Arnold Resnicoff
Encyclopedia
Arnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative
rabbi
, a decorated retired military officer and military chaplain
, and a consultant on leadership, values, and interreligious affairs to military and civilian leaders. His military career began in the rivers of Vietnam's Mekong Delta
, followed by assignments with Naval Intelligence in Europe, before his decision to attend rabbinical school, at the urging of a Protestant Chaplain in Vietnam. Following ordination as a rabbi, he served with the Navy for almost 25 additional years as a U.S. Navy Chaplain
. After retiring from the military, his positions included appointments as National Director of Interreligious Affairs
for the American Jewish Committee
and Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary (SECAF) and Chief of Staff (CSAF)
of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General
. He was part of the small group of Vietnam veterans who fought for the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
, delivering the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication; and in 1984, the President of the United States devoted an entire speech to the reading of Resnicoff's eye witness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
.
Resnicoff holds a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College
; Masters degrees from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
(Rabbinics), Salve Regina University
(International Relations), and the Naval War College
(Strategic Studies and National Security Affairs); and a doctorate (honoris causa), in addition to rabbinic ordination, from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (Rabbinic Studies). He is a graduate of many military schools and courses, including the Defense Language Institute
and the Joint Forces Staff College
. In addition to special presentations at military and civilian educational institutions around the world, he served as an instructor for Salve Regina, The Naval War College, the Naval Chaplains School, and the overseas branch of the University of Maryland University College
. He has received numerous military and civilian awards including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
and America
, and a sense of responsibility to help both remain forces for good, and for hope, in the world. "My father said a day did not go by when his father didn't thank God they had made it to America. They knew what it was like not to have freedom. [...] We [Americans] represent something special in the world, and we often take it for granted," Resnicoff has said. "We come together from different backgrounds, heritages, and religions, but then work "together to build a better country and a better world."
Resnicoff's father, Jack Resnicoff, came to the United States
as a three year old, when his own father—Mnachem Risikoff
, an Orthodox
rabbi in Russia
—escaped to America from Russia, in search of religious freedom
. Jack Resnicoff, a descendant of a long line of rabbis, including his grandfather, Zvi Yosef Resnick
, a famous Rosh yeshivah, rabbinical school head, in Russia, was a World War II
Navy
veteran who openly shared his hope that his son (the oldest of three boys) would also volunteer for at least one tour of duty with the military, as one way for the family to continue to "pay its dues" to America.
Following college graduation
, he served as communications officer
and assistant operations officer onboard USS Hunterdon County (LST-838)
, a WWII tank landing ship that had been converted for riverine warfare in Vietnam
, operating as part of Operation Game Warden
, with the mission of keeping the rivers free of Viet Cong infiltrators. He was on board Hunterdon County on May 12, 1970, serving as Junior Officer of the Deck
(JOOD), when it became the first commissioned vessel to enter the territorial waters of Cambodia
. During his service in Vietnam, he was approached by a circuit-riding Navy Protestant Chaplain
(Episcopal Priest), Fr. Lester Westling, Jr., who appointed him the Jewish Lay Leader for the Mekong Delta
, and later urged him to consider studying for the rabbinate at the end of his Navy commitments. After his assignment in Vietnam, Resnicoff was accepted for duty with Naval Intelligence (Naval Security Group
), first attending Russian language
training at the Defense Language Institute
(DLI), Monterey, California
, and then working with the United States Sixth Fleet, in Europe
, from his base of operations in Rota, Spain
.
(JTS or JTSA), who made recommendations to him regarding readings and studies that could help prepare him to apply to the school after leaving Naval service. Abraham Joshua Heschel
, a leading JTS professor and strong voice within the conservative movement
, made a special point of serving on the interview committee that accepted him, beginning discussions with Resnicoff about his military experiences, in part because Heschel had been such a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War
. As part of his studies, Resnicoff served as a rabbinical intern to Rabbi Harry Halpern
, at Brooklyn's East Midwood Jewish Center
.
Resnicoff's studies with Rabbi Max Kadushin
, a JTS professor of philosophy
and theology
, would result in a book by one of Resnicoff's Christian
colleagues, the Reverend Locke Bowman translating Kadushin's ideas of value concepts into Christian terms, for a wider audience. In the book's Acknowledgments, Bowman recounts how Resnicoff introduced him to Kadushin's work during a series of professional development seminars for chaplains in which Bowman was a participant. Inspired by Kadushin's work, Bowman visited JTS, for conversations with some of Kadushin's contemporaries, including Simon Greenberg
and Avraham Holtz, who agreed that Bowman "had indeed discovered the essence of Rabbi Kadushin's thought and had identified accurately why his efforts should be more widely known by all who teach religion." The dedication of Bowman's book reads, "This book is for two saints of God from whom I have learned so much and to whom I am deeply grateful: Sister Carol Rennie, OSB, and Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, chaplain in the United States Navy."
Resnicoff graduated with four special honors at ordination: The Rabbi Philip R. Alstat
Prize for Literary Achievement, The Reverend Zvi Hirsch Masliansy Award in Homiletics, The Lilian M. Lowenfeld Prize in Practical Theology (co-awarded), and The Isaac H. Wolfson Memorial Award for Outstanding Rabbinical Student (co-awarded).
Following ordination from JTS
in 1976, Resnicoff returned to the Navy as a chaplain
, with his first assignment in Yokosuka, Japan
. As the only Jewish chaplain in mainland Japan, he regularly visited every U. S. military base (Army
, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force
, and Coast Guard
) to support Jewish military personnel and families, in addition to his work as part of a chaplain team helping to provide opportunities for voluntary religious free exercise for those of all faiths.
Other chaplain assignments included service at Naval Station Norfolk
, the largest Naval installation in the world; as instructor at the Naval Chaplain School and Naval War College
, in Newport, Rhode Island; on the staff of the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET) where he worked to increase and strengthen ethics and values content at every level of education and training for military personnel; at Naval Submarine Base New London
, where he was the Command Chaplain for both the Base and Submarine Group Two
, as well as the Area Chaplain for the area encompassing New England and New York
, including the United States Coast Guard Academy
.
From 1992-1994, Resnicoff served as Command Chaplain for Recruit Training Command ("RTC")
, Orlando, Florida
, where he was part of the team, headed by Captain Kathleen Bruyere, that integrated men and women into basic training for the first time. (Before then, women could not "speak, eat, or train together" with men. At RTC, Resnicoff worked to change the philosophy of recruit training, from the old "break them down, then build them up" mentality, arguing that many of today's recruits report for duty already "broken": already told over and over again that they are "worthless." The new challenge of training, Resnicoff insisted, was to stress that each recruit was both worthwhile – and invaluable. Recruits must understand that training would be hard and difficult because they must learn they are stronger than they had ever imagined, because one day that strength might mean the difference between life and death not only for them, but also for the lives of their shipmates. He also worked to enlarge the vision of faith and spiritual strength, from strict religious faith, to the idea of a spiritual strength linked to the human spirit, capable of overcoming incredible odds—a concept that applied to all personnel, whether or not they saw themselves as religious. He created the theme that would become the foundation of chaplain efforts at the RTC until the installation was eventually closed: "Chapel helps you make it through Boot Camp; Faith helps you make it through life."
From 1982–1984, Resnicoff served as the first Jewish chaplain on the staff of Commander, United States Sixth Fleet, part of a new rabbi-priest-minister team that covered all ships in the Mediterranean
, as well as the Marines
serving with the Multinational Peace-Keeping force (MNF)
in Lebanon
. After serving as Command Chaplain for the U.S. European Command, he served as Director of Education and Training for all Navy chaplains, on the staff of the U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains.
s, led by Jan Scruggs
, that worked to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
, in Washington, D.C.
. Scruggs, an Army corporal with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade who had been wounded on the battlefield in Vietnam, recruited Resnicoff by sharing the vision that this memorial—The Wall--would help heal a different kind of wound: the psychological wounds inflicted on Americans by the war and its aftermath, including the treatment of war veterans.
In the Library of Congress Veterans History Project oral history for Resnicoff, May 2010, he recounts that "The Wall" is a particularly appropriate name for the Memorial, because in many ways it has become an American version of Jerusalem's Western Wall
, "holy ground," where men and women come to remember the past and pray for the future. He recalls that the creation of this memorial was highly controversial when first proposed by Scruggs, criticized by many on both sides of the political spectrum: by those on the left who were opposed to any memorial that did not label American involvement in Vietnam a mistake – and honor the protesters as much as the military; and those on the right, who were opposed to any memorial that did not honor, and even celebrate, American military involvement, rejecting any criticism of it. Ultimately, by focusing on the need for healing, and for remembering our dead, rather than on the rights or wrongs of the political decisions that took us to war, this memorial has become one of the most frequently visited and most beloved memorials in America.
Resnicoff delivered prayers on May 26, 1980 and May 25, 1981 at ceremonies marking plans and progress for the creation of the memorial, and on Nov 21, 1982, he delivered the closing prayer at the official dedication of "The Wall." In his prayer, he continued the theme of the dedication, To Heal the Nation, stressing the idea that the time had come for all Americans—regardless of their opinions about the war itself—to mourn our dead, and to recognize and respect the horrors faced by all those who had served. Resnicoff strongly believes that one enduring legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the renewed awareness on the part of Americans of the importance of separating beliefs about specific military decisions and actions, from respect for and support of the men and women in uniform who serve in our nation's military, regularly enduring family separation, and often risking their lives, as part of that service. He has stated that this is a crucial "vision shift" that has been shown in the almost universal American support for military personnel in Iraq
(see: Iraq War and Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present) and Afghanistan
, despite the national debate regarding those ongoing conflicts.
In November 2002, at the special ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Memorial, Resnicoff delivered the same prayer he had offered at the original 1982 dedication.
, Lebanon, during the suicide truck bomb attack
that took the lives of 241 American military personnel, and wounded scores more. (Minutes later, a second attack would take the lives of an additional 58 members of the near-by French
contingent of the multinational task force.) He had arrived on Friday, Oct 21, to lead a Memorial Service for SGT Allen Soifert, a Jewish American
Marine killed by sniper fire. Transportation had been offered to return him to the Sixth Fleet flagship in Gaeta
, Italy
, on Saturday, but Resnicoff said he could not travel on Shabbat
, the Jewish Sabbath, and would remain in Beirut with the Marines until the following day, a decision that put him on the scene, in a building approximately 75 yards (68.6 m) away, when the first truck bomb attack occurred at 6:20AM on Sunday, Oct 23, demolishing the Marine barracks.
Four days after the attack, the White House
team that visited Beirut, led by Vice President of the United States
, George H. W. Bush
, asked him to write a report on the attack and its aftermath—and on April 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan
read that report in its entirety as his keynote address to the Rev. Jerry Falwell
's "Baptist Fundamentalism '84" convention, in Washington, DC. During the delivery of the speech, President Reagan was interrupted by a small group of protestors, armed with pre-printed banners, chanting, "Bread, not bombs." Reagan, at the height of his powers as "the great communicator," deftly handles the situation, at one point commenting, "Wouldn't it be nice if a little bit of that Marine spirit would rub off, and they would listen [to the chaplain's words] about brotherly love?"
Parts of the report were quoted by many other military leaders, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James D. Watkins, who quoted from the report in his 1984 graduation address to the cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy. Life Magazine quoted Resnicoff among the short list of quotes included in their 1984 "Year in Pictures" issue: "I have been watching those men [the Marines in Beirut] doing the clearing, and this is when they get the most emotional. It is when they have to pick up the birthday cards and the wedding pictures strewn among the rubble that it hits them that all of these people were individuals. Then they realize it is not 200+ dead Marines: it is one, plus one, plus one."
to participate in the national annual program for the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust
were successful. For a number of years he had been making the case at many levels of military leadership that General Eisenhower
had already initiated a remembrance program when, after U.S. forces liberated Ohrdruf (a sub-camp of Buchenwald
), Eisenhower called for reporters from the U.S. and UK to document evidence of the Holocaust
, so that, Eisenhower said, the time would never come when such atrocities could be denied, and reports about them could be regarded as mere propaganda. Additionally, Eisenhower's words—that the American GI did not always understand what he was fighting for, so he should see this evidence, to understand, at least, what he was fighting against—became, Resnicoff successfully argued, the foundation of an historic military effort to remember and learn from the Holocaust that today's military had the duty to honor and carry on. Resnicoff's efforts took a significant step forward when Colonel Harvey T. Kaplan, U.S. Army, the Executive Director of the Defense Equal Opportunity Council, lent his strong support to the effort, and on April 1, 1984, Secretary of Defense
Caspar Weinberger
signed a memorandum to the military services, urging the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and other military commanders to participate in the annual program for the first time. To support military programs, Resnicoff first created resource materials for the United States Navy Chaplain Corps (Horror and Hope: Americans Remember the Holocaust), then served as the Navy representative to the committee, chaired by Kaplan, that created the official Department of Defense Guide for remembrance ceremonies on all U.S. military ships and stations.
Support for continued military involvement in this effort included the President in his role of Commander-in-Chief, and both the first and second editions of the Department of Defense Guide included signed Presidential letters endorsing the effort. In 1984, the first official year of military involvement, after arranging a meeting between Rabbi Seymour Siegel
, Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and Vice Admiral Edward Martin, Commander, United States Sixth Fleet, Resnicoff conducted the first shipboard Holocaust Days of Remembrance Ceremony, on board USS Puget Sound (AD-38)
, the Sixth Fleet Flagship
, during a port visit to Malaga
, Spain
.
, and in 1985, the first chaplain of any faith to teach a course at any military war college, creating and teaching the elective course, Faith and Force: Religion, War, and Peace, at the Naval War College (NWC), Newport, RI, teaching the course from 1985–1988. While studying at the NWC, he used his experiences during and after the Beirut bombing to do research on ethical responses to terrorism. Professor Albert Bernstein, then Chairman of the Department of Strategy, wrote that his "views on the morality of reprisal have been greatly influenced by discussions with and writings of Commander Arnold E. Resnicoff."
While at the NWC, Resnicoff helped create the annual NWC conference on Leadership
and Ethics
, serving as a keynote speaker for that conference on numerous occasions until his retirement. For his work as a student, he was the recipient of the President's Honor Graduate Award.
, the story of the kippa/skullcap
that a Catholic Chaplain had made for him by tearing off a piece of his own Marine camouflage uniform, after Resnicoff's kippa was used to wipe the blood from a wounded Marine's face (a story recounted in the speech read by President Reagan), was entered into the Congressional Record, in an effort to focus on the "unity" of religious freedom represented by the head covering, over and above the much lesser value of strict "uniformity" those originally arguing against allowing skullcaps had vowed to protect. The religious apparel amendment that had failed to pass in the House of Representatives
for two years finally passed the year this story was recounted, with many congressional leaders crediting this story as a powerful message that helped the amendment succeed. Additionally, this story was recounted by many military leaders who had previously opposed the change, but now supported it, including the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. This amendment laid the groundwork for the ground-breaking directive (later, changed to a Department of Defense Instruction) that established official military policies and procedures for the Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services. In addition to its role in garnering support for the change in military religious accommodation policies, this story of the camouflage kippa would be frequently cited as an example, along with the World War II story of the Four Chaplains
on the USAT Dorchester
, of Chaplain Corps cooperation at its best. As one newspaper headline put it, "6th fleet rabbi wears a green badge of courage."
The story of the kippa was once retold by President Reagan, when (in addition to his speech to the 1984 Baptist Fundamentalism '84 convention) representatives of the "American Friends of Lubavitch" visited the White House to present Reagan with a Hanukkah menorah. To the surprise of the group, Reagan invited them to remain a little longer so that he could tell them the story of Resnicoff's kippa, and then ask them the meaning behind it. Responding to the President, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov
, the group's leader, started: "Mr. President, the kippa to us is a sign of reverence." A colleague, Rabbi Feller, continued, "We place the kippa on the very highest point of our being—on our head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell ourselves and the world that there is something which is above man's intellect—the infinite Wisdom of G-d."
rights, including his work at the Naval War College as far back as the early 90s.
He was a strong proponent for repeal of the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy of the American military, through his participation in major military conferences, and through his writings that were published both as editorials and internet blog comments in both the Jewish and mainstream press. On December 22, 2010, he delivered the invocation at the Presidential Signing Ceremony
for the DADT repeal, at White House request. The text of the prayer was widely reproduced, with many reports focusing on his statement that “unity is our goal, not uniformity, and we need not fear differences among those united to defend our nation’s freedoms and its dreams.” Tanya Domi, a military veteran who identified herself as a Lesbian Army captain wrote that, “In his beautiful prayer, Rabbi Resnicoff applies a healing salve to the psychic wounds we have sustained as second-class citizens, and reminds us of the greatness of America in believing that life can improve, as he calls upon divine wisdom to lead us into an unknown future of change.”
, serving as chaplain for the United States European Command
(USEUCOM), under the leadership of General Wesley Clark
. In that position, he served as principal advisor to General Clark and the USEUCOM staff on matters of religion, ethics, and morals
; coordinated religious support for more than 100,000 U.S. military personnel and families of all military branches and all faiths; and served as liaison to the chaplaincies of other nations throughout the USEUCOM area of responsibility (AOR), leading and coordinating three International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conferences in Europe, where he introduced a new vision of the potential role of chaplains as liaisons to religious leaders, and of religion as a force for peace and conflict resolution, and for reconciliation after the battles. He also made presentations on religion, values, and leadership, at numerous conferences in locations that included Botswana
, Malawi
, Zimbabwe
, and South Africa
, and worked with military leaders from former Soviet Union
nations as they began to deal with issues of human rights and religious freedoms within the military context.
Additionally, his special work in the Balkans during the time of American involvement in Bosnia
and Kosovo
included work with U.S. and NATO troops, civilian relief workers, political and military leaders, religious representatives, and refugees. He represented the military in the first conference of religious seminary students from Kosovo
, Bosnia, Albania
, and Macedonia
; and led a delegation representing the four official religions of Bosnia—Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Muslim
, and Jewish—on an historic visit to the U.S., where they were able to witness examples of interfaith cooperation and respect at military sites including The Pentagon
and the U.S. Army Chaplain School.
. Conducted under the supervision of the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs, the ten-minute service included men and women from U.S. Navy ships, and concluded with the Priestly Blessing
, recited by Resnicoff, who is a Kohen
. Ministry of Affairs representative Yonatan Yuval was present, responding to press queries that this service was authorized as part of a special welcome for the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
In 1984, Resnicoff conducted the first Israeli Presidential ceremony in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, held in the President's Residence, Jerusalem. Mrs. Aura Herzog
, wife of Israel's then-President Chaim Herzog
, noted that she was especially proud to host this special event, because Israel had a national forest in honor of Dr. King
, and that Israel and Dr. King shared the idea of dreams
. R esnicoff continued this theme in his remarks during the ceremony, quoting the verse from Genesis, spoken by the brothers of Joseph when they saw their brother approach, "Behold the dreamer comes; let us slay him and throw him into the pit, and see what becomes of his dreams." Resnicoff noted that, from time immemorial, there have been those who thought they could kill the dream by slaying the dreamer, but—as the example of Dr. King's life shows—such people are always wrong.
He also recommended and then helped with the establishment of the Haifa
, Israel, USO
, for all United States Military personnel. Prior to the October 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, the United States had severely limited U.S. ship visits to Israel, trying to maintain neutrality among nations and factions involved in the Lebanon conflict. After the attack, this position was abandoned, and U.S. ships began to make frequent visits. Resnicoff recommended Ms. Gilla Gerzon, public relations director for the Dan Haifa Hotel for the position of USO director, and he and U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs Officer, Captain Peter Litrenta, helped coordinate arrangements for her appointment and the creation of the center with top USO leaders. Gerzon was so successful that she was later referred to as the "Mother of the Sixth Fleet", and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal
by the United States Secretary of the Navy
.
