First Jewish Woman Chaplain Serves in Air Force
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Capt. Sarah Schechter, the Jewish chaplain of the 11th Wing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, is the first ever female U.S. Air Force rabbi in 40 years of women serving as military chaplains, according to a recent feature on U.S. military website, military.com.
A native of New York’s Greenwich Village, Schechter, whose father was a rabbi, told military.com that she decided to enlist because of September 11, when she was in her fourth year of rabbinical school.
Schechter’s father was an Air Force chaplain in 1960, something that also influenced her decision to join up, according to military.com
As a chaplain, the rabbi’s mission includes representing Judaism and serving as a link between other faiths. Despite being the first and only female rabbi to undertake the task in the Air Force, Schechter wouldn’t necessarily call herself a “trailblazer.”
“I’m an officer, I’m a rabbi, and I want to do my best to represent the military and Judaism in the best light possible. I’m grateful to the women in the chaplaincy who preceded me because I truly stand on the shoulder of giants,” she said.
For more, go to Haaretz
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
