Alan and Judy Gross outside their Maryland home.

By Jacob Kamaras, JointMedia News Service (JNS) ~

A typical day in the life of Alan Gross entails walking around his room a couple thousand times, push-ups and sit-ups, and reading. He doesn’t have access to kosher food, and if he sees something moving on his plate he pushes it away.
That’s how Judy Gross describes the daily routine of her husband Alan, whom she speaks with once a week. On Dec. 3, Alan Gross marked the second anniversary of his imprisonment in for alleged “acts against the independence and territorial Integrity of the state.” The Maryland contractor was in Cuba to establish Internet access for the local Jewish community. He was arrested as he prepared to leave for home.
Initially quiet about Alan’s plight, Judy and other supporters have been particularly vocal of late. Judy spoke on the subject at a recent vigil outside the Cuban Interests Section of Washington, D.C. She also addressed the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) General Assembly on Nov. 8 in Denver and, in late September, JFNA and other Jewish groups sponsored a vigil for Gross outside the Cuban Mission to the UN in New York, while the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington held a simultaneous event in the nation’s capitol.
After Judy at first avoided public discussion on Alan’s 15-year prison sentence out of “respect for the Cuban government,” Jewish groups approached her, interested in working together for her husband’s release.
She is also getting support from American lawmakers. At the urging of JFNA, nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers sent letters to the government of Cuba advocating for Gross’ release. Among the 19 senators were Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal; among the 72 congressmen were Connecticut Representatives Jim Himes, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy. Eight congressmen also wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for the State Department to demand Gross’ release.
“Alan traveled to Cuba on behalf of USAID to help the country’s Jewish community expand its access to the Internet and establish an Intranet. This was a humanitarian mission, a mission to help a small and peaceful community improve its access to and use of the Internet.” Himes said in a statement made on the floor of the House on Dec. 1.  “Alan Gross is not a criminal, he is a humanitarian aid worker. Alan Gross is a man whose life work has positively impacted people across the world, including in the West Bank, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Haiti.”
“It’s two years now, so we have to start making Alan a household name,” she told JNS last week. “We have to keep his name alive.”
In so doing, Alan Gross joins two other household names when it comes to Jewish prisoners: the recently freed Hamas captive Gilad Shalit and U.S. prisoner Jonathan Pollard, who on Nov. 21 entered the 27th year of a life sentence after being convicted of spying for Israel without intent to harm America. Judy said she thinks of Alan’s case independently of any others.
The absence of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and communist Cuba makes matters difficult when it comes to negotiating Alan’s release, but Judy said she would at least like to see “the two countries sit down and just talk first.” After all, Israel and Hamas agreed on Shalit—and they aren’t exactly friendly neighbors.
“You have to start somewhere,” Judy said.
The father of two daughters, the 62-year-old Gross is a resident of Potomac, Md. who had a career in social work and international development. He saw the need to give Cuba’s Jews Internet access because they live in three different spread-out communities on the island—making it difficult for them to communicate with each other, let alone Jews in other countries.
“They’re so isolated in Cuba and they’re so anxious to connect with their fellow Jews around the world,” Judy said.
While Alan and Judy discuss many things during their weekly phone conversations, they don’t speak about the current state of Cuba’s Jewish community because Cuban law enforcement officials listen in.
“Alan in no way wants to put [Cuba’s Jews] in danger,” Judy said.
During Judy’s most recent conversation with Alan, he sounded more hopeless and depressed than ever because “he’s still there after two years, and hasn’t gotten any kind of good news,” she said. All Alan reads is Cuban news, which is largely hostile to America. He is “living in a vacuum,” said his wife.
At the moment, Judy said what Alan needs is to be visited by the various Jewish groups who go on missions to Cuba. He is allowed one visit per week, Judy said.
“He really, really wants the outside contact,” Judy said.

Judie Jacobson contributed to this report.