World Counter-Attack Air Force vet tackles proselytizing after sons' harassment. Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washington B etrayal. Contagion. Oceans of blood. That's Mikey Weinstein, describing the threat he believes the United States faces from the Christian evangelists he says are permeating the military. At least, that's the printable Weinstein. And he says to expect more of the same in-your-face approach as his Military Religious Freedom Foundation picks up steam and continues to pursue lawsuits against the U.S. military. The U.S. is "out of the business of com- forting the afflicted, and we've gone into the business of afflicting the comfortable,' Weinstein said in Washington last week befOre a fundraiser for the foundation he established a year ago. Weinstein, an Air Force veteran and an assistant counsel in the Reagan administration, was thrust into this limelight 18 months ago when both his sons reported anti-Jewish harassment dur- ing their stints at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Weinstein, 51, was shocked; he had never experienced such intense hostility, includ- ing obscenities and epithets; nor had his father, a U.S. Navy veteran. The culprit, he concluded, was a new pervasive evangelism in the military. Evangelical fliers were distributed on campus, chaplains proselytized from their lecterns and cadets who did not attend prayet meetings were snubbed — or worse. The revelations were like a bolt, Weinstein said, precisely because as a veteran of the military's legal corps, he understood that the armed forces work under a hierarchy. "We don't let sergeants pitch Amway because we know of the draconian structure of the mili- tary hierarchy' he said. He felt the need to stand up to an "uncon- stitutional contagion:' he said. "We have seen this train leave the station before, and we've ended up with oceans of blood." Since then, Weinstein has joined Melinda Morton, a Lutheran chaplain fired by the Air Force for her critiques of evangelism, in becoming the go-to address for media seek- ing commentary on the issue. It has also brought less welcome attention. Weinstein says with a half-smile: "I've been called the field general of the armies of Satan." Weinstein, who lives in Albuquerque, where he is an executive employed by bil- lionaire businessman Ross Perot, recently turned on his congresswoman, Rep. Heather Wilson. Wilson, a fellow Air Force veteran, had employed Weinstein's son, Casey, and had walked him across the stage when he gradu- ated in 2004. She was also one of only eight . Republicans who backed a bill aimed at roll- ing back evangelical coercion in the military. That wasn't good enough for Weinstein, who is now fundraising for Wilson's • Democratic opponent, New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, in what is expected to be a tight race. He says Wilson has not been sufficiently outspoken on the issue. "Heather Wilson took me and my family, and threw us under a bus to bleed by the side of the road',' Weinstein recently told the Albuquerque Tribune. He called her silence "betrayal!" That kind of rhetoric unsettles Jewish groups, who count Wilson as a friend. The centerpiece of the foundation's activ- ity has been Weinstein's suit, filed in October against the U.S. Air Force. The lawsuit would force the Air Force to ensure that "no member of the U.S. Air Force, includ- ing a chaplain, is permitted to evangelize, proselytize, or in any related way attempt to involuntarily convert, pressure, exhort or persuade a fellow member of the U.S. Air Force to accept their own religious beliefs while on duty" The. Air Force, backed by conservative Christian groups and by powerful congres- sional Republicans, says such requirements would infringe on free speech rights. The Christian Coalition has been in front in the- campaign, saying that keeping chaplains from mentioning Jesus in multifaith con- texts constitutes "religious discrimination against Christians." That argument infuriates Weinstein, who calls it "torturing language." He says the military should never have become a forum for this debate. "The bombs and the bullets all belong to the military," he said. "If you Mikey Weinstein lose the military, you lose everything." It's a stark contrast with how major Jewish organizations have dealt with the issue. In a statement last week, four advoca- cy groups granted a cautious welcome to Air Force guidelines aimed at stemming pros- elytizing. The guidelines have "substantially alleviated concerns that followed reports of religious proselytization and anti-Semitism:' said the letter signed by the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress and the Reform movement's Religious Action Center. The Jewish groups suggested a greater emphasis against "particularistic" prayer in multifaith settings and urged officers not to discuss beliefs with enlisted people in the . military. The one-page guidelines issued by the Air Force back away from such specific recommendations, instead generally recom- mending "sensitivity." An earlier version, which urged officers to keep their counsel in front of enlisted men, was rescinded by the Air Force after a nationwide campaign by conservative Christian groups. Weinstein dismisses the guidelines as "words',' and says the Air Force's rollback proves his point. Some Jewish groups said engagement is better than Weinstein's brand of confronta- tion. Others said Weinstein provided a use- ful "bad cop" role in the effort to engage the military. ❑ Mixing In Facing shrinking numbers, day school in London admits non-Halachic Jews. Vanessa Bulkacz Jewish Telegraphoc Agency London T he decision by a London-area Orthodox day school to admit students with only a Jewish father is provoking outrage in parts of the com- munity. King Solomon High School's move brought a vehement reaction, including Rabbi Alex Chapper, who said the policy "effectively recognizes the liberal definition of who is a Jew." • . The school's action also has re-opened a debate about the future of publicly funded Jewish schooling in the face of shifting Jewish demographics in London and sur- 20 June 22 2006 rounding areas. Rabbi James Kennard, King Solomon's. headmaster, defended the move. With a 2003 English law prohibiting state-funded religious schools from holding empty places for members of their own faith, the school had to seek solutions to fill the spaces or admit students with no Jewish ancestry. Under the law, all schools must have 30 stu- dents in each classroom. Government funding covers 100 percent of secular studies and staffing costs and 90 percent of capital costs for the building and facilities. Jewish studies are funded by contributions, usually from students' par- ents. Every state-aided Jewish school had to devise similar criteria to fill empty spaces, Kennard said, so other schools must have similar rules on their books — but chang- ing demographics in northeast London meant King Solomon had to go ahead and implement them. Applications last year dropped by about 40 students, to 165. Officials said the school, which has 150 places to fill each year. School leaders say a decline in the northeast London 'Jewish community, combined with increased competition from new schools in north London, made King Solomon the first United Synagogue affiliate 1 to implement its next-in-line policy. "Young families are just not staying in that area',' one teacher said. The demographic challenge does not exist in every part of London: According to one report, the rest of the city's Jewish schools can't keep up with demand. Rabbi Chapper, spiritual leader of the Ilford Federation Synagogue, blamed school governors as well. "An Orthodox school shouldn't be giving this message. It's wrong:' he said. "If a Jewish man marries a non-Jewish woman, an Orthodox school shouldn't give out the message that it's OK." As alternatives, Chapper suggested removing a grade, reducing admission num- bers or admitting students with no Jewish ancestry, adding that accepting Muslim students would be better than the current situation. Kennard contended that going against the enrollment policy is "not an option" and if the school did so, it would lose its funding and have to become private. ❑