Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 29, 2006 Page: 4 of 28
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4
Texas Jewish Post
*
In Our 60th Year
June 29,2006
Washington Watch
Air Force guidelines go to
next level
Jewish leaders remain divided and
uncertain over new Air Force policies on
religious freedom and the chaplaincy. But
for now,at least, mainstream leaders have
decided to play along with the Pentagon
and hope for the best.
Earlier this month, the American
Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation
League, the American Jewish Congress
and the Religious Action Center
of Reform Judaism wrote a joint
letter to a top Air Force official
with recommendations for
implementing recently-issued
“Guidelines on the Free Exer-
cise of Religion" in the military
Those guidelines were
revised after an earlier draft gen
sent an “appropriate compromise in
terms of recognizing the free exercise
rights of chaplains, and the role of chap-
lains in a pluralistic ministry”
In the joint letter, the Jewish groups
recommended that the Air Force use
training materials on religious pluralism
developed by Jewish groups, and that
training programs “urge senior officers to
refrain from discussing their religious
beliefs with junior officers or enlisted
men because of a concern that the discus-
sion of religion will be
perceived as inherently coercive
by the junior servicemen ”
They also urged the Pen-
tagon to “provide for a
grievance and complaint proce
dure” that service personnel can
use without fear of retribution
And the lewish leaders
erated outrage and threats from By lames D. Besser urged the Air Force to“maintain
conservative Republicans in the
House, who argued that its provisions
would prevent Christian chaplains from
praying according to their sectarian beliefs.
Privately, several Jewish leaders said
the revised guidelines were a step back-
ward in a military establishment rife
with religious coercion.
But publicly, most insist they are ready
to work with the Air Force to ensure the
new guidelines are implemented in ways
that maximize religious freedom.
“Our perspective is that the Air Force
has been trying all along to deal with a
complex issue in good faith ."said Richard
Foltin, legislative director for the Amer-
ican Jewish Committee.
The latest guidelines are“in some ways
not as clear on certain sensitive issues as
the original guidelines, but nevertheless
we thought they were an advance from
the situation we had a year ago,” he said.
“They do make it clear that there are lines
that cannot be crossed regarding religious
speech involving a superior officer.”
And he said the new guidelines repre
limits on the ability of military
chaplains to invoke particularistic prayers
at mandatory service personnel assem-
blies" — something that was scrapped
from the earlier draft guidelines.
But Mikey Weinstein, the Air Force
Academy graduate who is suing the Air
Force to stop religious coercion in the
military, called that decision “appease-
ment" and said the most recent and final
guidelines are “pathetic."
Tve had it with Jewish groups,"he said,
carving out an exception only for Anti-
Defamation League director Abraham
Foxman, who he said has been “somewhat
supportive” of his legal efforts.
The administration,he said,has “turned
the Marine Corps, the Army, the Navy and
die Air Force into a faith-based initiative ”
Weinstein called die newest guidelines a
“massive step back" for the military,
undoing not just the earlier draft guidelines
but longstanding procedures to ensure mil-
itary chaplains can serve both their
co-religionists and military personnel rep-
resenting a broader religious spectrum.
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“h basically states that its okay for mem
bers of the military to proselytize or evan^dize
junior membensas king as its done with sen-
sitivity and nan-coercrvenessThe said
But such non-coercive proselytiztion is
impossible in a military environment
defined by the“Draconian specter of com-
mand influence that you don’t find if you
work at a Starbucks or Walgreens,” he said.
The ADCs Abraham Foxman dis-
agreed, saying that for now, at least, lets
deal with implementation. And six
months from now, if our efforts don’t meet
with sensitivity and openness, then we
may have to revert to political pressure.
Cooperation galore
A congressional resolution setting up
a new program that could boost Israels
alternative energy industry advanced on
Tuesday when a House committee
approved the United States-Israel Energy
Cooperation Act.
