Service Academy News (Good & Bad)

Ahh, more news about Jewish life at the Service Academies. This time I actually have some good news to report, although it’s not at the Air Force Academy. First let’s get the AFA stuff out of the way:

• An Air Force task force due to report on religious bias claims at the Air Force Academy had not interviewed key critics as the deadline approaches. (LINK)
• On the eve of his graduation, the top cadet at the Air Force Academy sent out a religious-themed (read: Christian) e-mail to thousands of fellow cadets. (LINK)
• House Republicans have killed two measures aimed at requiring the Air Force to submit a plan for ensuring religious tolerance the Academy. (LINK)

Now for some good news for a change. The Forward reports on how great Jewish life is at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point:

There are fewer than 90 Jews in West Point’s 4,000-person student body, but they constitute a particularly tight-knit and active group: Jewish cadets gather for Friday night services, perform with a Hebrew choir and attend parties sponsored by the campus Hillel chapter. Moreover, students, alumni and Jewish staff say that they, as Jews, feel supported and embraced by the broader West Point community.

The article goes into some of the highlights of Jewish life on campus and tries to examine how this environment came to be and why West Point seems to be in such stark contrast to the Air Force Academy.

*note: the Forward articles may require you to log in to read them. If you don’t want to bother creating an account to read the stories, I recommend using BugMeNot.