Right before I became an Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts of America added a new required merit badge: The Family Life merit badge. This was the mid-1990s, right around the time when LGBT people began to receive more wide-spread acceptance in society. Indeed, the LGBT and allies coalition at my high school had strong support…
Leaders of Jewish LGBTQ organizations slammed President Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military as a “despicable” step back for equal rights. Trump shocked the nation by unexpectedly revealing the new policy, which will affect the estimated 6,000 transgender individuals now employed by the armed forces. After consultation with my Generals…
A leading group of American cantors is trying to honor American troops in a unique way: challenging its members and other Jewish musicians to come up with the best melody for a prayer for the country’s armed services. This is an initiative of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, the American Jewish War Veterans and the…
An app designed to help users spread pro-Israel messages on social media contained a security flaw that exposed the email addresses of its users, The Intercept reported Friday. Act.il was developed by three pro-Israel groups that receive funding from Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson. It has been a pet obsession of Israeli Minister of Strategic…
A self-professed neo-Nazi who was found with bomb-making materials in his apartment once served in the National Guard. Brandon Russell was arrested last month after authorities discovered bomb equipment while searching his apartment in connection to the slaying of two of Russell’s roommates. Another roommate, 18-year-old Devon Arthurs, is accused in the slayings. Heidi Beirich,…
Think organizing a Passover Seder is hard work? Try doing it in the middle of the ocean. Lt. Nicholas Fritzhand, a weapon-systems officer, will be conducting a Passover Seder aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz, the oldest active U.S. aircraft carrier, on April 10. The Seder, conducted 500 miles from shore in the middle of the Arabian…
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a pardon for the Israeli soldier who shot a downed Palestinian assailant. Elor Azaria was convicted of manslaughter on Wednesday in a military court. “This is a difficult and painful day for all of us – and first and foremost for Elor and his family, for…
More than three decades after his death, United States Army Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds received a posthumous award for his working saving 200 Jewish soldiers from deportation to a Nazi slave labor camp, reported the Times of Israel. Edmonds and almost 1,300 other American GIs were captured at the Battle of Bulge, in the waning…