Additionally, Resnicoff helped create a U.S. Sixth Fleet Lounge, for Jewish personnel, at Jerusalem's Laromme Hotel. The area was to be used for Sixth Fleet personnel and their families visiting Jerusalem during ship visits to Haifa or Ashdod, and included an area that was used for relaxation, in addition to special events, including informal briefings about Israel. He led the first official Israeli visits by the United States Navy Chief of Chaplains, RADM Byron Holderby, in August 1988; and Army and Air Force Chiefs of Chaplains, MajGen Donald Shea and MagGen William Dendinger, in May 1999, in addition to coordinating and hosting their visits to other world-wide locations within the U.S. European command area of responsibility, including a number of nations in Africa
, and the first visit by officers and crew of the aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
, to Israel's John F. Kennedy Memorial and Peace Forest
.
to lead Yom Kippur
(Day of Atonement) services during the historic Reagan-Gorbachev pre-summit meetings
. A Washington Post
article on his selection for this trip included the reporter's question as to what Resnicoff would say if he had the chance to speak directly with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, Gorbachev
. Resnicoff's answer that he wouldn't have to use words: that wearing the uniform of a United States Navy Officer, with the Ten Commandments
(the insignia worn by Jewish chaplains) on his sleeve, would "say it all", in terms of what he considered the difference in the respect and freedoms granted to all citizens in the United States, in sharp contrast with their treatment in countries like the Soviet Union. The symbolism of Resnicoff's participation in this initiative made an impression on many Americans. Senator Claiborne Pell
(D-RI) entered the text of the Octtobe 8, 1986, Providence Journal
article, "Navy Rabbi To Join Iceland Team: Russian immigrant's grandson picked to lead staff services"), in the October 9, 1986, Senate Congressional Record. A number of papers throughout the U.S., civilian and military, reprinted the sermon he delivered in Iceland, on Yom Kippur, "Small Steps Toward Big Dreams".
, has been used in remembrance ceremonies in other national and international ceremonies as far away as Australia
. and was one of two of his prayers that were published in the collection, The Treasury of American Prayer. He has served as Guest Chaplain for the United States Senate
on eight separate occasions, delivering prayers to open the official Senate sessions, and on January 7, 2003, delivered the benediction for the Bipartisan Congressional Prayer Service that welcomed the members of the 108th congress before the ceremony to swear them in. In addition to his prayers at official United States ceremonies and special events, on March 19, 1993, he delivered the prayer for the commissioning of the first of a series of new Israeli missile boat
s (Sa'ar 5), jointly built by the U.S. and Israel, in Ingalls Shipyard
, Pascagoula, Mississippi
.
Resnicoff has also used prayer as a way of moving from the pain of the past to hope in the future, as he did in 2000, when he helped to facilitate an interfaith gathering of seminary students from the Balkans:
Resnicoff uses his own story—the fact that it was an Episcopal Priest in Vietnam who first urged him to become a rabbi—as an example of the fact that "interfaith cooperation" in America is symbolized by the work of military chaplains:
Resnicoff notes that the chaplain's role includes working to protect individuals from religious pressure or coercion: "I make it clear," he said in one interview, "that the Navy doesn't support religion; it supports religious freedom. We protect people who don't want to be religious." He also stresses that chaplains understand the difference between "religion" and "faith." "When someone comes to us for the specific services or the celebration of a holy day, that's a religious observance. But there is also the greater aspect of faith, which means believing in something larger than ourselves." However, he believes that we can all learn from interfaith dialogue, understanding how specific religions have wrestled with questions that face us all. For example, he says that "Religion teaches that life is sacred...Yet religion also teaches us that life is not ultimate, because the bottom line is, there are things worth dying for...We're told that peace is a goal. We pray for peace. But again, peace is not ultimate because there does come a time when it is worthwhile taking a stand, when our conscience, our hearts and souls, demand that we take risks and sacrifices."
's Western Marble Arch Synagogue
as part of the group to accept a Torah Scroll
rescued from Czechoslovakia
after the Holocaust, for use in the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland
. In 1991, he was part of a small Jewish group to visit the Soviet Union after the fall of the Iron Curtain
—and just two weeks after Soviet troops sent tanks to take over a local television station
in Vilnius
, Lithuania
, the group visited the President of that nation, under the auspices of B'nai B'rith
, the first Jewish group to show support for the country.
Resnicoff was involved over the years in numerous issues of pluralism and religious accommodation, including his help in training the first Muslim chaplain in the U.S. Navy (ultimately commissioned in 1998), crafting a two-week indoctrination program for him at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London
, in Groton, Connecticut
. He was part of the Blue-ribbon panel
that changed the Jewish Chaplain insignia, replacing the Roman numerals in the insignia's representation of the Ten Commandments with Hebrew letters
, November 9, 1981; and active in the efforts that resulted in kosher
field rations (MRKs: Meals, Ready-to-Eat, Kosher), later renamed and expanded to include both Meal, Religious, Kosher/Halal and Meal, Religious, Kosher for Passover. Before the creation of these kosher and halal
rations, he worked with the Officers Club at Naval Station, Newport, Rhode Island
, to offer kosher meals for the first time at any Officers or Enlisted Club in the United States military.
The book, Pictorial History of the Jewish People, includes a photo of Resnicoff, sounding the Shofar
, the ram's horn, onboard a U.S. Navy ship, during a port visit to Haifa
, Israel.
In 2001, Resnicoff retired from the Navy with the rank of Navy Captain
.
, responsible for making recommendations regarding policy and guidance in support of the Air Force initiative to integrate core values into all Air Force operating concepts and policies. His assignment took him around the world, beginning in the Middle East
, with Iraq, Qatar
, and the United Arab Emirates
, and continuing to military bases throughout Europe and the Pacific, as well as installations within the United States, including the United States Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs, CO
, and the Air War College
, in Montgomery, Alabama
, where he met with Air Force leaders at every level of command. During this appointment, Resnicoff was instrumental in terms of beginning service-wide discussions on policies for religious free exercise within the Air Force.
This effort included meetings with many leaders of America's diverse religious community, including the Rev. Jerry Falwell
, with whom he discussed the issue of "inclusive" prayer in official military ceremonies. Resnicoff reported that Falwell gave strong approval to the idea, based on the Biblical verse that God "hears the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts", that a Christian chaplain could offer prayer in an inclusive (non-denominational) way with his words, and then more specific religious words, such as "in Jesus' name," silently, as a "meditation of the heart."
Other special appointments that Resnicoff has accepted following retirement have included the coordination of a 2003 congressional delegation (CODEL) to South Africa to compare lessons from the U.S. civil rights movement to the South African decision to end apartheid, as part of a project initiated by the Faith and Politics Institute, in Washington, DC; and service for one year as the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee
.
Resnicoff has served on the boards of organizations including the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
(CCEIA); as a member of organizations including The United States Navy Chief of Chaplains Ethics Advisory Board, and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America Chancellor's Rabbinic Cabinet; and is currently a member of the Rabbinical Assembly
and the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR), in addition to a number of military veteran organizations, including the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, the Veterans of Foreign Wars
, the Vietnam Veterans of America
, the Beirut Veterans of America, and the Gamewardens of Vietnam Association
in Clementsport, Nova Scotia
and the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
, in Israel's Bar Ilan University.
He was the first chaplain to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and worldwide Unified Combatant Command
commanders, at a Washington, DC, CINC's Conference, where he addressed issues of core values and quality of life. In 1996, he crafted and led the first Conference on Ethics and Leadership for the staff of the Camp David Presidential Retreat
. He was the only military chaplain to attend the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual leaders, was one of 100 religious leaders at the Sep 11, 1988, White House discussion with then President Bill Clinton
on the way religion might combat violence in American schools, and represented the U.S. military at the 1999 Seventh World Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace
, in Amman, Jordan
.
Resnicoff's February 2006 presentation on religion, the military, and church-and-state issues, presented at the Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) was broadcast multiple times on C-SPAN
. He presented an updated version of this talk—"Faith and Foxholes: Religion in the Military"—in May 2010 at the Library of Congress
(LOC). In the same month, the LOC Veterans History Project
conducted a two-hour video oral history of Resnicoff for their permanent historical archives.
to include Spiritual Force Protection: protecting military personnel not only against physical danger, but against threats to their humanity, as well.
The book, Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind describes his thinking as follows:
: building ties and strengthening relationships with leaders in other nations that could promote understanding. He spoke and wrote about the fact that Americans often want to avoid involvement with religious issues because it is something "personal", but that approach ignores the fact that religion is often a factor that can lead to hatred and war, and therefore, he believed, it could be a force for understanding and peace. This was especially true in nations where religious leaders had close ties or even official links to government leaders, or where religion itself had an official place in national policies—such as in Lebanon
, where the official census determined the "confessional balance"
of national officials (that is, the percentage of the population that represented one religion determined the percentage of officials of that religion in the government). His efforts opened up new opportunities for a number of chaplains, and he became the first European Command chaplain who became part of official briefings for visiting Admirals and Generals, including those selected for promotion to these ranks, visiting as part of the CAPSTONE Military Leadership Program
to prepare them for their new responsibilities. Resnicoff's efforts were widely discussed during his time at the European Command, including meetings and conferences convened by him on behalf of the European Command that included military and civilian leaders and scholars, at forums including the National Defense University
in Washington, DC. His efforts were acknowledged in what would later become an important group of works on the potential of religion in conflict avoidance, resolution, and reconstruction, such as the 2002 book, Holy War, Holy Peace:How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East.. The following report summarizes some of his efforts:
, the Legion of Merit
, four Meritorious Service Medals
, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals (one with the Combat V
, for Valor). For his service with the Air Force following retirement from the military, he was awarded the United States Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
, the highest award that the Air Force can present to a civilian. Other special awards include The President's Honor Graduate Award, Naval War College; International Community Service Award, Moment Magazine
; The Rabbi Louis Paris Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion, Chapel of Four Chaplains; and the Commandant's Award, Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), Patrick Air Force Base
, Florida
.
In 1994, the Chaplain Arnold E. Resnicoff Scholarship Fund was established in his honor at The Jewish Theological Seminary (with the first donation made by the family of a young Jewish sailor he had helped while serving as the senior chaplain for the Navy's Recruit Training Command, Orlando, Florida), to help rabbinical students who agree to serve at least one assignment as military chaplains, following ordination.
