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VA Chaplains Force Christianity On Disabled Jewish Vet ?
May 5, 2007 |
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"Since moving back to Iowa about two years ago I have been thrust into a struggle with the Iowa City Veterans Hospital & Clinics over religious discrimination and Christian proselytizing." - Jewish Navy Veteran David "Akiva David" MillerAs part of a pervasive pattern of religious discrimination a disabled Jewish US Navy veteran says he has encountered at the Iowa City Veterans Administration Hospital and Clinic, David "Akiva David" Miller writes: "Over time it has become clear that each experience of discrimination is not isolated from the others; in fact the problem of religious discrimination is systemic to the Iowa City VA.... I am a disabled veteran who served my Country honorably in the US Navy. I am also an Orthodox Jew ....not only did the hospital refuse to notify my Rabbi, as I requested, they sent a Protestant chaplain in to see me each time. The first two visits by the Protestant (Assembly of God) Chaplain were all about trying to convert me - trying to convince me that I needed Jesus, that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews too - this while I was suffering chest pains and wired to a heart monitor! ....The Federal Courts have ruled that publicly funded hospitals may not engage in proselytizing. Clearly the actions of the Iowa City VA are in violation of the Constitution's provision for the separation of Church and State as well. So, now I am fighting back in earnest." [for full text of Miller's description, and follow up posts, see extended story]
Bruce Wilson writes for Talk To Action, a blog specializing in faith and politics.
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