Newspaper Page Text
Friday, February 25, 1966
Til SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
A Letter From A Traveler
By Hal Goldstein
(A Seven Arts Feature)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—One
only has to be in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, a few hours and if
he meets fellow Jews, some time
soon in the conversation, they’ll
probably tell you: “You know,
there’s a kosher hotel here.”
Everybody .says it; even if
they’re staying at the plush
luxury hotels of the Condado
be&ch section where this kosher
hotel is supposed to be located.
And when your Jewish friend
or even total stranger says,
"there’s a kosher hotel here," the
tone of his voice indicates a
sense of belonging. It’s almost as
if his Jewish tradition—or lack
of it—had followed him from
New York or Boston or Philadel
phia.
Moreover, many of these very
*am£ Jews who tell you about
the kosher-kitchen hotel will
probably never check the phone
book or walk over to the estab-.
lishment which is still listed in
the phone book as the Puerto
Rico Lee Hotel—“Puerto Rico’s
Luxury Kceher Hotel.”
For if they did, they would
find out there is no such kosher
hotel.
This is not to say there is no
kashrut on this tourist-booming
island. Many of the Jewish fami
lies who live here keep kosher
and undoubtedly at parties or
celebrations, kashrut is observed.
But the fact remains that for
Puerto Rico—an ever-growing
tourist attraction—there is no
kosher hotel facility. And ac
cording to many hotel managers,
a large percentage of those
crowding the luxurious Condado
beach section are Jewish.
What happened to the Lee
Hotel—the kosher hotel?
Hotel managers Daniel D. Lit-
wak and William Constantine
tell this story.
In December, 1964, Lee Hotel
owners thought they could pro-
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vide a much-needed facility and
st.Ul get a profit from the grow
ing Jewish tourist trade which
was on the move to sunny Puerto
Rico. Thi$ island, by the way,
still competes with Miami Beach
for “winter-tourists.”
The owners figured that the
hotel located at Ashford and
Earle Sts. in San Juan could be
a location for the Jewish com
munity to hold catered kosher
banquets, bar mitzvahs and
weddings—and a kosher meal on
Friday nights.
Two rabbis were engaged; a
small synagogue set up; two
separate kitchens, one for dairy
the other for meat; special cooks
hired; even maids were kept on
duty to turn down the closet
beds on Friday night.
All the food, of course, was im
ported from the continent: The
meats, kosher pickles, gefilte fish
and all the delicacies.
The hotel was indeed comfort
able—a nice establishment along
the beach section, with a nearby
swimming pool and recreational
facilities.
According to the managers,
there was a certain “Jewish”
atmosphere about the place: The
dairy restaurant was called the
“Shalom Room.” Gefilte fish was
a mainstay of the menu and Fri
day night services gave it a real
Shabbos atmosphere.
Many Orthodox Jews stayed
at the hotel. Those who wanted
kosher food found a haven at
this facility.
But the problem for the own
ers, according to hotel managers,
was that the hotel “only did good
on Friday nights,” and after four
to five months, the establishment
lost a great deal of money.
- True enough, the clients com
ing to the kosher hotel stayed
during the season. But in the
hotel business here, you win or
Rabbis in England
Say Salary Rises
Are inadequate
LONDON (JTA)— Rabbis and
Synagogue secretaries employed
in affiliated synagogues of the
United Synagogue consider sal
ary increases planned for them
“totally unacceptable,” sources
close to the United Synagogue
Council reported. The Council of
Ministers of the United Synagog
ue and the Association of Syna
gogue Secretaries have so inform
ed Sir Isaac Wolfson, president
of the United Synagogue, in con
nection with the meeting of the
United Synagogue later.
The proposed increase is one
of 10 percent to bring up sal
aries of rabbis to 2,000 pounds
($5,600) a year. Salaries of re
ligious court judges (dayanim)
would be raised to 2,600 pounds
($7,250) per year. The total cost
of the increases was estimated
at about 22,000 pounds ($61,600)
annually.
lose on how much business you
can do in the off-season (April-
November). Every hotel is full
during the season.
The business reasons go on. As
Mr. Litwak put it, “The expenses
involved in “ko6hering” the meat
and the importing of special
foods cost an arm and a leg and
the meal prices sky-rocketed.”
There is of course another rea
son why the hotel “didn’t flour
ish,” that is, as a kosher hotel.
And this involves the reason why
Miami Beach can have several
kosher hotels.
According to Mr. Litwak, who
has been in hotel food and bever
age management for many
years—a much older, religious
group of people go to Miami
Beach. In Puerto Rico, it’s the
younger 20 to 45 age group who
are the tourists and they are not
as concerned about kosher food
facilities as are senior citizens.
The Lee Hotel changed its
name and the eight-story build
ing became “The Puerto Rico
Sands.” The building was reno
vated further. Interiors were
changed. The synagogue became
a lounge. New kitchens and cof
fee shops were set up. The hotel
today is fashionable but comfort
able, and the managers indicate
they are now on good financial
footing. It’s a nice hotel doing a
Atlanta Mission
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June 7 - 22
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for reservations
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There are still a few interest
ing signs of the former "Lee.*
This hotel and its counterpert
restaurants—The Red Rooster
probably are among the few
serving bagels, lox end cream
cheese.
As for the future, hotel man
agers indicate there’s no chance
. of a kosher hotel now.
And yet, The Sands, the form
er Lee Hotel, gets 10 to 15 calls
a day inquiring if there is a pos
sibility of "getting a kosher
meal.”
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