FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2008
CONTACT: BEKKI MILLER
(337) 356-8696
[email protected]

JOINT MRFF/NAACP LETTER TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

October 16, 2008

To: The Honorable Dr. Robert M. Gates, United States Secretary of Defense

This letter is being sent to you jointly by the Georgia State Conference NAACP and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). We refer your direct attention to the horrific matter of the recent savage beating of Private Michael C. Handman who is currently assigned to initial basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Private Handman is Jewish and has obviously suffered mightily, both physically and psychologically, from the anti-semitic actions of his drill sergeants and the resultant fallout which that terrible persecution has spawned. On October, 13, 2008, Mr. Neil Block, who along with Mr. Richard Grifenhagen, is one of the two co-Jewish lay leaders at Fort Benning, made a number of outrageous, racist statements as reported in a press interview with "The Public Record" (www.pubrecord.org) of the same date. These comments have been seemingly supported by Mr. Grifenhagen. Among other extremely hurtful things, Mr. Block accused Private Handman of "playing the Jew Card" and of being "villainous".

While those statements are quite terrible enough, Mr. Block went on to say something particularly wretched. In an effort to excuse and ratify the noxious statements of Private Handman's Army persecutors and to serve as a justifying apologist for these anti-semitic statements, Mr. Block stated "I mean everybody uses the 'n' word now and then to refer to African Americans".

Such atrocious, shameful and blatantly racist comments must never be allowed to go unanswered. Their profoundly divisive and incendiary impact cannot be measured, especially at one of the Army's largest and most respected military training bases.. The United States Army simply must not tolerate such a hateful screed from one of its own acting under color of "co-Jewish lay leader" authority or any other authority. Indeed, there can be no safe harbor for bigotry and prejudice of any magnitude in the United States armed forces.

Accordingly, the Georgia State Conference NAACP and MRFF now officially demand that the United States Army immediately remove these two individuals from their voluntary, unpaid positions as co-Jewish lay leaders at Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia.

Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, Esq.
Founder & President
Military Religious Freedom Foundation
www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org

Edward O. DuBose
President
Georgia State Conference NAACP
www.naacp.org

CC:
The Honorable Preston M. “Pete” Geren, III
Secretary of the Army

General George W. Casey, Jr.
Army Chief of Staff

Major General Walter Wojdakowski
Commanding General of Fort Benning

###