Tag Archives: Jewish

President Obama Cites Fighter Pilot Easter

A few days ago, this site noted that a self-described religious freedom organization, Michael Weinstein’s MRFF, had criticized deployed servicemembers for publicly celebrating Easter in the combat theatre.

In an interesting convergence of topics, a message by President Obama recently cited just such a celebration of Easter–and not by just any servicemembers, but by a unit of deployed fighter pilots.  A fascinating photo (below) helps explain.

In his “holiday greetings” distributed on 3 April 2010, the President commented on “war time” observances of Easter, saying:  Read more

MRFF Opposes Troops’ Religious Freedom at Easter

Last September, Chris Rodda, a researcher for Michael Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation, wrote an article enumerating her “Top Ten” list of Christian travesties in the US military, emphasizing acts which “convince the Muslims we’re on a crusade.”  A less combative version of this same list was re-published in the US Air Force’s Attitudes Aren’t Free just a few weeks ago.

At number 8, Rodda lists this rather interesting way in which the US military is showing the Muslim world America is on a crusade:  Read more

Military Religious Freedom at Work

It is not uncommon for people of a religious faith–Christian or not–to occasionally speak of the difficulty of celebrating their faith while in the military.  This is particularly true in intense training environments, as well as the obvious restricted areas of combat.  The military culture is sometimes hostile (even unintentionally) to the spirit of a religious faith, and the logistical environment sometimes restricts the ability to fully exercise one’s faith.

Despite the challenges encountered, it is important to highlight the fact that the US military has a responsive environment of both commanders and Chaplains to see to the religious needs of all of its servicemembers.  Though there are obvious logistical hurdles in some cases, there is no institutional support for or bias against any particular faith.  In fact, the opposite is true.

For example, the Aleph Institute, a DoD Chaplain endorsing organization and valuable support agency for Jews in the US military, recently said they had to come to the rescue of a Soldier seeking spiritual resources, and because of “red tape” a Jewish Soldier has “almost no chance” of getting spiritual resources like prayer books and kosher field rations.

History, however, demonstrates the opposite.  In fact, Jewish military Read more

Military National Prayer Breakfasts Include Many Faiths

While the topic of National Prayer Breakfasts at local military installations was already discussed, the events continue to occur at various locations around the world.  At Fort Benning, a picture showed the nature of the breakfast within the military:

Jewish Chaplain (Maj) Carlos Huerta talks with Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson before the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. (US Army Photo)

Jewish Chaplain (Maj) Carlos Huerta talks with Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson before the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. (US Army Photo)

The celebration was open to all faiths and included prayers by Muslim imam Dawud Salahuddin Bin Pearson and Jewish Chaplain Read more

The Sacrifice of the Four Chaplains

The US Army Transport Dorchester was sunk 67 years ago on 3 February 1943.  It was one of three ships in a convoy taking American troops across the Atlantic, and would become famous not because it was targeted by German submarines, as many ships were; nor did it become famous for the loss of life, as other events eclipsed the dead and wounded.

The USAT Dorchester became famous for the Four Chaplains.

Four Army chaplains were on board, along with nearly 900 other men: Lt. George Fox, a Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, a Jewish Rabbi; Lt. John Washington, a Roman Catholic Priest; and Lt. Clark Poling, a Dutch Reformed minister. They became beacons Read more

Chaplain Protects Humanity in Military Service

Chaplain (Maj.) Sid A. Taylor is a Baptist Pastor and US Army Chaplain, currently deployed to Iraq.  He oversees the “spiritual needs of more than 4,000 Soldiers:”

While not everyone here has the time nor the desire to attend the service of his or her choice, within FOBs Marez and Diamonback [sic], there are six protestant services, five masses, one Latter-Day Saints service, an Islamic Prayer Room and a Jewish meeting held each week.

Chaplain Taylor has an admirable perspective on the concept of the total person in the military, something the US Army is trying to recapture in its Comprehensive Soldier Fitness programs:

One of the biggest tasks before a chaplain is “Ensuring the spiritual and human dimensions of what we do are not lost.”

“The Army understands the importance of values, morals and integrity in everything we do. Soldiers have emotions and Families. They also have a soul that needs to be sustained in order to do what they do.”

Some might say, for example, that the scandal at Abu Ghraib Read more

Generals Speak at Religious Military Conference

In order to help “Jewish men and women in the US armed forces maintain their religious connection,” the Aleph Insitute hosted a Military Shabbaton and Training Conference in Florida.  The event brought

together more than 300 service personnel, lay leaders and congregants for presentations by military leaders.

Key military speakers included Fort Bliss commander Maj Gen Howard Bromberg; Rear Adm Robert Burt, Navy Chief of Chaplains; and Maj Gen Douglas Carver, Chief of Chaplains for the Army.

The Aleph Institute noted the importance of the Chaplaincy in the military:

According to Rabbi Sanford Dresin, Aleph’s director of military programs, military chaplaincy has its roots in the First Amendment and its guarantees of religious freedom for all citizens.

At the same time, the institute seemed to misunderstand the role of Chaplaincy.  For example, the article notes that  Read more

MRFF Threatens Trijicon with Legal Action

The notoriously blunt-speaking Michael Weinstein recently demonstrated an unusually thin skin when he threatened legal action against a potential critic of his organization.  The statement at issue occurred in the original ABC News article on the Trijicon gun sights:

Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions “have always been there” and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is “not Christian.”

Apparently, the MRFF is offended by that characterization, though the MRFF isn’t explicitly named and the quote itself is paraphrased.  Weinstein’s organization took the unusual step of releasing its legal correspondence to an internet blogger, who quoted the following paragraph from a legal letter in response to the statement above:

Referring to the Foundation as a group which is “not Christian” is not only inaccurate and shamelessly false, but demonstrably contrary to fact. Approximately 96 percent of the Foundation’s nearly 16,000 active duty military clients and enumerable additional supporters are in fact practicing Christians by faith. To state otherwise not only slanders the Foundation, but also all of its clients. Further, the Foundation’s largest supporter is the California Council of Churches IMPACT, which is comprised of 5,500 Christian congregations, 21 distinct Christian denominations, and, directly and indirectly, millions of individual Christians.

The “legal letter” came from the same law firm that Weinstein is currently employing in Weinstein v Ammerman.

The stern rebuke from Weinstein’s MRFF is laughable.  Consider the ramifications Read more

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