Proposal to Donate Jewish Chaplains Monument to Arlington National Cemetery

Proposal to Donate
Jewish Chaplains Monument
to Arlington National Cemetery
Harold L. Robinson
RADM CHC USN Ret.
Director, JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
Kenneth G. Kraetzer
Director
Lahey - Ollinger Foundation
Shelley Rood
Senior Legislative Associate
The Jewish Federations of North America
Jewish War Veterans • JWB Jewish Chaplains Council • Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance
Florence Lahey and Sol Ollinger Foundation • The Jewish Federations of North America

Cooperation without compromise
Our Chaplain Corps is unique in all the world.
We provide for our own faith.
We facilitate for all faiths.
We care for all people.
War evokes the dehumanizing and demonic in the human soul. The presence of chaplains working together across faith lines helps remind us that all humanity is created with the divine spark, and helps preserve our humanity amidst the calamity of conflict.

The Four Chaplains:
America – diverse but united
A cathartic moment for America.
Lithograph by Louis Schwimmer found at www.schwimmer.com/fourchaplains

Memorialized by all faiths
Photo: Ken Kraetzer
Annual Four Chaplains Mass at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY, conducted by American Legion American Legion Post 1048.

Chaplains Hill
Photo: Ken Kraetzer
Currently commemorates only Protestants and Catholics.At ANC lie Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and many others together.
Comrades never abandon others in the field of conflict — this Memorial will bring the names of fallen Jewish chaplains home to Arlington.

Our coalition takes action
• Grassroots awareness and fundraising campaign through veterans, chaplains, and rabbinic communities
• Bipartisan resolutions introduced in the U.S. House and Senate
• Families of the fallen chaplains got involved
• Organizational support through the Jewish Federations of North America
• Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. launches major advocacy day on Capitol Hill

Our coalition takes action
• 36 national Jewish organizations and 61 local Jewish organizations sent a letter to members of the House and Senate
• Local Jewish Community Relations Councils called and wrote to their members of Congress to encourage support
• Facebook page with 453 ‘likes’

Results to date
• $50,000 raised from 373 individual donors, civic organizations, and veterans groups of all faiths
• Coverage in CNN, the AP, Politico, Army Times, Air Force Times, NY State News, two radio stations and one local TV news station, and dozens of Jewish newspapers
• The AP article was picked up by more than 150 news outlets
• PBS made a video which is currently on the PBS website and may go to TV soon

Congress approves monument
Language passed unanimously in the Senate and House during Jewish American Heritage Month and the week leading up to Memorial Day.

Design: monolith
• Barre, VT granite
• Monolith: 3’6” X 0’10” X 7’0” – special top
• All steeled; oval top
• Straight shoulders and ends; no sharp edges
• Top of monument will compensate for slope and perspective, and align at same height as existing monuments

Design: bronze plaque
• Approx. size: 30” X 50”
• Mounted on front face
Research and design: Debora Jackson

Design: symbolism
The tablets of the 10 Commandments and the star of David form the Jewish Chaplain Corps device in the U.S. Armed Forces.
A common motif in synagogue architecture, the lions evoke the blessing of Judah by the Patriarch Jacob:
“Judah shall be as a lion’s whelp…he crouches as a lion and as an old lion.”
— Genesis 49:9
“Behold what a people…that shall rise up like a lion.”
— Numbers 23:24

Design: symbolism
The list of chaplains vetted by Chiefs of all three Chaplain Corps.
Inscription:
“They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.”
— Samuel II 1:22
May God remember them for good with the righteous of all the world.
King David’s eulogy for King Saul and Jonathan, with additional line as found in the Jewish Prayerbook and memorial service.

Location – Chaplains Hill
Rendering: JWB Jewish Chaplains Council

Next steps
• Permission to cast bronze plaque and break ground for foundation of monument
• Education and awareness:1. memorial book2. national tour
• Dedication ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Amphitheater
Photo: www.arlingtoncemetery.mil

Help make the monument a reality:
Donations to this project are accepted by:
Association of Jewish Chaplains
of the Armed Forces – Arlington project
520 Eighth Avenue - 4th Floor
New York, NY 10018
For additional information please contact:
Rabbi Harold L. RobinsonRADM CHC USN Ret
tel: (212)786-5090
e-mail:JWB@jcca.org

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Proposal to Donate Jewish Chaplains Monument to Arlington National Cemetery

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