, “Cuba opened its doors to Jews fleeing Europe including my uncle, aunt, and their two children. I wanted to see what was left of that surviving remnant and how they were living after 35 years under Communist rule.”

At the time, Rabbi Lau was Chief Rabbi of Israel. He arrived in Cuba on a private plane from Venezuela, where he had been giving lectures. He came with a minyan (a quorum of ten Jewish men) and was joined by a representative from Israeli intelligence and the Minister of Religious Affairs. They planned to spend two days checking on the local Jewish community.

Then, unexpectedly, an invitation came from the presidential palace. On the second day, Rabbi Lau was asked to meet with President Fidel Castro, Cuba’s longtime revolutionary leader.

The meeting was set for 10:00 PM and it lasted for over three hours.

“I brought him a shofar as a gift,” Rabbi Lau recalled. “I explained that three times a day, Jews pray: ‘Sound the great shofar for our freedom.’ I told him, ‘Mr. President, let this shofar sit on your desk. And if any Jew in Cuba wants to make aliyah—to immigrate to Israel, please allow it.’”

To Rabbi Lau’s surprise, the conversation shifted to the Torah. Castro showed a surprising knowledge of the Bible. “He asked me, ‘How did 70 Jews who went down to Egypt become 600,000?’ I answered that there was a special blessing, each woman gave birth to six children in one pregnancy. It was a miracle of ‘be fruitful and multiply.’”

Still, Castro wasn’t convinced. “That number’s too high,” he insisted. Rabbi Lau explained that when the Jewish people left Egypt, many non-Jews, known as the “mixed multitude,” joined them. That, he said, is how the population grew so large. Castro finally nodded in agreement.

As their conversation continued, Rabbi Lau made a request related to the upcoming holiday of Passover. “I explained to him that Jews don’t eat chametz during the holiday, and I asked if I could bring in matzah from abroad.” Castro looked at him and replied, “From America? You know I’m David and they’re Goliath. But you also know who won.” When Rabbi Lau said the matzot would come from Mexico, Castro agreed without hesitation.

Encouraged, Rabbi Lau made another request. “There’s no Jewish life here,” he said. “Would you allow kosher meat to be imported too?”

This time, Castro reacted strongly. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “No!”

Rabbi Lau asked gently, “Why not?”

“Do you want to bring antisemitism to Cuba?” Castro replied. “My people get rations. They don’t even have enough bread, and now only the Jews will have meat? They might be killed! Meat is food and I won’t allow it. But matzah? That’s religion.”

Then, unexpectedly, Castro shared something deeply personal. “I hate the Catholic Church,” he told Rabbi Lau, “because that’s where the hatred for Jews began.” He made it clear that he opposed antisemitism and was aware of its historical roots.

As the meeting came to an end, Castro walked Rabbi Lau to the elevator himself. It was then that Rabbi Lau brought up one last subject, something that weighed heavily on the hearts of all Israelis.

“I told him, ‘Mr. President, we have four missing soldiers, Ron Arad, Yehuda Katz, Zachary Baumel, and Zvi Feldman. You said Saddam Hussein and Hafez al-Assad are your friends. Could you ask them what happened to our boys? Maybe you could help bring them home.’”

Castro asked how long they had been missing. Rabbi Lau explained that the three had been taken in July 1982, and Ron Arad even earlier.

Then Castro asked, “Do you believe they are still alive?”

Rabbi Lau answered with a story. “I asked that same question to one of the fathers. He told me, ‘Even if my son is no longer alive, I want his body brought home. I want to bury him in a Jewish grave, to place a tombstone with his name, and to say Kaddish for him.’”

Castro looked up at the ceiling in silence. Then he turned to Rabbi Lau and said softly, “You’ve touched my heart. I will do everything I can for them.”

And with that, the Chief Rabbi of Israel and the leader of Communist Cuba shook hands and parted ways.