Resnicoff's work with interfaith affairs has been recognized in many ways, including the dedication of the 1990 book, Teaching for Christian Hearts, Souls & Minds.
Captain Arnold E. Resnicoff, United States Navy, distinguished himself by exceptionally superior service while serving as Command Chaplain, Headquarters, United States European Command, from May 1997 to May 2000. As principal advisor on religion, ethics, and morals to the Commander in Chief United States European Command, Chaplain Resnicoff's exceptional leadership, unparalleled strategic vision, and extraordinary moral courage made an unprecedented impact not only on the more than 100,000 military personnel stationed in this area of operations, but on the top levels of leadership of all branches of the armed forces. He worked with Chiefs of Chaplains, Ambassadors and heads of State, to champion issues of quality of life and religious freedom on the part of military personnel, helping other nations struggle with issues of democracy and human rights in creative and powerful new ways.
Working within an area that encompassed 89 countries and more than 13 million square miles, he traveled extensively to work with military and civilian personnel, including refugees and civilian relief workers in Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania, forging new roles for chaplains in the area of civilian-military cooperation, and the role of religion in both conflict resolution and reconciliation. Throughout it all, Chaplain Resnicoff's personal integrity, deep faith, and inspirational loyalty to the values of our nation and our military helped remind our armed forces, from the most junior enlisted person to the most senior officer, what it is we stand for and what it is we must stand against. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Captain Resnicoff reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Navy, and the Department of Defense.
Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia, from 27 June 2005 to 27 June 2006. During this period, his outstanding leadership, strategic vision, and ceaseless efforts resulted in major contributions to the success of the Air Force. Rabbi Resnicoff skillfully guided the development of the Interim Religious Guidelines and became the face of the Air Force in responding to national media inquiries. He continually found effective ways to get the Air Force message out, to include a highly successful meeting between the Secretary and the leadership of ten influential religious groups.
His professional reputation for excellence is well known throughout the Air Force and Department of Defense. This reputation and his enthusiasm made him ideally suited to lead the Secretary's new Core Values Initiative, traveling to five MAJCOM Headquarters and ten countries across the globe to brief key Air Force leaders. His vision included an Air Force review of its warfighting culture and, for the first time ever, a Joint Service Core Values Workshop. This resulted in renewed progress in the drive to inculcate core values into decision making at every level. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Rabbi Resnicoff reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
, December 22, 2010:
, April 28, 1987:
Apr 28, 2003:
May 2, 2003:
June 13, 2003:
June 16, 2003
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, a decorated retired military officer and military chaplain
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
, and a consultant on leadership, values, and interreligious affairs to military and civilian leaders. His military career began in the rivers of Vietnam's Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, followed by assignments with Naval Intelligence in Europe, before his decision to attend rabbinical school, at the urging of a Protestant Chaplain in Vietnam. Following ordination as a rabbi, he served with the Navy for almost 25 additional years as a U.S. Navy Chaplain
United States Navy Chaplain Corps
The Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy consists of ordained clergy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is to "promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy," which includes the Navy and the United States...
. After retiring from the military, his positions included appointments as National Director of Interreligious Affairs
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
for the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
and Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary (SECAF) and Chief of Staff (CSAF)
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...
of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
. He was part of the small group of Vietnam veterans who fought for the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
, delivering the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication; and in 1984, the President of the United States devoted an entire speech to the reading of Resnicoff's eye witness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
1983 Beirut barracks bombing
The Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
.
Resnicoff holds a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
; Masters degrees from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
(Rabbinics), Salve Regina University
Salve Regina University
Salve Regina University is a university in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, the university is a Catholic, co-educational, private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of Rhode Island in 1934. In 1947 the university acquired Ochre Court and welcomed its first class...
(International Relations), and the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
(Strategic Studies and National Security Affairs); and a doctorate (honoris causa), in addition to rabbinic ordination, from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (Rabbinic Studies). He is a graduate of many military schools and courses, including the Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
and the Joint Forces Staff College
Joint Forces Staff College
The Joint Forces Staff College located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinational warfighters to plan and lead at the operational level...
. In addition to special presentations at military and civilian educational institutions around the world, he served as an instructor for Salve Regina, The Naval War College, the Naval Chaplains School, and the overseas branch of the University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland University College
The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning...
. He has received numerous military and civilian awards including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
Early military career (prior to rabbinic ordination)
Resnicoff was raised with a deep sense of pride in both JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and America
American nationalism
American nationalism refers to nationalism among the people of the United States. Nationalism is the correct and recognized term for the associated ideology and political movements, within the present United States, and during its history.-Origins:...
, and a sense of responsibility to help both remain forces for good, and for hope, in the world. "My father said a day did not go by when his father didn't thank God they had made it to America. They knew what it was like not to have freedom. [...] We [Americans] represent something special in the world, and we often take it for granted," Resnicoff has said. "We come together from different backgrounds, heritages, and religions, but then work "together to build a better country and a better world."
Resnicoff's father, Jack Resnicoff, came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a three year old, when his own father—Mnachem Risikoff
Mnachem Risikoff
Mnachem HaKohen Risikoff , was an orthodox rabbi in Russia and the United States, and a prolific author of scholarly works, written in Hebrew. Risikoff used a highly stylized and symbolic pen-name, יאמהדנונחהים, made up of the Hebrew letters of his first name, the Hebrew word for Lord, and the...
, an Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
—escaped to America from Russia, in search of religious freedom
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
. Jack Resnicoff, a descendant of a long line of rabbis, including his grandfather, Zvi Yosef Resnick
Zvi Yosef Resnick
Rabbi Zvi Yosef HaKohen Resnick was a well-known orthodox Russian rabbi and Rosh yeshivah , also known as Rebbe Hirsch Meitsheter .-Life and work:Resnick lived in Zhetel , a town in Belarus, and at least one of his children was born...
, a famous Rosh yeshivah, rabbinical school head, in Russia, was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
veteran who openly shared his hope that his son (the oldest of three boys) would also volunteer for at least one tour of duty with the military, as one way for the family to continue to "pay its dues" to America.
Following college graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
, he served as communications officer
Central Communications Command
The Central Communications Command is the largest Operational Command Unit OCU of London's Metropolitan Police Service. It sits within Territorial Policing, the business group within the Met that is responsible for Borough Policing and public contact...
and assistant operations officer onboard USS Hunterdon County (LST-838)
USS Hunterdon County (LST-838)
USS Hunterdon County was an built for the United States Navy during World War II, and later reconfigured and recommissioned for riverine warfare during the Vietnam War. Named after Hunterdon County, New Jersey, she was the only U.S...
, a WWII tank landing ship that had been converted for riverine warfare in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, operating as part of Operation Game Warden
Operation Game Warden
Operation Game Warden, Task force 116, was an operation to deny Viet Cong access to the resources in the Mekong Delta which was conceived of in December 1965. U.S. naval forces, backed by Marine artillery on the ground, launching a rapid surprise attack on the dozens of small Viet Cong ports which...
, with the mission of keeping the rivers free of Viet Cong infiltrators. He was on board Hunterdon County on May 12, 1970, serving as Junior Officer of the Deck
Officer of the Deck
Officer of the deck is a position in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard that confers certain authority and responsibility. The officer of the deck on a ship is the direct representative of the captain, having responsibility for the ship.-Overview:In port, the OOD is stationed on...
(JOOD), when it became the first commissioned vessel to enter the territorial waters of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. During his service in Vietnam, he was approached by a circuit-riding Navy Protestant Chaplain
United States Navy Chaplain Corps
The Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy consists of ordained clergy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is to "promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy," which includes the Navy and the United States...
(Episcopal Priest), Fr. Lester Westling, Jr., who appointed him the Jewish Lay Leader for the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, and later urged him to consider studying for the rabbinate at the end of his Navy commitments. After his assignment in Vietnam, Resnicoff was accepted for duty with Naval Intelligence (Naval Security Group
Naval Security Group
The Naval Security Group was an organization within the United States Navy, tasked with intelligence gathering and denial of intelligence to adversaries. A large part of this is Signals Intelligence gathering, Cryptology and Information Assurance...
), first attending Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
training at the Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
(DLI), Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, and then working with the United States Sixth Fleet, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, from his base of operations in Rota, Spain
Naval Station Rota, Spain
Naval Station Rota is a Spanish naval base commanded by a Spanish Vice Admiral and fully funded by the United States of America. Located in Rota, Spain, and near the Spanish town of El Puerto de Santa María, NavSta Rota is the largest American military community in Spain and houses US Navy...
.
Rabbinical school
While still on active duty in Europe, Resnicoff made contact with Rabbi Joseph Brodie, the Director of Admissions/Registrar at the rabbinical school of the Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaJewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
(JTS or JTSA), who made recommendations to him regarding readings and studies that could help prepare him to apply to the school after leaving Naval service. Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, a leading JTS professor and strong voice within the conservative movement
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
, made a special point of serving on the interview committee that accepted him, beginning discussions with Resnicoff about his military experiences, in part because Heschel had been such a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. As part of his studies, Resnicoff served as a rabbinical intern to Rabbi Harry Halpern
Harry Halpern
Harry Halpern was an American religious and community leader, a powerful orator, a respected religious educator, and a prominent Conservative rabbi who served for almost 49 years as the rabbi of the East Midwood Jewish Center , in Brooklyn, New York.-Life and works:Halpern was born on the Lower...
, at Brooklyn's East Midwood Jewish Center
East Midwood Jewish Center
East Midwood Jewish Center is a Conservative synagogue located at 1625 Ocean Avenue, Midwood, Brooklyn, New York City.Organized in 1924, the congregation's Renaissance revival building typified the large multi-purpose synagogue centers being built at the time, and was from the 1990s until 2010 the...
.
Resnicoff's studies with Rabbi Max Kadushin
Max Kadushin
Max Kadushin was a Conservative rabbi best known for his organic philosophy of rabbinics.-Biography:After graduating from New York University, Kadushin studied for the rabbinate at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America during the 1920s. There he encountered Mordecai Kaplan and soon became a...
