Jews in Green Forums

Need Religious Pictures

2010-07-25T16:28:03-05:00

I"m writing an article about Jewish Military in Iraq and Afghanistan and I need pictures. There are some great pictures uploaded that are perfect of soldiers with chanukah menorahs, pesach seder, sukkah etc. but I need permission to use them.

Does anyone have pictures they could email me at Writingvoice at gmail dot com

thanks so much

Jews in Kuwait

2008-01-07T02:40:29-05:00

Are there any services in Kuwait? I’m going to be deployed there in April and am curious as to what will my jewish experience be like there.

New London

2010-06-14T21:55:08-05:00

Shalom,

My wife and I are PCSing to Navy Sub Base Groton in Connecticut. Does anyone have any input for places to live. Specifically any neighborhoods with a good Jewish community? Thanks for the support!

-Nuke

Jews In JAG

2010-07-13T11:56:42-05:00

I am a religious Jew currently in Law School just one year away from graduation. I have always been interested in Joining the JAG Corp (Judge Advocate Corps). Does anyone know of any other Jews currently in JAG? And, honestly, how difficult is it out there for a Jewish Officer in a position such as JAG?

Antisemitism in the service

2009-02-23T01:10:45-05:00

How much have you experienced while serving? Ft Hood appears to have quite a problem with race and religion. I might need to advice/help with my current situation.

Rabbi Gittelsohn’s Iwo Jima Sermon

2010-06-24T10:20:33-05:00

The fight for Iwo Jima in 1945 was one of the bloodiest of World War II. A tiny island in the Pacific dominated by a volcanic mountain and pockmarked with caves, Iwo Jima was the setting for a five-week, non-stop battle between 70,000 American Marines and an unknown number of deeply entrenched Japanese defenders. The courage and gallantry of the American forces, climaxed by the dramatic raising of the American flag over Mt. Suribachi, is memorialized in the Marine Corps monument in Washington, DC. Less remembered, however, is that the battle occasioned an eloquent eulogy by a Marine Corps rabbi that has become an American classic.

Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), assigned to the Fifth Marine Division, was the first Jewish chaplain the Marine Corps ever appointed. The American invading force at Iwo Jima included approximately 1,500 Jewish Marines. Rabbi Gittelsohn was in the thick of the fray, ministering to Marines of all faiths in the combat zone. He shared the fear, horror and despair of the fighting men, each of whom knew that each day might be his last. Roland Gittelsohn’s tireless efforts to comfort the wounded and encourage the fearful won him three service ribbons.

When the fighting was over, Division Chaplain Warren Cuthriell, a Protestant minister, asked Rabbi Gittelsohn to deliver the memorial sermon at a combined religious service dedicating the Marine Cemetery. Cuthriell wanted all the fallen Marines – black and white, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish – honored in a single, nondenominational ceremony. Unfortunately, racial and religious prejudice was strong in the Marine Corps, as it was then throughout America. According to Rabbi Gittelsohn, the majority of Christian chaplains objected to having a rabbi preach over predominantly Christian graves. The Catholic chaplains, in keeping with church doctrine, opposed any form of joint religious service.

To his credit, Cuthriell refused to alter his plans. Gittelsohn, on the other hand, wanted to save his friend Cuthriell further embarrassment and so decided it was best not to deliver his sermon. Instead, three separate religious services were held. At the Jewish service, to a congregation of 70 or so who attended, Rabbi Gittelsohn delivered the powerful eulogy he originally wrote for the combined service:

Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and whites, rich men and poor . . . together. Here are Protestants, Catholics and Jews together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy …

Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this, then, as our solemn duty, sacred duty do we the living now dedicate ourselves: to the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of white men and Negroes alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid the price …

We here solemnly swear that this shall not be in vain. Out of this and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come, we promise, the birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.

Among Gittelsohn’s listeners were three Protestant chaplains so incensed by the prejudice voiced by their colleagues that they boycotted their own service to attend Gittelsohn’s. One of them borrowed the manuscript and, unknown to Gittelsohn, circulated several thousand copies to his regiment. Some Marines enclosed the copies in letters to their families. An avalanche of coverage resulted. Time magazine published excerpts, which wire services spread even further. The entire sermon was inserted into the Congressional Record, the Army released the eulogy for short-wave broadcast to American troops throughout the world and radio commentator Robert St. John read it on his program and on many succeeding Memorial Days.

