In April 2013, the story of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s trip to Cuba was all over the news. They had received a hard-to-get visa that permitted them to visit our controversial island neighbor (you know, the one with the missile crisis). President Obama was taking heat for giving them special privileges and maybe the absurdity of this situation contributed to his subsequent decision to restore U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba and try to usher in a milder stance towards our isolated neighbor. Regardless, I was there first. I visited Cuba using a person-to-person exchange visa obtained for me by Washington University. I was part of a trip led by my friend and mentor, Professor Schraibman (Pepe). Pepe had grown up in Old Havana, where a vibrant Jewish community used to exist. This community essentially vanished after the Revolution, as Jews had been on the wrong side of too many revolutions and had learned to leave while one could under such circumstances....