Letters to the editor June 20

Local connection

In the May 30 issue you published an article written by Debra Rubin for JNS.org, “Rededicated burial site among ‘beautiful vestiges’ of Cape Verde’s Jewish past.” What the article did not include, however, was the connection of the project to our very own Jewish community.

Carol Castiel, the founder and president of the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, Inc., is a western Pennsylvania native.

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Castiel was born and raised in New Castle. The daughter of Zena and the late Sherman Samuels, Castiel graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, first with a bachelor’s degree in political science and then with a master’s degree in public and international affairs.

Castiel now lives in Washington, D.C., where she is director of current affairs programming for the English Programs Division at the Voice of America.

Her dedication to preserving the heritage of Jews in Cape Verde is inspiring. As Rubin writes in the article, this labor of love has expanded from a project in the mid-1980s to her founding the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, Inc. in 2007.

As her sister-in-law and niece, we could not be any prouder of her work and contribution to preserving the heritage of Jews and ensuring their stories will not be forgotten.

Diane S. Samuels

and Rachel A. Samuels

Pittsburgh