“Cutting-edge research by top scien-
tists from the United States and Israel
could hold the key to reducing our
reliance on foreign oil," said Rep. Brad
Sherman (D-Calif.).a lead sponsor. “We
must promote efficient use of traditional
energy sources as well as research into
alternative energy sources ’
The legislation would create an Inter-
national Energy Advisory Board within
the Department of Energy; it also autho-
rizes a $20 million per year grant program.
The measure was promoted heavily by
the American Jewish Congress, which
took the unusual step of hiring a top
Washington lobby group to get Congress
to move on it after a long stall.
According to Sherman, the measure
also got a boost when Israeli Prime Min-
ister Ehud Olmert praised the legislation
in his speech to Congress.
It is also a top priority for the Jewish
Council for Public Affairs (JCPAJ.and has
been endorsed by most other major
Jewish groups.
“Of all the issues I work on, this one
has the best across-the-board support,"
said Hadar Susskind, the JCPA Wash
ington director.
Israel may also get a boost from
pending legislation beefing up coopera-
tion between the United States and a
number of countries — including Israel
— in the anti-terrorism fight.
The measure, which would create a new
Office of International Cooperative Pro-
grams in the Department of Homeland
Security, was unanimously approved by
the House Homeland Security Committee.
The new agency’s function: to develop
mechanisms for joint security research eflbrts,
to match foreign entities doing homeland
security work with US. agencies, companies
and think tanks and to convene international
conferences and workshops on the subject
The House bill authorizes $25 million
for the program over three years, and
requires foreign participants to match
the U.S. contribution.
Congressional stall on
Jerusalem
Jewish activists have been less suc-
cessful in promoting a resolution
marking the 39th anniversary of
Jerusalem’s 1967 reunification.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Joe
Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. Sam
Brownback (R-Kan.), also expresses the
sense of the Senate that “Jerusalem must
remain an undivided city in which the
rights of every ethnic and religious group
are protected as they have been by Israel
during the past 39 years."
And it calls on President Bush to stop
waiving the 1995 law requiring that the
State Department move the U.S. embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
But the measure, championed by the
Orthodox Union, has only 12 Senate
cosponsors; more importantly, some of
its provisions have reportedly infuriated
Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.).Sununu, sev-
eral Capitol Hill sources said last week, is
holding up the measure despite strong
efforts by Brownback to unblock it.
A similar version in the House, sponsored
by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev), is being held
up by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-11L), chair of the
House International Relations Committee.
Hyde and Sununu also reportedly
object to the statement that Israel has
protected the rights of all ethnic and reli-
gious groups in Jerusalem.
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Nathan Diament, the OUs Wash-
ington director, said the legislation, while
important, cuts no new ground.
“This resolution embodies long-
standing policy regarding Jerusalem that
Congress has passed before, overwhelm-
ingly,” he said. “We think this should
entirely non-controversial.”
Sununu has been busy; he is i
holding up the Senate version of a bill
imposing strict limits on U.S. aid to the
Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Joe s big decision
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) is get-
ting close to the toughest decision in his
long political career: whether or not to
abandon a Democratic party that may be
set to abandon him.
The veteran lawmaker has run into a
major roadblock in his effort to win a
fourth term: Ned Lamont.a wealthy polit-
ical newcomer who is tapping a deep
reservoir of voter discontent in Connecticut
over the continuing war in Iraq and anger
over Lieberman’s staunch defense of
administration policy in the conflict.
Lieberman, the challenger is telling
voters, isn’t just President Bush’s favorite
Democrat; he’s virtually indistinguish-
able from his Republican colleagues.
Lieberman hasn’t budged on Iraq,but
he insists he is a mainstream Democrat
on most other issues.
see WATCH p. 10
Texas Jewish Post
Since 1947
Jimmy Wisch
Publisher & Editor 1947-2002
Editor & Publisher
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Wisch, Rene & Wisch-Ray, Sharon. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 29, 2006, newspaper, June 29, 2006; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth753970/m1/4/: accessed May 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .