How have soldiers of other faiths been treated in the military?

[NNN0LHI]

Beating of Jewish Soldier at Fort Benning Turns Allies Into Foes

Posted: November 18, 2008 02:50 PM

On September 24, Pvt. Michael Handman, a Jewish soldier in basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, was severely beaten after being lured into a laundry room by other soldiers. Handman, who was knocked unconscious, was taken to the hospital, suffering from a concussion and other oral and facial injuries. The beating came just days after Handman was interviewed by commanders about letters he had written home in which he told his parents about the harassment he was facing because of his religion. In one letter to his mother, Pvt. Handman had written of his drill sergeants, "Not only do they humiliate me, they encourage my platoon to do the same thing." In the same letter, Handman wrote, "I have just never been so discriminated against / humilated about my religion," and "my battle buddy heard some of the guys in my platoon talking about how they wanted to beat the shit out of me tonight when I'm sleeping." The letter ended, "Maybe your dad was right...The Army is not the place for a Jew."

Pvt. Handman's parents, Randi and Jonathan Handman, understandably concerned for their son's safety after receiving letters like the one quoted above, contacted Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Sen. Chambliss then contacted the Army, which led to an interview of Handman by the commanders and the reprimanding of his drill sergeants. Four days later, Handman was lured into the laundry room and beaten.

MRFF, along with a number of other organizations and individuals, believes the prior harassment of Pvt. Handman, the subsequent reprimanding of the drill sergeants, and the beating were related. Jews in Green is accepting the Army's determination that they were not related, and the Army's decision to treat the beating as a personnel matter rather than a crime, a move which not only minimizes the punishment, but keeps secret the details of the attack that would be made public in a criminal investigation. But, the disagreement over the Army's handling of this situation is just the beginning of the story, and would probably not, in itself, have led to Sgt. Kresge's all out personal attack on Mikey Weinstein.

At issue here is not just the inadequate response by the Army, but the gross mishandling of Pvt. Handman's beating by Fort Benning Jewish lay leader Neil Block. While Block should have been an advocate for Handman, he was anything but -- actually implying that Handman somehow brought the beating on himself, using phrases like playing the "Jew card," saying that "Any young Jew who uses his minority status to play the system is villainous," and writing in an email to Mikey Weinstein, "You give comfort and sanction to those who would really try to marginalize us and an excuse for those of us who don't or won't measure up and use our ethnicity as their excuse."



Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/beating-of-jewish-soldier_b_144468.html&cp

[Ernesto]

1. Hell, I was picked on for 3 years in the USMC

because my dog tag read "Religion: No Preference".