Jewish-Muslim Chapel Opens at Ramstein AB

As of 20 Sep 05, Ramstein AB, Germany, has something that no other Air Force Base has: a joint Jewish-Muslim Chapel. The chapel isn’t 1 big hall where different faiths alternate nights – it’s 2 identically-shaped adjacent halls, one side designed for Jewish services and the other for Muslim prayer. It’s called the Kaiserslautern Military Community Interfaith Chapel and it […]

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The Rabbi at Camp Victory

“The rabbi, Mitchell Schranz, would rather his congregants leave their Berettas and their M-4 rifles at home than bring them to this nondescript alcove, not far from a former palace of Saddam Hussein. But this is Camp Victory, the American military’s main headquarters in Iraq ” and Jewish soldiers don’t always have the option of welcoming Shabbat unarmed.” US Navy […]

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Core Values

Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff was in SW Asia last week, visiting the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad AB. He’s there as the Secretary of the AF’s special assistant for values and visions. Rabbi Resnicoff is trying learn how airmen are applying the AF core values and guiding principles now that they’re in a wartime environment. As a line officer in […]

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“Little Izzy”

One of the reasons I like Jews in Green so much is that you can read stories about other Jewish servicemen, and it makes you proud to be a fighting Jew. Rear Admiral Isquith, USN (Ret.) is one of those stories. He barely passed the physical exam to enter Annapolis due to his short stature, then his class commissioned a […]

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Pigskin Boots

For those of us who don’t regularly see a copy of the Air Force Times, or another service’s equivalent, this week’s front-page article is a doosy. The Air Force is considering using boots made of pigskin beginning FY07. Apparently they’re easiest to clean, from all the testing they’ve done so far on various types of hide. The article focuses on […]

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A Tale of Two Chaplains

Lieutenant Commander Rabbi Seth Phillips of the U.S. Navy recently returned from Iraq, where he administered to and represented Jewish sailors and Marines fighting hard over there. This April he led a Pesach seder for about 50 Jewish Marines, soldiers and civilian contractors, as well as another for Christians – requested by a chaplain who “wanted his soldiers to experience […]

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Fewer Jews in Foxholes

Ever since my first year in Air Force ROTC I’ve been trying to figure out how many other Jews there are in the military. I guess it was probably so I could have an idea of the likelihood of me actually meeting other Jews, and being at bases with viable Jewish communities. When I was a freshman, I was able […]

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