, a JTS professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, would result in a book by one of Resnicoff's Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
colleagues, the Reverend Locke Bowman translating Kadushin's ideas of value concepts into Christian terms, for a wider audience. In the book's Acknowledgments, Bowman recounts how Resnicoff introduced him to Kadushin's work during a series of professional development seminars for chaplains in which Bowman was a participant. Inspired by Kadushin's work, Bowman visited JTS, for conversations with some of Kadushin's contemporaries, including Simon Greenberg
Simon Greenberg
Dr. Simon Greenberg, was a Russian born American Conservative rabbi and scholar. Greenberg was part of the senior management of many Jewish organizations in America. He helped to found a number of institutions, including the American Jewish University, of which he was the first President...
and Avraham Holtz, who agreed that Bowman "had indeed discovered the essence of Rabbi Kadushin's thought and had identified accurately why his efforts should be more widely known by all who teach religion." The dedication of Bowman's book reads, "This book is for two saints of God from whom I have learned so much and to whom I am deeply grateful: Sister Carol Rennie, OSB, and Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, chaplain in the United States Navy."
Resnicoff graduated with four special honors at ordination: The Rabbi Philip R. Alstat
Philip R. Alstat
Philip Reis Alstat was a well-known American Conservative rabbi, teacher, chaplain, speaker and writer. Born in Kaunas , Lithuania, he came to the United States in 1898, studying at City College of New York , Columbia University , and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , where he received...
Prize for Literary Achievement, The Reverend Zvi Hirsch Masliansy Award in Homiletics, The Lilian M. Lowenfeld Prize in Practical Theology (co-awarded), and The Isaac H. Wolfson Memorial Award for Outstanding Rabbinical Student (co-awarded).
Military chaplaincy
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
in 1976, Resnicoff returned to the Navy as a chaplain
United States Navy Chaplain Corps
The Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy consists of ordained clergy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is to "promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy," which includes the Navy and the United States...
, with his first assignment in Yokosuka, Japan
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...
. As the only Jewish chaplain in mainland Japan, he regularly visited every U. S. military base (Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, and Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
) to support Jewish military personnel and families, in addition to his work as part of a chaplain team helping to provide opportunities for voluntary religious free exercise for those of all faiths.
Other chaplain assignments included service at Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, the largest Naval installation in the world; as instructor at the Naval Chaplain School and Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
, in Newport, Rhode Island; on the staff of the Chief of Naval Education and Training (CNET) where he worked to increase and strengthen ethics and values content at every level of education and training for military personnel; at Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, where he was the Command Chaplain for both the Base and Submarine Group Two
ComSubLant
Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic is the type commander for U.S. submarines in the Atlantic Fleet. Established on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards was assigned as the first Force Commander. U.S. submarine operations in the Atlantic, however, go back to before the First World War...
, as well as the Area Chaplain for the area encompassing New England and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, including the United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...
.
From 1992-1994, Resnicoff served as Command Chaplain for Recruit Training Command ("RTC")
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
, Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, where he was part of the team, headed by Captain Kathleen Bruyere, that integrated men and women into basic training for the first time. (Before then, women could not "speak, eat, or train together" with men. At RTC, Resnicoff worked to change the philosophy of recruit training, from the old "break them down, then build them up" mentality, arguing that many of today's recruits report for duty already "broken": already told over and over again that they are "worthless." The new challenge of training, Resnicoff insisted, was to stress that each recruit was both worthwhile – and invaluable. Recruits must understand that training would be hard and difficult because they must learn they are stronger than they had ever imagined, because one day that strength might mean the difference between life and death not only for them, but also for the lives of their shipmates. He also worked to enlarge the vision of faith and spiritual strength, from strict religious faith, to the idea of a spiritual strength linked to the human spirit, capable of overcoming incredible odds—a concept that applied to all personnel, whether or not they saw themselves as religious. He created the theme that would become the foundation of chaplain efforts at the RTC until the installation was eventually closed: "Chapel helps you make it through Boot Camp; Faith helps you make it through life."
From 1982–1984, Resnicoff served as the first Jewish chaplain on the staff of Commander, United States Sixth Fleet, part of a new rabbi-priest-minister team that covered all ships in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, as well as the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
serving with the Multinational Peace-Keeping force (MNF)
Multinational Force in Lebanon
The Multinational Force in Lebanon was an international peacekeeping force created in 1982 and sent to Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization...
in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. After serving as Command Chaplain for the U.S. European Command, he served as Director of Education and Training for all Navy chaplains, on the staff of the U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Resnicoff was part of a small group of Vietnam veteranVietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
s, led by Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs is best known for being the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service attended American University in Washington, D.C where he obtained a master's degree in counseling...
, that worked to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Scruggs, an Army corporal with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade who had been wounded on the battlefield in Vietnam, recruited Resnicoff by sharing the vision that this memorial—The Wall--would help heal a different kind of wound: the psychological wounds inflicted on Americans by the war and its aftermath, including the treatment of war veterans.
In the Library of Congress Veterans History Project oral history for Resnicoff, May 2010, he recounts that "The Wall" is a particularly appropriate name for the Memorial, because in many ways it has become an American version of Jerusalem's Western Wall
Western Wall
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount...
, "holy ground," where men and women come to remember the past and pray for the future. He recalls that the creation of this memorial was highly controversial when first proposed by Scruggs, criticized by many on both sides of the political spectrum: by those on the left who were opposed to any memorial that did not label American involvement in Vietnam a mistake – and honor the protesters as much as the military; and those on the right, who were opposed to any memorial that did not honor, and even celebrate, American military involvement, rejecting any criticism of it. Ultimately, by focusing on the need for healing, and for remembering our dead, rather than on the rights or wrongs of the political decisions that took us to war, this memorial has become one of the most frequently visited and most beloved memorials in America.
Resnicoff delivered prayers on May 26, 1980 and May 25, 1981 at ceremonies marking plans and progress for the creation of the memorial, and on Nov 21, 1982, he delivered the closing prayer at the official dedication of "The Wall." In his prayer, he continued the theme of the dedication, To Heal the Nation, stressing the idea that the time had come for all Americans—regardless of their opinions about the war itself—to mourn our dead, and to recognize and respect the horrors faced by all those who had served. Resnicoff strongly believes that one enduring legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the renewed awareness on the part of Americans of the importance of separating beliefs about specific military decisions and actions, from respect for and support of the men and women in uniform who serve in our nation's military, regularly enduring family separation, and often risking their lives, as part of that service. He has stated that this is a crucial "vision shift" that has been shown in the almost universal American support for military personnel in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(see: Iraq War and Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present) and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, despite the national debate regarding those ongoing conflicts.
In November 2002, at the special ceremony celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Memorial, Resnicoff delivered the same prayer he had offered at the original 1982 dedication.
Beirut Barracks bombing
On October 23, 1983, while serving as a chaplain for the United States Sixth Fleet, Resnicoff was present in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon, during the suicide truck bomb attack
1983 Beirut barracks bombing
The Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
that took the lives of 241 American military personnel, and wounded scores more. (Minutes later, a second attack would take the lives of an additional 58 members of the near-by French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
contingent of the multinational task force.) He had arrived on Friday, Oct 21, to lead a Memorial Service for SGT Allen Soifert, a Jewish American
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
Marine killed by sniper fire. Transportation had been offered to return him to the Sixth Fleet flagship in Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, on Saturday, but Resnicoff said he could not travel on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, the Jewish Sabbath, and would remain in Beirut with the Marines until the following day, a decision that put him on the scene, in a building approximately 75 yards (68.6 m) away, when the first truck bomb attack occurred at 6:20AM on Sunday, Oct 23, demolishing the Marine barracks.
Four days after the attack, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
team that visited Beirut, led by Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, asked him to write a report on the attack and its aftermath—and on April 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
read that report in its entirety as his keynote address to the Rev. Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
's "Baptist Fundamentalism '84" convention, in Washington, DC. During the delivery of the speech, President Reagan was interrupted by a small group of protestors, armed with pre-printed banners, chanting, "Bread, not bombs." Reagan, at the height of his powers as "the great communicator," deftly handles the situation, at one point commenting, "Wouldn't it be nice if a little bit of that Marine spirit would rub off, and they would listen [to the chaplain's words] about brotherly love?"
Parts of the report were quoted by many other military leaders, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James D. Watkins, who quoted from the report in his 1984 graduation address to the cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy. Life Magazine quoted Resnicoff among the short list of quotes included in their 1984 "Year in Pictures" issue: "I have been watching those men [the Marines in Beirut] doing the clearing, and this is when they get the most emotional. It is when they have to pick up the birthday cards and the wedding pictures strewn among the rubble that it hits them that all of these people were individuals. Then they realize it is not 200+ dead Marines: it is one, plus one, plus one."
Days of Remembrance of the Victims of Holocaust
In 1984, Resnicoff's long-term efforts to convince the United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
to participate in the national annual program for the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust
Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust
The Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust is an annual 8-day period designated by the United States Congress for civic commemorations and special educational programs that help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust...
were successful. For a number of years he had been making the case at many levels of military leadership that General Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
had already initiated a remembrance program when, after U.S. forces liberated Ohrdruf (a sub-camp of Buchenwald
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
), Eisenhower called for reporters from the U.S. and UK to document evidence of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, so that, Eisenhower said, the time would never come when such atrocities could be denied, and reports about them could be regarded as mere propaganda. Additionally, Eisenhower's words—that the American GI did not always understand what he was fighting for, so he should see this evidence, to understand, at least, what he was fighting against—became, Resnicoff successfully argued, the foundation of an historic military effort to remember and learn from the Holocaust that today's military had the duty to honor and carry on. Resnicoff's efforts took a significant step forward when Colonel Harvey T. Kaplan, U.S. Army, the Executive Director of the Defense Equal Opportunity Council, lent his strong support to the effort, and on April 1, 1984, Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger , was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after...
signed a memorandum to the military services, urging the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
and other military commanders to participate in the annual program for the first time. To support military programs, Resnicoff first created resource materials for the United States Navy Chaplain Corps (Horror and Hope: Americans Remember the Holocaust), then served as the Navy representative to the committee, chaired by Kaplan, that created the official Department of Defense Guide for remembrance ceremonies on all U.S. military ships and stations.
