Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver
In a move that outraged Jewish members of the U.S. military, the U.S. Army’s Chief of Chaplains issued a proclamation shortly before Passover that called upon all Army personnel to participate in a “day of prayer and fasting” on the first night of the Jewish holiday, which is marked by a traditional feast called a Seder.
Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver defended his proclamation by claiming he did not realize the significance of April 8 for members of the Jewish faith, and that the date was linked to his Southern Baptist roots. Dozens of Jewish Army personnel lodged complaints with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group that seeks to force the military to adhere to religious neutrality guidelines.
The incident was not the first time Carver had draw attention to himself, nor was it the first in which the U.S. military had behaved insensitively towards Jews. One account of Carver’s public remarks in 2007 seemed to indicate that he believed he was “chosen by God to lead in an Apocalyptic end-time war between good and evil that will last decades and began, as foreshadowed in prophecy, with the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.”
In October 2005, a Jewish father of two Air Force Academy cadets sued the Air Force, claiming senior officers and cadets illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school (see Controversies, US Air Force)
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Army Faces Backlash for Scheduling 'Day of Fast' On Feast of Passover (by Jason Leopold, Public Record)
A Proclamation of Prayer and Fasting (by Chaplain Douglas L. Carver) (PDF)
New Army Head of Chaplains Thinks He's “Chosen By God”, Predicts Apocalyptic Religious War (by Bruce Wilson, AlterNet)
Comments