What does it mean to serve those who serve?
In 1917, the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was founded to meet the religious, spiritual, and social needs of Jewish service members during World War I. Today, the JWB equips Jewish military chaplains to support communities across the Departments of War (formerly Defense) and Veterans Affairs, often in dangerous places.
The JWB has long provided essential support, including kosher food, Passover meals, holiday services, and prayer books, allowing Jewish servicemembers to continue practicing their faith while serving. In 1944, Captain Louis J. Feves of the 38th Bombardment Squadron in San Francisco, CA, wrote a letter thanking the JWB for funding a Passover Seder: “…In the combat area, there is freedom of religion, tolerance, assistance, and even insistence that nothing can be left undone to allow for a persistence of this freedom of religion.”
After World War I, the JWB expanded its reach, supporting Hebrew associations and the Jewish Chaplains Council. By the end of World War II, it served five continents and 588 communities. It later joined the Veterans Administration Voluntary Service Program, connecting volunteers and Jewish Community Centers to its mission.
In 1990, the JWB became the Jewish Community Center Association of North America, and in 2009, Torahs for Our Troops launched, providing scrolls for chaplains in the field. Today, the JWB serves around 25,000 Jewish men and women in the U.S. armed forces, along with their families, continuing its mission of serving those who serve.
Image: Poster made in 1918 by Sidney Riesenberg, an American artist from New York. It depicts a soldier and was made to prompt civilians to join the war effort and to help fund the JWB.
Image: A Jewish chaplain lighting a Hanukah menorah in Korea in 1951. (Courtesy of the Center for Jewish History.)
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