Support for continued military involvement in this effort included the President in his role of Commander-in-Chief, and both the first and second editions of the Department of Defense Guide included signed Presidential letters endorsing the effort. In 1984, the first official year of military involvement, after arranging a meeting between Rabbi Seymour Siegel
Seymour Siegel
Seymour Siegel , often referred to as "an architect of Conservative Jewish theology," was an American Conservative rabbi, a Professor of Ethics and Theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the 1983-1984 Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council," and an...
, Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and Vice Admiral Edward Martin, Commander, United States Sixth Fleet, Resnicoff conducted the first shipboard Holocaust Days of Remembrance Ceremony, on board USS Puget Sound (AD-38)
USS Puget Sound (AD-38)
USS Puget Sound was a , the second ship of the United States Navy to bear the name Puget Sound.The building contract was awarded December 29, 1964 to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. The keel was laid February 15, 1965, and she was launched September 16, 1966...
, the Sixth Fleet Flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, during a port visit to Malaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Naval War College
Also in 1984, he became the first Jewish chaplain to attend the Naval War CollegeNaval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
, and in 1985, the first chaplain of any faith to teach a course at any military war college, creating and teaching the elective course, Faith and Force: Religion, War, and Peace, at the Naval War College (NWC), Newport, RI, teaching the course from 1985–1988. While studying at the NWC, he used his experiences during and after the Beirut bombing to do research on ethical responses to terrorism. Professor Albert Bernstein, then Chairman of the Department of Strategy, wrote that his "views on the morality of reprisal have been greatly influenced by discussions with and writings of Commander Arnold E. Resnicoff."
While at the NWC, Resnicoff helped create the annual NWC conference on Leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
and Ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, serving as a keynote speaker for that conference on numerous occasions until his retirement. For his work as a student, he was the recipient of the President's Honor Graduate Award.
Religious accommodation in the military
In the years leading up to 1987, Resnicoff played a crucial role in the discussions that led to the decision to allow religious head-coverings for military personnel. During debates over that issue in CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the story of the kippa/skullcap
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
that a Catholic Chaplain had made for him by tearing off a piece of his own Marine camouflage uniform, after Resnicoff's kippa was used to wipe the blood from a wounded Marine's face (a story recounted in the speech read by President Reagan), was entered into the Congressional Record, in an effort to focus on the "unity" of religious freedom represented by the head covering, over and above the much lesser value of strict "uniformity" those originally arguing against allowing skullcaps had vowed to protect. The religious apparel amendment that had failed to pass in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for two years finally passed the year this story was recounted, with many congressional leaders crediting this story as a powerful message that helped the amendment succeed. Additionally, this story was recounted by many military leaders who had previously opposed the change, but now supported it, including the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. This amendment laid the groundwork for the ground-breaking directive (later, changed to a Department of Defense Instruction) that established official military policies and procedures for the Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services. In addition to its role in garnering support for the change in military religious accommodation policies, this story of the camouflage kippa would be frequently cited as an example, along with the World War II story of the Four Chaplains
Four Chaplains
The Four Chaplains, also sometimes referred to as the "Immortal Chaplains," were four United States Army chaplains who gave their lives to save other civilian and military personnel during the sinking of the troop ship USAT Dorchester during World War II. They helped other soldiers board lifeboats...
on the USAT Dorchester
USAT Dorchester
USAT Dorchester was a United States Army Transport ship that was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on February 3, 1943, during World War II...
, of Chaplain Corps cooperation at its best. As one newspaper headline put it, "6th fleet rabbi wears a green badge of courage."
The story of the kippa was once retold by President Reagan, when (in addition to his speech to the 1984 Baptist Fundamentalism '84 convention) representatives of the "American Friends of Lubavitch" visited the White House to present Reagan with a Hanukkah menorah. To the surprise of the group, Reagan invited them to remain a little longer so that he could tell them the story of Resnicoff's kippa, and then ask them the meaning behind it. Responding to the President, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov
Abraham Shemtov
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov is a leading Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi who was one of the closest confidants of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson....
, the group's leader, started: "Mr. President, the kippa to us is a sign of reverence." A colleague, Rabbi Feller, continued, "We place the kippa on the very highest point of our being—on our head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell ourselves and the world that there is something which is above man's intellect—the infinite Wisdom of G-d."
Gay and lesbian rights
In addition to his work in support of individuals of all religions, Resnicoff worked to support the rights of men and women of all sexual orientations, as well. His work has been recognized by long-time advocates of LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights, including his work at the Naval War College as far back as the early 90s.
He was a strong proponent for repeal of the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy of the American military, through his participation in major military conferences, and through his writings that were published both as editorials and internet blog comments in both the Jewish and mainstream press. On December 22, 2010, he delivered the invocation at the Presidential Signing Ceremony
Signing ceremony
A signing ceremony is a ceremony in which a bill passed by a legislature is signed by an executive, thus becoming a law.Modern-day signing ceremonies are derived from ceremonies that occurred when the British monarch gave Royal Assent to acts of Parliament...
for the DADT repeal, at White House request. The text of the prayer was widely reproduced, with many reports focusing on his statement that “unity is our goal, not uniformity, and we need not fear differences among those united to defend our nation’s freedoms and its dreams.” Tanya Domi, a military veteran who identified herself as a Lesbian Army captain wrote that, “In his beautiful prayer, Rabbi Resnicoff applies a healing salve to the psychic wounds we have sustained as second-class citizens, and reminds us of the greatness of America in believing that life can improve, as he calls upon divine wisdom to lead us into an unknown future of change.”
United States European Command
From 1997 to 2000, Resnicoff was the first Jewish Chaplain to serve at the level of Command Chaplain for a Unified Combatant CommandUnified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
, serving as chaplain for the United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
(USEUCOM), under the leadership of General Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
. In that position, he served as principal advisor to General Clark and the USEUCOM staff on matters of religion, ethics, and morals
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
; coordinated religious support for more than 100,000 U.S. military personnel and families of all military branches and all faiths; and served as liaison to the chaplaincies of other nations throughout the USEUCOM area of responsibility (AOR), leading and coordinating three International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conferences in Europe, where he introduced a new vision of the potential role of chaplains as liaisons to religious leaders, and of religion as a force for peace and conflict resolution, and for reconciliation after the battles. He also made presentations on religion, values, and leadership, at numerous conferences in locations that included Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and worked with military leaders from former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
nations as they began to deal with issues of human rights and religious freedoms within the military context.
Additionally, his special work in the Balkans during the time of American involvement in Bosnia
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
and Kosovo
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
included work with U.S. and NATO troops, civilian relief workers, political and military leaders, religious representatives, and refugees. He represented the military in the first conference of religious seminary students from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Bosnia, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, and Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
; and led a delegation representing the four official religions of Bosnia—Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, and Jewish—on an historic visit to the U.S., where they were able to witness examples of interfaith cooperation and respect at military sites including The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and the U.S. Army Chaplain School.
Sixth Fleet and Israel
In 1983, Resnicoff held the first interfaith and mixed gender worship service ever held at Israel's Western WallWestern Wall
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount...
. Conducted under the supervision of the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs, the ten-minute service included men and women from U.S. Navy ships, and concluded with the Priestly Blessing
Priestly Blessing
The Priestly Blessing, , also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, , or Dukhanen , is a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim during certain Jewish services...
, recited by Resnicoff, who is a Kohen
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
. Ministry of Affairs representative Yonatan Yuval was present, responding to press queries that this service was authorized as part of a special welcome for the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
In 1984, Resnicoff conducted the first Israeli Presidential ceremony in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, held in the President's Residence, Jerusalem. Mrs. Aura Herzog
Aura Herzog
Aura Herzog, née Ambache was the wife of Chaim Herzog, the sixth President of the State of Israel.Aura Herzog was born in Egypt and educated in French schools in Ismailiya. She has a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and physics from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. ...
, wife of Israel's then-President Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...
, noted that she was especially proud to host this special event, because Israel had a national forest in honor of Dr. King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, and that Israel and Dr. King shared the idea of dreams
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
. R esnicoff continued this theme in his remarks during the ceremony, quoting the verse from Genesis, spoken by the brothers of Joseph when they saw their brother approach, "Behold the dreamer comes; let us slay him and throw him into the pit, and see what becomes of his dreams." Resnicoff noted that, from time immemorial, there have been those who thought they could kill the dream by slaying the dreamer, but—as the example of Dr. King's life shows—such people are always wrong.
He also recommended and then helped with the establishment of the Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel, USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
, for all United States Military personnel. Prior to the October 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, the United States had severely limited U.S. ship visits to Israel, trying to maintain neutrality among nations and factions involved in the Lebanon conflict. After the attack, this position was abandoned, and U.S. ships began to make frequent visits. Resnicoff recommended Ms. Gilla Gerzon, public relations director for the Dan Haifa Hotel for the position of USO director, and he and U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs Officer, Captain Peter Litrenta, helped coordinate arrangements for her appointment and the creation of the center with top USO leaders. Gerzon was so successful that she was later referred to as the "Mother of the Sixth Fleet", and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal
Commendation Medal
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy force, but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star, the Valor device may...
by the United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
.
Additionally, Resnicoff helped create a U.S. Sixth Fleet Lounge, for Jewish personnel, at Jerusalem's Laromme Hotel. The area was to be used for Sixth Fleet personnel and their families visiting Jerusalem during ship visits to Haifa or Ashdod, and included an area that was used for relaxation, in addition to special events, including informal briefings about Israel. He led the first official Israeli visits by the United States Navy Chief of Chaplains, RADM Byron Holderby, in August 1988; and Army and Air Force Chiefs of Chaplains, MajGen Donald Shea and MagGen William Dendinger, in May 1999, in addition to coordinating and hosting their visits to other world-wide locations within the U.S. European command area of responsibility, including a number of nations in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and the first visit by officers and crew of the aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
USS John F. Kennedy is a John F. Kennedy class aircraft carrier, the last conventionally powered carrier built for the United States Navy. The ship is named after the 35th President of the United States, John F...
, to Israel's John F. Kennedy Memorial and Peace Forest
Yad Kennedy
Yad Kennedy , located in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council near Jerusalem, Israel, is a memorial to John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, who was assassinated in 1963....
