Dr. Josie Miller (1925,

Yaguajay, Cuba Yaguajay () is a municipality and town in the Sancti Spíritus Province of Cuba. It is located in the northern part of the province, and borders the Bay of Buena Vista to the north. The Caguanes National Park (protecting swamp and coastal ecosyst ...

- February 27, 2006,

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

) was the leader of the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish community of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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).Children's rights in Cuba: hearing before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
/ref> Miller was the interface between the Cuban Jewish community, the government of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, and the world organizations which wished to provide assistance to Cuban Jewry. His skills in

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to Cuba, where his father became a

peddler A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used fo ...

and eventually a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. 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 B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jose 1925 births 2006 deaths People from Yaguajay Cuban Jews

See also

References