A unique and positive article by Alison Buckholtz covers the hardships associated with a US Navy\u00a0pilot and the separation he must face from his family as he deploys overseas.\u00a0 As is the case for many servicemembers, he is an aviator but is deploying to a ground job in support of the Army.<\/p>\n
Interestingly titled “Onward Jewish Soldiers<\/a>,” it celebrates the role of the Jewish faith, and Jewish servicemembers, in the US armed forces.\u00a0 It also highlights the support of the Jewish Welfare Board and other civilian para-support organizations, which ship Jewish religious supplies to US servicemembers deployed to the Middle East.\u00a0 The subject is Scott<\/a>, the author’s husband, who is an EA-6B Prowler pilot.<\/p>\n As noted previously here<\/a>, this writer\u00a0also observes that there is a potentially strong religious tension regarding Jewish members of the US armed forces serving in predominantly Islamic regions of the world:<\/p>\n The irony of shipping a Hebrew prayerbook to Iraq right before the High Holidays did not escape me. I\u2019ve read several features about Jewish personnel celebrating religious festivals at bases throughout the Middle East since this war began, and there is sometimes a whiff of triumphalism in these tales. It\u2019s almost as if, these accounts suggest, by wrapping tefillin in Kabul, or reading the Torah in Basra, American Jews are reclaiming something that was taken from us. I understand the excitement, and am grateful that Jews in Muslim countries can gather as Jews\u2014this after a long history of treatment as second-class citizens before being stripped of their possessions in 1948 and abruptly expelled from many of these countries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Again, as noted in prior writings, while a “whiff of triumphalism” may occur when Jewish Americans celebrate their faith in the Middle Eastern combat theatre–and photographs of such acts might be used as propaganda by American adversaries–Americans should defend the right of all<\/em> American servicemembers to practice their faith, even while they serve in the US military.\u00a0 As a nation, America should use these opportunities as positive examples of religious freedom, and should not restrict religious exercise because of someone else’s offense.\u00a0 Regrettably, while American Jewish servicemembers are free to exercise their faith while deployed, the governments of some local countries may not allow their own<\/em> citizens the freedom to choose or practice a religion of their choice.<\/p>\n The article also\u00a0contains a fascinating if brief comparison of two Jewish siddurim<\/em>, or prayer books.\u00a0 One was produced for American servicemen in 1917, the other just a few years ago.\u00a0 Both were produced privately, though they are specifically\u00a0entitled as prayer books for American military personnel.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Buckholtz relates her experiences on being Jewish in the US military<\/a>.\u00a0 Upon arriving at her husband’ s new assignment, she called the Chaplain to inquire about Jewish services; he referred her to a Messianic synagogue off post.\u00a0 Fearful that other Jewish servicemembers might be given equally inappropriate advice, she and her husband–the unit commander–volunteered to be the Jewish lay leaders for the base.<\/p>\n While it is regrettable that the Navy Chaplains offered poor information, it is an excellent demonstration of ingenuity and support for free exercise that the Navy officer\u00a0was able to serve as a religious leader in the area, despite the fact that he was a commanding officer.\u00a0 Sometimes, outsiders criticize such combinations of command influence and religious exercise.<\/p>\n Buckholtz was actually directly asked about\u00a0scandals involving evangelism and anti-Semitism:<\/p>\n I read about some things in the Air Force and other services \u2013 troops feeling like they were being evangelized to. I was sensitive to that coming in. It\u2019s been refreshing and encouraging that what we have seen has been well-meaning curiosity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n