.
1986 US-USSR Reagan-Gorbachov meetings in Iceland
In 1986, Resnicoff was sent to IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to lead Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
(Day of Atonement) services during the historic Reagan-Gorbachev pre-summit meetings
Reykjavik Summit
The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in the famous house of Höfði in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland, on October 11–12, 1986...
. A Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
article on his selection for this trip included the reporter's question as to what Resnicoff would say if he had the chance to speak directly with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
, Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
. Resnicoff's answer that he wouldn't have to use words: that wearing the uniform of a United States Navy Officer, with the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
(the insignia worn by Jewish chaplains) on his sleeve, would "say it all", in terms of what he considered the difference in the respect and freedoms granted to all citizens in the United States, in sharp contrast with their treatment in countries like the Soviet Union. The symbolism of Resnicoff's participation in this initiative made an impression on many Americans. Senator Claiborne Pell
Claiborne Pell
Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
(D-RI) entered the text of the Octtobe 8, 1986, Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
article, "Navy Rabbi To Join Iceland Team: Russian immigrant's grandson picked to lead staff services"), in the October 9, 1986, Senate Congressional Record. A number of papers throughout the U.S., civilian and military, reprinted the sermon he delivered in Iceland, on Yom Kippur, "Small Steps Toward Big Dreams".
Interfaith prayer
Resnicoff's article, Prayers That Hurt: Public Prayer in Interfaith Settings, has been widely reprinted, and used in training programs for chaplains serving with the military, police, and hospitals, and has been quoted in legal briefs used in the United States Court of Appeal, in arguments related to prayer in government settings. His prayer, To Keep the Dream Alive, delivered at the April 28, 1987, National Civic Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony in the Capitol rotundaUnited States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
, has been used in remembrance ceremonies in other national and international ceremonies as far away as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. and was one of two of his prayers that were published in the collection, The Treasury of American Prayer. He has served as Guest Chaplain for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on eight separate occasions, delivering prayers to open the official Senate sessions, and on January 7, 2003, delivered the benediction for the Bipartisan Congressional Prayer Service that welcomed the members of the 108th congress before the ceremony to swear them in. In addition to his prayers at official United States ceremonies and special events, on March 19, 1993, he delivered the prayer for the commissioning of the first of a series of new Israeli missile boat
Missile boat
A Missile Boat is a small craft armed with anti-ship missiles. Being a small craft, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming an inexpensive navy...
s (Sa'ar 5), jointly built by the U.S. and Israel, in Ingalls Shipyard
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
.
Resnicoff has also used prayer as a way of moving from the pain of the past to hope in the future, as he did in 2000, when he helped to facilitate an interfaith gathering of seminary students from the Balkans:
Using his Jewish in-depth knowledge and wisdom, he lifted up the value of laments as a means of grieving deep hurts. He assisted an interfaith group of seminary students from the Balkans in processing their trauma witnessed during the many years of Serbian aggression. Each participant was asked to compose a lament as a way of getting in touch with the deep hurts of the war and anger that so many innocent lives had been wiped off before their time. Resnicoff believes in the power of remembering and mourning loss as part of the healing process.
Interfaith cooperation
Resnicoff frequently addresses the concept of "faith in action" -- human beings spurred on by their faith to help others—linked to a concept of interfaith cooperation: "As a nation we should not stand for any one religion. We should not create some civil or national religion that can take the place of those we already have....instead we should reaffirm the prayers upon which our nation was based: the prayer and the dream of religious freedom." He believes that chaplains help work to support the "free exercise" of religion on the part of individuals with many different religions (while caring for those with no religious faith, as well), but he stresses that what many religions or faiths have in common is the faith to believe that "eventually things can get better." "Military people often see the worst in life--the tragedy, brutalityand pain. It's essential especially for them that they keep the dream alive. The dream of what they can be as individuals, as Americans, and finally what the world can be."Resnicoff uses his own story—the fact that it was an Episcopal Priest in Vietnam who first urged him to become a rabbi—as an example of the fact that "interfaith cooperation" in America is symbolized by the work of military chaplains:
"...'religious cooperation' in other countries usually means no one is persecuting you because of religion--but it is only in America...that chaplains of one faith are working to help others struggle and grow within their own religious faith traditions."
Resnicoff notes that the chaplain's role includes working to protect individuals from religious pressure or coercion: "I make it clear," he said in one interview, "that the Navy doesn't support religion; it supports religious freedom. We protect people who don't want to be religious." He also stresses that chaplains understand the difference between "religion" and "faith." "When someone comes to us for the specific services or the celebration of a holy day, that's a religious observance. But there is also the greater aspect of faith, which means believing in something larger than ourselves." However, he believes that we can all learn from interfaith dialogue, understanding how specific religions have wrestled with questions that face us all. For example, he says that "Religion teaches that life is sacred...Yet religion also teaches us that life is not ultimate, because the bottom line is, there are things worth dying for...We're told that peace is a goal. We pray for peace. But again, peace is not ultimate because there does come a time when it is worthwhile taking a stand, when our conscience, our hearts and souls, demand that we take risks and sacrifices."
Other noteworthy achievements
In 1989, Resnicoff traveled to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Western Marble Arch Synagogue
Western Marble Arch Synagogue
The Western Marble Arch Synagogue was founded 1761. Currently the Western Marble Arch Synagogue is a leading modern orthodox synagogue based in central London, England...
as part of the group to accept a Torah Scroll
Sefer Torah
A Sefer Torah of Torah” or “Torah scroll”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services...
rescued from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after the Holocaust, for use in the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. In 1991, he was part of a small Jewish group to visit the Soviet Union after the fall of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
—and just two weeks after Soviet troops sent tanks to take over a local television station
Vilnius TV Tower
The Vilnius TV Tower is a tower in the Karoliniškės microdistrict of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the tallest structure in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre ....
in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, the group visited the President of that nation, under the auspices of B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, the first Jewish group to show support for the country.
Resnicoff was involved over the years in numerous issues of pluralism and religious accommodation, including his help in training the first Muslim chaplain in the U.S. Navy (ultimately commissioned in 1998), crafting a two-week indoctrination program for him at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
. He was part of the Blue-ribbon panel
Blue-Ribbon Panel
Blue-ribbon panel is an informal term generally used to describe a group of exceptional persons appointed to investigate or study a given question. The term generally connotes a degree of independence from political influence or other authority, and such panels usually have no direct authority of...
that changed the Jewish Chaplain insignia, replacing the Roman numerals in the insignia's representation of the Ten Commandments with Hebrew letters
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
, November 9, 1981; and active in the efforts that resulted in kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
field rations (MRKs: Meals, Ready-to-Eat, Kosher), later renamed and expanded to include both Meal, Religious, Kosher/Halal and Meal, Religious, Kosher for Passover. Before the creation of these kosher and halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
rations, he worked with the Officers Club at Naval Station, Newport, Rhode Island
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
, to offer kosher meals for the first time at any Officers or Enlisted Club in the United States military.
The book, Pictorial History of the Jewish People, includes a photo of Resnicoff, sounding the Shofar
Shofar
A shofar is a horn, traditionally that of a ram, used for Jewish religious purposes. Shofar-blowing is incorporated in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.Shofar come in a variety of sizes.- Bible and rabbinic literature :...
, the ram's horn, onboard a U.S. Navy ship, during a port visit to Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel.
In 2001, Resnicoff retired from the Navy with the rank of Navy Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
.
After military retirement
On Jun 27, 2005, the United States Air Force appointed Rabbi Resnicoff to the newly created one-year position of Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. Resnicoff served in this position from 2005–2006, at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier GeneralBrigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, responsible for making recommendations regarding policy and guidance in support of the Air Force initiative to integrate core values into all Air Force operating concepts and policies. His assignment took him around the world, beginning in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, with Iraq, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and continuing to military bases throughout Europe and the Pacific, as well as installations within the United States, including the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, and the Air War College
Air War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
, in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, where he met with Air Force leaders at every level of command. During this appointment, Resnicoff was instrumental in terms of beginning service-wide discussions on policies for religious free exercise within the Air Force.
This effort included meetings with many leaders of America's diverse religious community, including the Rev. Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, with whom he discussed the issue of "inclusive" prayer in official military ceremonies. Resnicoff reported that Falwell gave strong approval to the idea, based on the Biblical verse that God "hears the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts", that a Christian chaplain could offer prayer in an inclusive (non-denominational) way with his words, and then more specific religious words, such as "in Jesus' name," silently, as a "meditation of the heart."
Other special appointments that Resnicoff has accepted following retirement have included the coordination of a 2003 congressional delegation (CODEL) to South Africa to compare lessons from the U.S. civil rights movement to the South African decision to end apartheid, as part of a project initiated by the Faith and Politics Institute, in Washington, DC; and service for one year as the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
.
Resnicoff has served on the boards of organizations including the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City-based a 5013 public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named Church Peace Union, Carnegie Council is an independent and...
(CCEIA); as a member of organizations including The United States Navy Chief of Chaplains Ethics Advisory Board, and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America Chancellor's Rabbinic Cabinet; and is currently a member of the Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
and the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
(CFR), in addition to a number of military veteran organizations, including the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, the Vietnam Veterans of America
Vietnam Veterans of America
Vietnam Veterans of America Inc. is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that promotes the interests of United States military veterans of the Vietnam War era. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government...
, the Beirut Veterans of America, and the Gamewardens of Vietnam Association
Special presentations and conferences
Rabbi Resnicoff has lectured widely on pluralism, religious freedom, and ethics and values, at many civilian and military forums, including the Northeastern Political Science Association; the International Society for Military Ethics (ISME); the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute; the Pearson Peacekeeping CentrePearson Peacekeeping Centre
Established in 1994 by the Government of Canada, the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is an independent, not-for-profit organization with its office based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on the campus of Carleton University...
in Clementsport, Nova Scotia
Clementsport, Nova Scotia
Clementsport is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County.Clementsport is situated on the Annapolis Basin, and along the Moose River. The small town has pizzeria - Jody's Gourmet Pizza, which is part of the Moose River Variety Store...
and the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies , is an independent academic body aspiring to contribute to promoting peace and security in the Middle East, through policy-oriented researches on national security in the Middle East, that is located near the Political Science department within Bar-Ilan...
