Jewish community responds to release of Alan Gross

Cuba has released American aid worker Alan Gross after five years in prison in a reported prisoner exchange with Havana that the United States said on Wednesday heralds an overhaul of U.S. policy toward Cuba. Below are reactions from the Jewish community:

Simon Wiesenthal Center

“There is no greater mitzvah(good deed) than Pidyon Shivuyim, freeing a captive. On this first day of Chanukah, the Simon Wiesenthal Center expresses its gratitude to President Obama and his administration for securing the release of Alan Gross”

– Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, founder and dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)

“We are elated that Alan Gross has finally been released after five long difficult years in Cuba and can now return home to his family and a community that has prayed for his freedom. We are only as free as those of us who are suffering – and today, with Alan’s release, we are all a bit freer. Alan was working with the small Cuban Jewish community under this same mindset, helping this isolated group gain better access to the internet.

“We thank the U.S. government for its work to secure his release and all those who advocated on Alan’s behalf through letter campaigns, donating to his legal defense fund established by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington, participating in regular vigils on his behalf and writing to Alan in prison to let him know that he was never forgotten. We are especially grateful for the leadership of the JCRC of Greater Washington and its executive director Ron Halber in all of these advocacy efforts.

“During his imprisonment, Alan’s health severely deteriorated; he lost 100 pounds, developed severe hip pain leaving him unable to walk and lost vision in his right eye. We pray now for his health and swift recovery. We share in his family’s joy of welcoming Alan home and wish them all the best moving forward.”

– Susan Turnbull and Rabbi Steve Gutow, Chair and President, respectively, of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)

B’nai B’rith

B’nai B’rith International warmly welcomes, and is relieved by the news of, Alan Gross’ release from a Cuban prison after five years. The United States and Cuban governments announced this morning that Gross will be returned to America in exchange for three Cubans jailed in Florida.

Gross was arrested in 2009 while working to set up Internet access for the Cuban-Jewish community as a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

B’nai B’rith is grateful for the efforts of the Administration and all those who assisted in facilitating the high-level discussions leading to Gross’ release. We are thinking of Gross, his family and his friends on the occasion of his release, especially coming during the holiday of Chanukah.

Agudath Israel of America

Chanukah is a time when we offer praise and thanks to the Almighty for His blessings and miracles.  The release and return of Alan Gross from Cuban incarceration is truly a modern day Chanukah miracle, and it fills us with deep gratitude to, in the words of the Amidah, “He Who frees captives.” Mr. Gross' expedited liberation seemed a distant dream, and now it is a dream come true.

We express our heartfelt thanks to President Obama, whose dedicated and determined efforts led to Mr. Gross' release. And we pray that Mr. Gross will adjust to his return to freedom enveloped in the love and support of his family and friends.