Aleph’s Shabbaton a Big Success

Earlier this month Jewish service members (including chaplains, lay leaders, and regular troops) travelled to South Florida for the Aleph Institute’s fifth annual Military Shabbat Retreat and Training Course. The weekend gathering kicked off at The Shul of Bal Harbour Thursday morning with classes and events exploring the theme of diversity in the U.S. armed forces. Over the next several […]

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Three Great Stories Featuring Military Jews

Over the past couple weeks there have been some excellent feature stories that focus on Jews serving in the military. The first, from Time Magazine, called One Private, Two Armies is about Private Daniel Houten, who is currently in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. What makes his story interesting is that Houten just finished an 18-month tour with the IDF. This drives […]

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Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski recognized for Jewish Military Leadership

The JCC Association announced that it will present the Jewish Military Leadership Award to Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, at the JCCs of North America Biennial in New Orleans on May 7, 2012. “Admiral Shelanski personifies the highest qualities of a Jewish military leader,” said Rabbi Harold Robinson, director of JWB Jewish Chaplains Council. A retired admiral […]

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Jewish Wings

  This past week I had a unique opportunity as a Jewish layleader. I’m currently serving as a flight instructor for naval aviators near Pensacola, Florida. I’m extremely happy to (finally) live in a place with an active Jewish community. However, having two synagogues in town usually means that most of what I do as a layleader is refer them […]

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What Service Should I Join?

I get this question a lot, and not just from JIG readers. While I’m a little biased to the Few and the Proud, even I can admit that there are different benefits and downsides to serving in each of the different branches. Well the folks over at About.com put together a decent guide to choosing a service to enlist in. […]

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Former Marine Teaches Martial Arts in Israel

Y-Net reports on David Stern, a 31-year-old martial arts expert, and former U.S. Marine who is now teaching self-defense to adults and children in Israel. According to the article, he had studied in martial arts prior to joining the Marine Corps and even trained some of his fellow Marines in Krav Maga. My favorite part of the article is how the […]

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