Sir:
You bring merit to yourself, your family, the nation, and the Jewish people by your mitzvot in protection of freedom of conscience and the wall between spiritual and secular power. I am a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. I am a solo lawyer in practice in Minneapolis with licenses in MN, WI, and several federal courts. I am the current department commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S., Department of Minnesota. I take cases that address freedom of conscience and the Establishment Clause. May we begin a dialogue? I will also make a contribution, once I receive a response. You may remark, “What is this fellow with a Hellenic surname doing as a JWV Department Commander?” I will tell you — I converted at age 37 on 13 elul 5758. I had a bar mitzvah at age 40, to keep up with the kids and to set an example for kids at my synagogue. You may be aware that the Navy has its anti-semitic history, too. Of late, it seems that the Navy is acknowledging the history and doing teshuvah. Look at the new Jewish Chapel at the Naval Academy. They made it look like Monticello and named it after Commodore Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish flag officer, the man who saved Monticello, the American Jew who would not be America’s Alfred Dreyfuss, and the man who officially abolished flogging in the ranks of the American Navy.
How can I help?
Very truly yours,
(name withheld)
