Home of Jewish War Veterans Online Post 77
Here are some additional military Chanukah stories from around the globe: A Hanukkah Hope: Chabad Lubavitch of the Pacific Northwest helps Jews on the USS Ford light a 9-foot menorah on the deck of the ship. The USS Ford, a guided-missile frigate, may be a high-tech “total warfare system,” but for the past few days, it has been host to […]
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Editors Note: The following is an excerpt from Rabbi (Cdr) Mitchell Schranz’s account of Chanukah celebrations he participated in all across Iraq. There is only one word to describe this year’s Chanukah in Iraq: INCREDIBLE! Services & Menorah lightings took place at many bases and FOBs. Rabbi Mordechai Schwab and I traveled throughout Iraq where we were able to spend […]
Read moreSome of you might have seen this in an email or on a message board, but I really wanted to share this story with all of our readers (even though it’s a little dated). So with his permission, I gladly give you Captain Howard J. Perl’s account of his very moving trip to Baghdad for Rosh Hashanah services. You can […]
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Along with the good news, there is unfortunately more bad news out of Iraq. Two more Jewish service members were killed in action recently. Sergeant Howard Paul Allen was on a convoy mission when an IED was detonated under his vehicle. Sergeant Allen was a great Soldier, devoted husband, and father to four beautiful children. He was a Navy veteran […]
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We often hear of young men and women “coming of age” on the battlefield, but two soldiers recently brought a whole new meaning to the term. Private First Class Jeremy Schlieve and Specialist Hannah Dorthula Bartley had their respective Bar and Bat Mitzvah in Baghdad this month. The two studied under the supervision of Rabbi Mitchell Schranz (CDR, USN) and […]
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“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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This past January, Ch. (Col.) Bonnie Koppell received an invitation she could not turn down. She was asked to travel to Iraq to conduct Passover seders for Jewish service members. After two weeks of refresher training in Soldiering/Surviving 101 in Fort Bliss, Texas, Rabbi Koppell left the U.S. just in time for the first Seder. With the help of many […]
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