Back in ‘91 when my military son was sent to Iraq - my Jewish employer was quite critical of the mission and made no mention of my child’s sense of duty or honor.
Believing his concern was related to Israel, I asked him if he had family at risk in Israel. He snapped: “Why don’t you ask if I have family in Iraq”?
So I asked him: “Do you have any stupid family members in Iraq?”
Shut him up;)
Do we know the percentage of Jewish volunteers in the US military or are they all in Israel?
American Jews aren’t big on military service.
In a 2003 article this was the estimate.
“There are no statistics revealing the number of Jews currently in service, says Rabbi Nathan Landman, a former Air Force chaplain and now the deputy director of the Jewish Welfare Board’s Jewish Chaplain’s Council, a division of the Jewish Community Centers Association (www.jcca.org) — but experience tells him the numbers are low.
“Half the percentage of the population level would be optimistic,” Landman says.
Jews account for 2.1 percent of the U.S. population, according to the latest census figures. If Landman’s estimate is correct, out of an Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps totaling 1.4 million, fewer than 15,000 are Jewish.”
“Rabbi Bonnie Koppell of Chandler, Arizona’s, Temple Beth Sholom — a Lieutenant Colonel and the first female rabbi to serve as a chaplain in the armed forces — has a theory.
“I think in general it’s not part of the Jewish culture to be in the military,” she says. “You don’t have family traditions other than World War II, when there was a massive mobilization draft.”
That is funny. :)
Personally, I don’t understand people, like your son’s employer. They don’t undertsnad to the degree that Israel, for all its imperfections, helps keep us safe.
Do they really think that, if Israel were destroyed, that the Arabs would rejoice and make peace?
The more likely answer is that, after rejoicing, the first thing that would happen is that the Arabs would find some other target and do it all again.
You don’t radicalize a population and then expect them to de-radicalize on command.