The Jewish Soldier Foundation

Army Specialist Joe Kashnow (our featured Jew this month) and his wife Sarai have established the Jewish Soldier Foundation. The JSF’s mission is to “provide support, services and advocacy for and on behalf of our Jewish bretheren who have committed themselves to defending freedom, democracy, and other G-dly values.”

There has been a great deal of press coverage about SPC Kashnow’s injury he received in Iraq, but there hasn’t been much written about the Jewish Soldier Foundation itself. Since the JSF and Jews in Green are both working towards improving life for Jews in the U.S. military, what better place to spotlight his new organization than here? Click on “Full Story” to read more.

Kashnow first had the idea for the JSF when he was hospitalized in Germany after he was injured in an ambush in Iraq. His brother came to visit for a day and they got to talking about trying to do something to help other Jews in the military. What started out as small idea eventually evolved into the current foundation.

In about two months the JSF was established and with the help of his brother, Kashnow had the website up and running. SPC Kashnow’s expertise is more with the running of the organization than with web design, so he is currently looking for a volunteer (or a professional) to assist with the website. If you are interested, you can contact him at .

As one can see from the guestbook on the JSF website, the response to this new organization has been wonderful. Kashnow himself didn’t even expect such an outpouring of support from the community. People from all over the world have written in to send words of encouragement and to say thanks for what he has done.

Kashnow has had a positive response from the various agencies he has spoken with about the JSF as well. He said the Jewish War Veterans have been very supportive and have offered some help. The President of the Aleph Institute is one of the JSF’s “Patron Sponsors” and has also provided him with an incredible wealth of information. Kashnow has spoken with a few Congressmen/women as well and their response has also been very supportive of the organization.

I asked Kashnow what the JSF has been up to and what he has planned for the near future. He said that he and his wife have just finished sending items for Shavuot to service members in Iraq. The shipment included over 100 Cholov Yisroel shelf stable meals, 50 Seferarim on Shavuot and a huge box of “Junk” food and other fun stuff. Right now he is working on a letter writing campaign to send letters to service members (Jewish and non-Jewish) serving away from home. His wife Sarai also plays a key role in the JSF as the Director of JSF family and community activities. Currently, she is working on a book project that should launch in the next few weeks. The book is to be a compilation of war stories from Jewish veterans. A Jewish Soldier Foundation membership program is also in the works, but is expected to take some time before it is fully implemented. In the meantime, he has set up a way to make a donation by mail or through his website.

While the Jewish Soldier Foundation and Jews in Green were started independent of one another and are two separate organizations, we are both working toward the same goal: to help Jews serving in all branches of the military. I look forward to working more with the JSF and you should expect to see updates on Jews in Green from time to time as to what the JSF has been doing. Yesher koach Specialist Kashnow!