July 1, 1998 - The Orthodox Union (OU) is encouraging Jewish military personnel to "be all that they can be" by turning them on to Judaism. In an attempt to strengthen Jewish identity among U.S. troops, the OU is making its adult Jewish education program available free of charge to Jewish chaplains on Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force bases around the world.

Known as the Pardes Project, the education program promotes religious understanding through informal, energetic discussion groups. In launching it’s outreach program, the OU sent materials about the program via the Internet to nearly 40 Jewish chaplains.

"If the rate of intermarriage in the general American Jewish population is more than 50 percent; in the military, it’s nearly 100 percent," said Rabbi Yaacov Haber, creator of the Pardes Project and Director of the OU’s Department of Jewish Education. "Jews in the military are out of the mainstream of Jewish life and have very limited opportunities to identify Jewishly. This educational program will enable Jewish enlistees to discover the richness and depth of their heritage," said Rabbi Haber.

"I used the Pardes Project to illustrate how Jewish values are relevant to the lives of my troops. When we were stationed in Bosnia, we did a section on the traditional view of suffering, on an individual and national level," said Rabbi Brett C. Oxman, Chaplain, Major, US Air Force at the Royal Air Force at MildenHall, England, who hosts Pardes sessions periodically. " The troops enjoyed it so much, we ended up spending over two hours on it after Friday night prayer services," he said.

Designed to promote lively discussions, the Pardes Project provides source books with Biblical and Talmudic excerpts on issues including tolerance, conflict resolution, friendship, alcoholism, ecology, and self-actualization. More than 15,000 people participate in the Pardes Project in more than 50 college campuses and in 11 countries including the United States, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, and Germany.

"Military culture, which is founded upon discipline and authority, is very similar to religion. Many of the Jewish soldiers are not anti-Judaism; they simply were never exposed to it," said Rabbi Haber.

FOR MEDIA ONLY: For free copies of Pardes source books, call 1-800-4CHAVER. Photos available upon request. If you would like to interview Major Brett Oxman or other participating chaplains, please contact us at (212) 613-8221.

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