“I’ve found that the best way to get somebody’s attention is to hurt them. And the people we are trying to hurt, legally, ethically, and morally is not just the religious right, its the dominionists and the fundamentalists [Christians].”
Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, President, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, August 2013
Defending religious liberty, or trying to “hurt” people? At least he’s honest.
Always a classy guy.
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Jews in Green highlights the annual push by Kosher Troops to provide “High Holiday package shipments” to Jewish US military personnel around the world.
In the testimonials, there’s a telling thanks:
I want to let you know that your Passover packages arrived on the USS Gonzalez yesterday. None too soon! We had a challenging Passover, because many of our supplies did not arrive in time…Our Jewish Sailors…were facing the remaining Passover day without foods Kosher for Passover.
Then your packages arrived yesterday. What a blessing Read more
A local article from the South Carolina paper The State, reprinted at Stars and Stripes, highlighted the Fort Jackson, SC, US Army Chaplain’s Museum.
The U.S. Army Chaplains Museum at Fort Jackson has artifacts dating back to the earliest days of the chaplain corps, which was founded by an act of the Continental Congress in 1775. George Washington appointed the first chaplains.
The article notes the museum is specifically seeking Read more
The Stars and Stripes reports the Air Force has launched an investigation at Lackland Air Force Base to determine if Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk was a victim of religious discrimination. Monk had claimed he was essentially “fired” by his commander for his religious views.
Training wing spokeswoman Colleen McGee said…the Air Force has launched an investigation into Monk’s claims, to determine if any command violations may have occurred.
Notably, the Liberty Institute — a part of Read more
The Department of Defense announced it would grant homosexuals “spousal benefits” starting in September.
After a review of the department’s benefit policies following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Section Three of [DOMA] is unconstitutional…, the Defense Department will make spousal and family benefits available no later than Sept. 3, 2013, regardless of sexual orientation, as long as service member-sponsors provide a valid marriage certificate.
Because some homosexual troops might be in Read more
The Jewish Journal documents the story of US Army Captain Eric Goldie, a Jewish soldier deployed to Iraq and trying to remain faithful to his religious exercise in an article entitled “Shabbat in Iraq: Under the Gun“:
On Shabbat, Goldie and a small group of soldiers, embassy workers and contractors — and even one Iraqi-Jewish woman — would gather in the U.S. Embassy to daven. That woman, Halida, would sneak into the embassy to participate, a considerable risk in a city where Jews were hiding their true identities…
Goldie endured a gauntlet of barriers himself just to get to the embassy for services. “I had to take an armored transport, wearing 60 pounds of body armor, with my weapon, to attend,” he said.
The article contains what may be a swipe at the military Read more
Chaplain (Maj) Khalid Shabazz and his chaplain assistant, Sgt Jessica Covello, hosted an Islamic iftar attended by “more than 60 soldiers and family members” at Fort Hood, Texas.
“Fasting increases our awareness of God and self-restraint,” Shabazz said. “Abstaining from something so natural such as food and water allows ourselves to gain a greater respect for those who suffer on a daily basis.”
Sgt Covello even tried a little mutual support: Read more