That slogan, the dernier cri among radical leftists, is code for “Israel should be wiped off the map.” The daughter of Cuba’s “retired” but de facto dictator, Raúl Castro, has officially adopted it, and you’d better believe Daddy approves. She contrasts that to what she claims is the opposition of capitalist media to demonstrations against Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians. And, like practically all of Cuba’s top people, she’s doing the keffiyeh thing — muy chic, no?
But wait, it gets better, as in bizarre. As director of the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX), Ms. Castro has grafted pro-Palestinian (pro-Hamas) activism onto this year’s “Days against Homophobia and Transphobia,” being held in Cuba this May. She did NOT acknowledge that homosexuality is illegal in Gaza (punishable with 10 years in prison) and that there is no official protection there for LGTBIQ+ people against abuses based on sexual orientation.
It is not clear what gay and trans people in Cuba think of this rather grotesque juxtaposition of their situation with that of clearly homophobic Gaza, but the fact is that’s beside the point. CENESEX is Mariela’s fiefdom, and “gay rights” (in a society where nobody has civil rights and it is not OK for gays to oppose the regime) is her calling card. So, she can tack on whatever she wants to the “revolutionary activism” of the (regime-approved) LGTBIQ+ community.
It should be clear Mariela Castro is not a private citizen or an independent figure. She is an integral member of Cuba’s totalitarian governing class and represents unconditional and unequivocal official orthodoxy. Whatever position she takes publicly is ipso facto that of Cuba’s dictatorship. We’re not talking about any kind of “rebel daughter.” Thus, though it’s been clear since right after October 7, the Castro regime has gone all in for Hamas and what it stands for.
In case anyone wonders, I’m not a Juban (Cuban Jew), but I’m ashamed and disgusted by Cuba’s position, though that’s pretty much always shameful and disgusting no matter what the issue. Certainly, when it comes to the situation under discussion, Cuba is a state supporter of terrorism.
Thank you so much for your solidarity with Israel. As an American, Solidarity with the Cuban people.
More important, Asombra, Cuba is not free anywhere from any river to any sea. There is not one inch of Cuba that is free. So it is just too funny for them to spout such a slogan even though it means all Jews in Israel should die.
True, but just as they don’t care about truth, they don’t care about sense or propriety. It’s simply a matter of what works for them at any given time, which they will ditch or contradict the minute something else works better. They’re also not constrained by shame or bad optics; it’s all about what suits them and their agenda, as in the ends justify the means.