In 1995, in his last major public appearance before his death, Gittelsohn re-read a portion of the eulogy at the fiftieth commemoration ceremony at the Iwo Jima statue in Washington, D.C. In his autobiography, Gittelsohn reflected, “I have often wondered whether anyone would ever have heard of my Iwo Jima sermon had it not been for the bigoted attempt to ban it.”

From the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society

Army Cadet out of DC

2010-05-02T20:17:52-05:00

I’m a contracted Army ROTC cadet about to head into my MS III year come the fall. It’s been a pretty great if tiring experience this past year and I only made the decision to contract part of the way through (I joined as a new MS II). Anyways I just wanted to introduce myself. The Jewish demographics of our BN are surprisingly high, and in our platoon I think there are 5 or 6 including myself. Though everyone seems to downplay it pretty heavily, including one or two who either completely reject or mask it. I know I’m the only one who attends services, though some of others still identify themselves as Jews.

Not that I’m complaining! Just commenting on my observations. I’ve become more religious on the past year or so, not a full blown Baal Teshuva but I’ve climbed the ladder from Reform and I go to Chabad services when I can. I was raised in a typical suburban Jewish family and we went to our local Reform Synagogue but all of a sudden that wasn’t doing it for me, which is strange for a lot of reasons… but I digress! I’m looking forward to my career in the Army, I’m hoping to branch MI or MP, but I can only work hard and cross my fingers. I’ll be proud in any job I get, though maybe not anything with too much math.

I was wondering about the prospect of being able to attend services at LDAC. The services have become something that I’ve come to value and being able to attend them would be great. I was guessing though that the likelihood of having Jewish services at LDAC were slim considering the composite of cadets. But I figured it was worth inquiring about. I was also wondering about why more Jewish soldiers don’t offer to organize lay groups, or if there was some way to do this at the posts they are stationed at. If I was at a post that had some Jewish soldiers but not available Rabbi’s or Jewish community would I be able to make the effort of trying to have a Jewish service? Are there restrictions on this? I think I’d just want to make sure I could maintain some of that connection and I know there are plenty of groups that offer to send materials to help you lead a service if thats the only option available.

If anyone has any other advice or things to say feel free to say them!

I just wanted to introduce myself glad to be on here.

Jewish Centers near Ft Bragg?

2010-04-25T23:19:12-05:00

Hello all,

First of all, I want to give my great thanks to the Jewish Community of Columbus, GA and their outstanding support for Jewish soldiers on Ft. Benning. My time at Basic and Airborne were much easier thanks to their support. What a wonderful community and Chaplain on Sand Hill.

Secondly, after being in the Army for almost 9 months now, it looks like I am finally going to have a more stable place to be for at least the next year or so. I’ll be at Ft. Bragg for at least the duration of my training. I’ve done some searching and found that there is a synagogue in the area, but I’ve tried to contact them with no avail. I’ve been a little skeptical of a lot of synagogues I find in the South as there are a lot of Messianic temples, etc. Does anyone have any information on this one? I do know the Chabad Rabbi in Raleigh and in Durham and have been up there for Shabbat, but it would be nice to find something a little closer.

Well anyway, thanks again for the help I’ve found on this site and look forward to contributing as much as I can.

Have a great day! and Good Week!

Kosher and submarines?

2010-03-08T21:56:03-05:00

Any fellow squids out there? One of our students (nuke school) keeps kosher and is thinking about volunteering subs. Have any of you seen someone manage loading out kosher mre’s for underways/deployments?

NWU Kippah

2010-03-21T21:50:33-05:00

Shipmates,

Anyone know if any vendors sell a Kippah in the new Navy Working Uniform pattern?

Here is a link to the (ugly) new ‘camo’ pattern:
http://www.navytimes.com/xml/news/2009/03/navy_cammies_030109w/030109_navy_cammies2_800.JPG

V/R,
Nuke