PRESS RELEASE
A Crusade and a Holy War in the US Military
By: Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report
Tuesday 08 May 2007
An Orthodox Jew and former petty officer in the US Navy said his civil
rights were violated after a chaplain and officials at a Veterans
Administration hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, tried to convert him to
Christianity while he was under the VA's care.
David Miller, 46, who is on full disability, said in an interview that
his physician at the VA hospital told him last week to go home and pray or
meditate in place of using medication to relieve the pain he was
experiencing from kidney stones. When Miller complained to VA staffers that
his physician suggested he turn to God to treat his medical condition and
refused to prescribe pain medication, VA officials provided him with a new
doctor.
"My doctor said that since I am a religious Jew, I should try prayer or
meditation to deal with the pain," Miller said. "I was shocked that a
medical doctor would make such a suggestion. I immediately raised hell and
was assigned a new physician."
Kurt Sickels, a spokesman for the Iowa City VA Medical Center, said that
he could not comment on Miller's specific allegations against the hospital,
but he said the VA does not try to convert patients to Christianity.
"We respect all religious preferences and beliefs, and we make every
effort to accommodate what those beliefs may be," Sickels said.
If that's the case [that officials tried to convert Miller], Sickels
said, the hospital staff is not adhering to its policy.
Miller dresses in the traditional attire required for Orthodox Jews. He
started receiving treatment for a heart condition and kidney stones at the
Iowa City VA hospital after moving back to his hometown two years ago. Since
then, he said, a chaplain on duty at the hospital has tried on numerous
occasions to convert him to Christianity.
"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," Miller said. "My medical
records clearly indicate that I am Jewish. However, with each admission, I
have informed the nursing staff both verbally and in writing that I require
kosher food and that I do not wish to be visited by anyone from the
chaplain's office. I requested they contact my rabbi, and I provided them
with his name and telephone number. Despite these instructions, during all
three of my hospitalizations, I have been denied kosher food and have had to
endure my entire hospitalizations without eating."
The chaplain, Miller said, provided him with a copy of a scripture from
the New Testament, despite Miller's protests that he be left alone.
After filing complaints with the hospital's patient advocacy board,
Miller and his rabbi met last week with hospital officials and the chaplain
who tried to convert him. He said the hospital has agreed to provide him
with kosher meals in the future, suggesting that he be more assertive in
resisting the the next time the VA chaplain attempts to push Christianity on
him. That, Miller said, was the last straw.
Late last month, Miller contacted Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat,
about the issue. Harkin wrote a letter to Barry Sharp, the director of the
Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, to inquire about Miller's
allegations against the VA.
"A Jewish constituent has complained that each time he is admitted to
[Veterans Administration Medical Center] Iowa City, a Cathollc chaplain is
sent to his room to counsel "pray" and offer communion," Harkin wrote. "The
patient has repeatedly advised staff that he does not want a chaplain to
visit. He is also concerned that he is not offered and cannot get kosher
meals. Additionally, he mentioned that when new patients arrive and are
given orientation, the session is conducted in a church/chapel. I would like
to know the national policy regarding these issues; lf this is an isolated
incident or miscommunication, that guidance should be given to the ...
management and staff."
In an email response to Harkin, a copy of which was obtained by
Truthout, the hospital said when a patient is admitted to the VA hospital he
or she is queried about religious preference at registration.
"There is a standard list which, includes Jewish as one of the religious
preference options," Sharp said in his response to Harkin, without
specifically addressing Miller's claims. "The admissions clerk should be
checking with the patients to ensure that their preference or no preference
is accurately indicated on the admission registration forms."
Sharp said that in accordance with Department of Veterans Affairs
guidelines, "pastoral counseling to patients" is not limited to a specific
faith.
"The spiritual aspect of health and wellness is recognized by all
caregivers and addressed in all patient care settings," Sharp wrote.
In addition to contacting Harkin, Miller enlisted the help of the
nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation, whose founder, Mikey
Weinstein, a former White House counsel who defended the Reagan
administration during the Iran-Contra probe, has been waging a one-man war
against the Department of Defense for what he says is a blatant disregard of
the Constitution. He recently published a book on the issue: "With God on
Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military."
Weinstein is also an Air Force veteran and a graduate of the Air Force
Academy. Three generations of his family have attended US military
academies.
Since he launched his watchdog organization 18 months ago, Weinstein
said he has been contacted by more than 4,000 active duty and retired
soldiers, many of whom served or serve in Iraq, who told Weinstein that they
were pressured by their commanding officers to convert to Christianity.
Weinstein said Miller's case is just the latest example of how the
military has been hijacked by a right-wing fundamental Christian agenda, in
what appears to be a clear-cut violation of the constitutional separation
between church and state, which has rippled across all four branches of the
military under President Bush.
"The rise of evangelical Christianity inside the military went on
steroids after 9/11 under this administration and this White House,"
Weinstein said in an interview. "This administration has turned the entire
Department of Defense into a faith-based initiative."
On Thursday, Weinstein said he intends to push back. He plans on holding
a news conference in Des Moines to discuss Miller's case and draw attention
to the broader issue of "religious fanaticism" plaguing the military.
Weinstein added that his organization will likely file a lawsuit against the
Veterans Administration hospital for violating Miller's civil rights.
"We will rapidly explore all legal options available, and I fully intend
to file a lawsuit against the VA for massive constitutional violations
against Mr. Miller," Weinstein said. "We will look at the law and lay down a
withering field of fire at the feet of the VA to stop this tidal wave of
unconstitutional destruction."
Weinstein, who is Jewish, said that VA chaplains, as federal government
employees, are not supposed to "proselytize or rescue souls."
VA chaplains "are not supposed to view the VA hospitals as their own
personal mission field, or the veterans as low-hanging fruit," Weinstein
said. "The VA is not the Southern Baptist Convention. In this country, we
have a separation between church and state. The religious right views the
separation of church and state as a myth. There is no difference between the
VA hospital and a US Air Force fighter squadron. They're both part of the
federal government. It doesn't matter if you're an Orthodox Jew, a Buddhist
or an atheist."