With the assistance of members of TheBrave listserv, Jews in Green will be sending a number of Channukah care packages to service members deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

While this is mostly a local effort here in Pensacola, we would be glad to take donations from donors outside the local area.  If you are interested in sending packages yourself, we’d be happy to let you know the mailing addresses of where items are needed.  For more information, please email or .

The deadline for money donations is October 23rd.  You can mail a check or send payment via PayPal.
The deadline for us to receive packages or individual items is October 28th.

For a list of needed items, read the full story.

UPDATE: DC Area collection at Ft. Belvoir
The Fort Belvoir Jewish Youth group will be collecting the following items to send over to Jewish troops in Iraq and Afghanstan - please consider dropping off some of these items in the boxes provided in the chapel when you attend services. The collection will be on going until October 28th when the items need to be sent overseas in a timely manner so the troops receive the items during/before Hanukkah.

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Uriel Heilman over at the JTA recently wrote a great article about celebrating the holidays overseas.

In the article, Rabbi Felzenberg talks about his battalion’s own Army engineers bulding him a sukkah, “which could likely withstand a hurricane!” He is also trying to get the welders to make “a nice display-size menorah for Chanukah.” How is that for support!

It’s been a little while since the press has covered the Jewish service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this is a nice update on Jewish life in the trenches there.  Check out the full article HERE.

For everyone stationed in the Virginia / Washington D.C. area, the Ft. Belvoir Jewish Activities Center has provided us with a schedule of events for their High Holiday services.

You can download the word document HERE.

If any other military chapels would like me to list their services or programs for the High Holidays, please with the info.

In an effort to help service members in Iraq and Afghanistan celebrate the High Holidays, Jews in Green is teaming up with The Jewish Soldier Foundation to send cards, Jewish music CD’s, and Holiday goodies to the troops.  As you can imagine, with Jews being so spread out, services will be few and far between.  But with your help, we believe we can make these most important holidays a little more special.  Click on “full story” to learn how you can help.

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Shavuot begins Tuesday evening, May 25, and continues until Thursday evening, May 27, 2004.

Shavuot seems to be one of those lesser known holidays in the Jewish calendar, so for those (myself included) who could use a little more explanation, About.com has a great article about the holiday’s customs, history, and even some Shavuot recipes.

For the more advanced readers, be sure to check out Aish’s full Shavuot spread.

A few weeks ago LTC Mitchell Ackerson, the Army's top Jewish Chaplain in Iraq, returned home to his family in Baltimore.

Rabbi Ackerson left some awfully big shoes to fill in Iraq. The Baltimore Jewish Times recently wrote an incredibly in-depth article about his adventures in Iraq and his heartwarming return to the States. This is kind of the Everything You Wanted to Know About Jewish Soldiers in Iraq article. I would even dare to say it's a must read.

One of Rabbi Ackerson's most notable (among hundreds of) incredible accomplishments was the Passover Seder in Sadaam's Palace.

God bless, and Yesher Koach Rabbi Ackerson!

Here's one for the history books! This year, over 100 U.S. Jewish troops, civilians, and even a few Iraqi nationals celebrated Passover in a very unique location: Saddam Husseins former Presidential Palace in Baghdad.

The seder was organized and lead by Rabbi Mitchell Ackerson (LTC, USA), the senior chaplain for the US Army 220th Military Police Brigade.
Update: Click on "full story" to read Rabbi Ackerson's account of the seder!

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Tis the season for Passover stories I guess. The Free Lance-Star has a story online about a retired Marine near Quantico who opened his home to a young Second Lieutenant on Pesach.

The story itself is not that remarkable, but LtCol Haas deserves a special yesher koach for all his service at Quantico. He volunteered his own time to lead services for Jewish candidates at Marine Corps Officer Candidate School for several years. I first met him back when I went through in 2000. I have no idea if he still does this, but he is obviously still giving to the Jewish community at Quantico even after his retirement.

His generosity should be an example for all of us "Jews in Green". Semper Fi LtCol Haas!

MSNBC has a great story about a number of Jewish soldiers celebrating passover in the middle of fighting in Iraq.

It's almost a year old now, but I think it is a perfect example of how we can honor our traditions even in the most unlikely and inconvenient of places.

If you have any unique and interesting stories like this one, email them to and we'll publish them on the website.