Wife of jailed Jewish worker in Cuba apologizes

Wife of jailed Jewish worker in Cuba apologizes
October 24, 2010

(JTA) -- The wife of a Jewish U.S. aid worker jailed in Cuba accused of
being a spy has written a letter to the country's president expressing
his regret.

Reuters also reported that Judy Gross, wife of U.S. Agency for
International Development employee Alan Gross, said that President Obama
has done little to help secure her husband's release.

Alan Gross, 61, was arrested on Dec. 3, 2009, for assisting the Cuban
Jewish community to connect to the Internet and with world Jewry.

In an Aug. 4 letter to Cuban President Raul Castro, Judy Gross wrote
that her husband is needed at home since their daughter was diagnosed
recently with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy, according to
Reuters. She apologized for her husband's work in Cuba on behalf of both
of them.

"I recognize today that the Cuban government may not like the type of
work that Alan was doing in Cuba," she wrote. "But I want you to know
that Alan loves the people of Cuba, and he only wanted to help them. He
never intended them, or your government, any harm."

Castro has not responded to the letter, according to the report.

No official charges have been filed against Alan Gross, who Cuban
officials say committed "serious crimes," Reuters reported.

Judy Gross praised U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for
her efforts on behalf of her husband, but said Obama had yet to take up
the case.

Alan Gross suffers from several health ailments that have worsened in
prison. Reuters reported that he has lost more than 80 pounds.

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/10/24/2741412/wife-of-jewish-worker-jailed-in-cuba-apologizes