Presented by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff
Retired U.S. Navy Chaplain, former National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee
Serving since the Civil War, when President Lincoln personally intervened to allow their service, Jewish chaplains have worked to comfort, care for, and inspire all military personnel -- those of all religions, and those who claim no religion -- often risking their lives to do so.
Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff will delve into the history, roles, and responsibilities of Jewish Chaplains in our nation's military. This talk will explore the historical facts and personal anecdotes, including, but not limited to...
How did Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn's sermon after the battle of Iwo Jima become one of the most famous sermons of WWII, while at the same time advancing interfaith cooperation for military personnel?
Who were the four "Immortal Chaplains" honored on a US postage stamp emblazoned with the words "Interfaith in Action?"
How was Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness report of the 1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing, called "the attack that launched the war on terror" read in full by President Ronald Reagan as a keynote speech to 20,000 attendees of the "Baptist Fundamentalism '84" convention? Did this help change military regulations to allow Jewish personnel to wear kippot in uniform?
Why did courts decide that the chaplaincy was not only constitutional but perhaps constitutionally required?
Join us to explore the often misunderstood role of Jewish chaplains in today's ever-changing military.
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This lecture is sponsored in the loving memory of George E. Johnson, a former Haberman Institute board member.
George, a military veteran, wrote about his ethical struggles while serving in the Vietnam War, and about his involvement in Jewish activism afterward to advocate for the war’s end. George loved to learn, believed in adult Jewish education, and he made a great impact on our organization and the greater Jewish community.
Thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our Spring 2024 program lineup.
He dedicates the semester’s learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman, Stephen C. Ammerman, and Avi West.
Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff is a retired U.S. Navy Chaplain, former National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, Special Assistant to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force for Values and Vision (with the military equivalent rank of Brigadier General), and Command Chaplain for the United States European Command.
His naval career began in the rivers of Vietnam followed by Naval Intelligence in Europe before rabbinical school and ordination. As part of a small group of Vietnam veterans, he worked to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, delivering prayer at its dedication, and personally convinced the US military to participate in the US Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust.
Rabbi Resnioff was the first chaplain to teach at a U.S. military war college: "Faith and Force: Religion, War, and Peace," Naval War College, in Newport, RI, where he was also a frequent guest speaker at the annual “Ethics and Military Leadership” conference he helped create. His numerous military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, and his academic degrees include a masters in International Relations, and another in Strategic Studies and National Security Affairs.
Resnicoff has delivered more prayers in Congress than any other rabbi and was the only rabbi Guest of Honor at the USMC Marine Barracks parade. On Oct 23, 1983, he was present in Beirut, Lebanon during the 1983 terrorist attack that took the lives of 241 American military personnel. His report of the attack and its aftermath, written at the request of the White House, was read as a keynote speech by President Ronald Reagan.