Five more rabbis are entering the United States armed forces as Jewish chaplains, it was announced this week-end by the National Jewish Welfare Board. Their entry brings ‘to 57 the total of full-time Jewish chaplains serving with the American military forces throughout the world.
The new chaplains received their ecclesiastical endorsement from J.W.B.’s Religious Activities Division, which, at the request of the U.S. military, has been engage in an intensive chaplaincy procurement program for the past year, seeking an enrollment of 111 Jewish chaplains. Represented in the Division are the three national rabbinic bodies: the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform), the Rabbinical Assembly of America (Conservative), and the Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox)
Of the 57 Jewish chaplains now in service, 17 are on duty at overseas installations: Korea, Japan, Hawii, Alaska, and Europe. In addition to the work of the regular chaplains, religious ministrations are provided at domestic military installation and Veterans Administration hospitals by a corps of 208 part-time Jewish chaplains, who are likewise recruited, endorsed, and serviced by J.W.B.’s Division of Religious Activities.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
