Jewish Chaplains Endorse Compulsory Chapel Attendance in Service Academies

In recognition of the sensitive and essential place that religious training commands in the moulding of future United States officers generally, and of Jewish officers, particularly, the Association of Jewish Chaplains in the Armed Forces endorsed the retention of compulsory chapel attendance at service academies, in a resolution passed at its 25th anniversary meeting, several days ago. The resolution stated in part that “Jews in the armed forces represent a scattered minority, whose spiritual needs cannot be adequately served by the limited number of Jewish chaplains, and every Jewish officer trained to assume such responsibilities with dignity and pride represents, therefore, a distinct asset to the armed forces and helps fill a fundamental need of the Jewish commun- ity.” It also noted that “the experiences at My Lai and elsewhere reflect the need for an intensification of spiritual training for the officers of our armed forces, not its dilution.” The resolution also hailed the decision of a United States District Court for sustaining the constitutionality of the practice which had been challenged by 3 non-Jewish cadets in a court brief. The Chaplains Association termed the verdict “consistent with the best spiritual interests of the Armed Forces and the nation and in no way contradictory to the principle of separation of church and state.” (The compulsory chapel regulation is not intended to promote or to establish a specific religion above others, but is spiritual training on priority with other required training for future officers.) The resolution was introduced by Rabbi Avraham Soltes, volunteer chaplain at West Point Academy, N.Y. “We need an intensification of Jewish training not a dilution,” Rabbi Soltes urged, indicating “that for the next decade of their lives these young men will be isolated from contact with any Jewish community and that their values as Jews may be the only ones that will be encountered by the thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish men and officers that they will meet and work with.”