(JTA) — U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein, the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the American military, called the death of George Floyd a “national tragedy.” In a memo distributed late Monday asking commanders to “ensure wide distribution of this message,” Goldfein, a general, said that “every American should be outraged that the conduct…
(JTA) — A U.S. Army commander of a recruiting company in Houston was suspended after he distributed a memo in which he used the phrase “Arbeit Macht Frie.” The phrase, which means “Work Will Set You Free,” was displayed on the gate of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. The commander, whose name and unit have…
(JTA) — A rabbi accused of sending sexually inappropriate text and voice messages to a woman living on a Tacoma-area military base is resigning his position. “I write to notify you that I am resigning my position as Rabbi of Chabad of Pierce County effective Sunday, August 11, 2019,” Rabbi Zalman Heber said in a…
A Jewish woman living on a U.S. Army installation in Washington state confided with the only rabbi on the base that another rabbi was sexually harassing her – but the chaplain worked with the other rabbi to ostracize her and her husband from the local Jewish community, an Army investigation found. After Army Staff Sergeant…
Police in northern Italy detained three men after discovering an air-to-air missile, an arsenal of military weapons and Nazi propaganda during raids on far-right groups, the BBC reported. As part of an on-going investigation of Italian far-right extremist groups, Italian police discovered the stash of military weapons and Nazi paraphernalia on Monday. Eight hundred bullets,…
BERLIN (JTA) — For the first time in a century, Germany’s military will have rabbis as chaplains. Defense Minister Dr. Ursula von der Leyen announced this week that her ministry will appoint Jewish chaplains to the Bundeswehr, based on recommendations from the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the umbrella organization that represents the approximately…
No matter where a Jew is, Shabbat starts at sundown. Except when it doesn’t, as at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. There, due to Air Force orders, services for the Jewish Sabbath start hours before the light begins to fade. The rabbi, Captain Shaul Rappeport, lives placidly with this quirk of custom. It’s…
Nothing’s been the same since the Hebrew and Arabic action-drama “Fauda” proved that — surprise! — the tensest geopolitical struggle of our time makes for pretty decent television. While you wait for the third season of the harrowing Israeli spy show to return, feast your fear hormones on “When Heroes Fly,” a riveting Israeli series…
