Army disciplines sergeants in Jewish soldier case

The Atlanta Anti-Defamation League said Sunday it has intervened in the case of a Jewish soldier at Fort Benning who allegedly suffered religious discrimination.

At the ADL’s request, Army Pvt. Michael Handman has been moved to another unit.

League spokesman Bill Nigut said that in September, Handman wrote to his parents and complained that he had been discriminated against. Two drill sergeants were disciplined in connection with those incidents.

Then, on Sept. 24, Handman was attacked and beaten by another soldier. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for a concussion and bruises and was released, said Fort Benning spokeswoman Monica Manganaro.

Army officials do not believe Handman’s initial complaint was connected to the beating, Manganaro said.

The soldier was not available to be interviewed because of a continuing investigation by the Army into the assault, she said. Efforts to contact his parents Sunday were not successful.

Handman wrote to his parents after a drill sergeant refused to let the 20-year-old soldier, an observant Jew, wear his yarmulke in the dining hall, Manganaro said. The sergeant also did not allow him to pray during guard duty.

Army policy allows Jews to wear their yarmulke while dining, but no one is allowed to pray while on guard duty, she said.

Another drill sergeant allegedly referred to Handman as “Juden” – a German word for Jew and a perjorative term.

“That drill sergeant has lived in Germany and did not know that it is derogatory,” Manganaro said. “It doesn’t matter if you are aware or not.”

The sergeants received a letter of reprimand and sensitivity training that requires them to teach a class on various customs and religions.

The first time battalion leadership heard about the problem between Handman and the drill sergeants was Sept. 19, when it received a notice of a “congressional inquiry” from the office U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Manganarao said. The young soldier’s parents had contacted Chambliss after receiving their son’s letter.

Sworn statements taken from other soldiers in the unit denied any religious discrimination was taking place, she said.

Nigut said the ADL became involved late last week after the assault and requested that the Army move Handman for his safety.

“We know that in basic training, the job of a drill sergeant is to break down the trainees. But it would be highly offensive if in attempt to break the trainees down, they chose to use anti-Semitic, racist or ethnic slurs. It opens those individuals up to taunting by other trainees,” Nigut said.

Neil Block, a retired Navy captain and a leader of the Jewish community in Columbus, near Fort Benning, was brought in to talk with Handman and assess the situation.

“The incidents involving Handman are not the same incident. There’s not this great conspiracy out there … and the Army is absolutely behind rectifying any issues that need to be resolved,” said Block, who runs a Jewish religious program in Columbus that attracts about 300 soldiers every week.

Block said he knew Handman before the assault and that he is a “solid” young man, not a complainer or troublemaker. The private attended college for two years before enlisting.

He said he saw Handman Sunday morning, and the soldier looks “fine.”

“He’s confused because he wants to stay in the Army, but at same time, he’s concerned about the hostility in the unit he came from,” Block said.

“Basic training’s a different kind of experience and very subjective,” he said. “These drill sergeants had not set out to be anti-Semitic or discriminatory. They just screwed up, and the Army has dealt with it appropriately.”