, in Israel's Bar Ilan University.
He was the first chaplain to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
and worldwide Unified Combatant Command
Unified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
commanders, at a Washington, DC, CINC's Conference, where he addressed issues of core values and quality of life. In 1996, he crafted and led the first Conference on Ethics and Leadership for the staff of the Camp David Presidential Retreat
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
. He was the only military chaplain to attend the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual leaders, was one of 100 religious leaders at the Sep 11, 1988, White House discussion with then President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
on the way religion might combat violence in American schools, and represented the U.S. military at the 1999 Seventh World Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace
Religions for Peace
Religions for Peace, full name World Conference of Religions for Peace is a large international coalition of representatives from the world’s religions dedicated to promoting peace founded in 1970....
, in Amman, Jordan
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
.
Resnicoff's February 2006 presentation on religion, the military, and church-and-state issues, presented at the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) was broadcast multiple times on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
. He presented an updated version of this talk—"Faith and Foxholes: Religion in the Military"—in May 2010 at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(LOC). In the same month, the LOC Veterans History Project
Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center
The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000. The authorizing legislation , sponsored by Representatives Ron Kind, Amo Houghton, and Steny Hoyer in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Max Cleland and Chuck Hagel in the U.S...
conducted a two-hour video oral history of Resnicoff for their permanent historical archives.
Spiritual force protection
Resnicoff is frequently quoted on the impact of war and violence on the human spirit, including the distinction he makes between "outrage", a feeling we must value, because it is part of being human (and we must fight against the danger that war and violence can numb us against it), and "rage", where emotions take over, we lose our moral compass, and we become vulnerable to manipulation by others who want us to lose our way. While working for General Wesley K. Clark at the U.S. European Command, Resnicoff worked to expand the concept of force protectionForce protection
Force protection or FP is a term used by the US military to describe preventive measures taken to mitigate hostile actions in specific areas or against a specific populous, usually Department of Defense personnel , resources, facilities, and critical information.-See also:*Pentagon Force Protection...
to include Spiritual Force Protection: protecting military personnel not only against physical danger, but against threats to their humanity, as well.
The book, Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind describes his thinking as follows:
The fear of losing one's soul to war is real, felt over and over again by those who wear a uniform. Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, a retired Navy captain and senior chaplain assigned to General Wesley Clark in the European Command during the war in Bosnia, told me of a colonel who sought him out while serving in Bosnia. "Chaplain," he said, the army trains me to kill people and break things. Your job, chaplain, is to keep me from ever getting to the point when I like doing it..."
The concern is as old as the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. In Exodus 30:11–16 we could read that each soldier who goes to war must pay a half-shekel to God for ransom of his soul, and in NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
31:50 that each warrior who returns must ask for expiation. For Resnicoff, the take-home lesson is that we need to prepare soldiers better for the role transition from civilian to warrior and warrior to civilian.
"I think there should be more of a ritualized coming to terms with the war's being over or when you come back, saying that you've done things that would never have been sanctioned in peace, and maybe even you've been part of things that shouldn't have happened in war, but war is not controllable all the time. But let's make the transition. I think that's one of the things that happens in post-traumatic stress. There's no transition back, there's no break back."
While at the European Command, Resnicoff proposed the idea of "spiritual force protection", a spin on the buzzword at the time, "force protection"—the minimization of risks in order to bring troops home. In retrospect, he is critical of the principle of force protection. The military went overboard at the time, he says, going for "risk aversion" or "risk avoidance", when it should have gone for "risk management". But he stands by the spiritual version of the principle: We don't want our people just to come home physically; we want them to come back as close to the human beings they were before they went in." That, as the biblical texts suggest, "is not something that you can wait and just start afterwards. It's something that you do before."
Expanded role of military chaplains in peace and reconciliation initiatives
While working as Command Chaplain for the U.S. European Command, Resnicoff worked to convince military leaders to see their chaplains as part of the military effort in the area of engagementEngagement (military)
A military engagement is a combat between two forces, neither larger than a division and not smaller than a company, in which each has an assigned or perceived mission...
: building ties and strengthening relationships with leaders in other nations that could promote understanding. He spoke and wrote about the fact that Americans often want to avoid involvement with religious issues because it is something "personal", but that approach ignores the fact that religion is often a factor that can lead to hatred and war, and therefore, he believed, it could be a force for understanding and peace. This was especially true in nations where religious leaders had close ties or even official links to government leaders, or where religion itself had an official place in national policies—such as in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, where the official census determined the "confessional balance"
Politics of Lebanon
Lebanon is a parliamentary republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution grants the people the right to change their government...
of national officials (that is, the percentage of the population that represented one religion determined the percentage of officials of that religion in the government). His efforts opened up new opportunities for a number of chaplains, and he became the first European Command chaplain who became part of official briefings for visiting Admirals and Generals, including those selected for promotion to these ranks, visiting as part of the CAPSTONE Military Leadership Program
CAPSTONE Military Leadership Program
CAPSTONE is a joint service professional military education courses for newly promoted brigadier generals and rear admirals serving in the United States military. The National Defense University conducts the CAPSTONE course at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC...
to prepare them for their new responsibilities. Resnicoff's efforts were widely discussed during his time at the European Command, including meetings and conferences convened by him on behalf of the European Command that included military and civilian leaders and scholars, at forums including the National Defense University
National Defense University
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
in Washington, DC. His efforts were acknowledged in what would later become an important group of works on the potential of religion in conflict avoidance, resolution, and reconstruction, such as the 2002 book, Holy War, Holy Peace:How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East.. The following report summarizes some of his efforts:
With the NATO Kosovo warKosovo WarThe term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
over in KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and the rebuilding process begun, one high-ranking U.S. Navy officer wants to try and avoid future ethnic conflicts with the help of military chaplains. Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, chaplain on the staff of Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, is pushing an initiative to include chaplains from all faiths in military decisions to prevent violence and, if that fails, in the healing process. "We all know that religion can play a role in conflict, and has been used to fan the flames of hatred during a conflict," Resnicoff says. "We must investigate ways that religion can also play a role in conflict resolutionConflict resolutionConflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
and reconciliation." To that end, the soft-spoken Conservative rabbi says NATO chaplains should have a greater role in supporting Allied troops with personal moral conflicts, and in reducing misunderstandings about foreign religious beliefs. He says it is important to move fast and establish regional cooperative programs in such potential hot spots as Eastern Europe and South Africa "so that we are ahead of the power curve before another Kosovo explodes." Capt. Resnicoff says American military leaders have come a long way in understanding other religious cultures since the UN shot at a minaretMinaretA minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
in GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
in 1957, "because unfamiliarity with the call to prayerAdhanThe adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....
made them think it might be a 'call to revolt.' "But we are not yet at the stage where we can use the stories from other cultures as opportunities to show understanding and respect in a way that can strengthen relationships and create opportunities for progress. "There are still large pockets in our knowledge, which the chaplain can help fill in through staff work and advice." Resnicoff also believes chaplains can become bridges to suspicious ethnic civilians wary of foreign troops. "Again and again I see that civilians ... who are still mistrustful of the military, respond in a much more positive way to chaplains." He notes that British chaplains tell him that chaplains even cross religious and political lines more easily than others in the supercharged atmosphere of Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The rabbi is traveling around the globe trying to gain support for the proposal.
Awards and honors
Resnicoff has received numerous military awards, including the Defense Superior Service MedalDefense Superior Service Medal
The Defense Superior Service Medal is a senior United States military decoration of the Department of Defense, awarded to members of the United States armed forces who perform "superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility."...
, the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, four Meritorious Service Medals
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals (one with the Combat V
Valor device
The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
, for Valor). For his service with the Air Force following retirement from the military, he was awarded the United States Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
The Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service is the highest award granted by the United States Secretary of the Air Force to civilian personnel. It consists of a medal, lapel button, and citation certificate...
, the highest award that the Air Force can present to a civilian. Other special awards include The President's Honor Graduate Award, Naval War College; International Community Service Award, Moment Magazine
Moment (magazine)
Moment is an American Jewish magazine. It publishes articles related to Jewish culture, lifestyle, politics, and religion. Moment is not affiliated with any Jewish organization or religious movement, and its articles and columnists represent a diverse range of political views.-History:Nobel Peace...
; The Rabbi Louis Paris Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion, Chapel of Four Chaplains; and the Commandant's Award, Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick. An Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In 1994, the Chaplain Arnold E. Resnicoff Scholarship Fund was established in his honor at The Jewish Theological Seminary (with the first donation made by the family of a young Jewish sailor he had helped while serving as the senior chaplain for the Navy's Recruit Training Command, Orlando, Florida), to help rabbinical students who agree to serve at least one assignment as military chaplains, following ordination.
Resnicoff's work with interfaith affairs has been recognized in many ways, including the dedication of the 1990 book, Teaching for Christian Hearts, Souls & Minds.
Official citation for the Defense Superior Service Medal
Awarded May 2000, Stuttgart, Germany:Captain Arnold E. Resnicoff, United States Navy, distinguished himself by exceptionally superior service while serving as Command Chaplain, Headquarters, United States European Command, from May 1997 to May 2000. As principal advisor on religion, ethics, and morals to the Commander in Chief United States European Command, Chaplain Resnicoff's exceptional leadership, unparalleled strategic vision, and extraordinary moral courage made an unprecedented impact not only on the more than 100,000 military personnel stationed in this area of operations, but on the top levels of leadership of all branches of the armed forces. He worked with Chiefs of Chaplains, Ambassadors and heads of State, to champion issues of quality of life and religious freedom on the part of military personnel, helping other nations struggle with issues of democracy and human rights in creative and powerful new ways.
Working within an area that encompassed 89 countries and more than 13 million square miles, he traveled extensively to work with military and civilian personnel, including refugees and civilian relief workers in Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania, forging new roles for chaplains in the area of civilian-military cooperation, and the role of religion in both conflict resolution and reconciliation. Throughout it all, Chaplain Resnicoff's personal integrity, deep faith, and inspirational loyalty to the values of our nation and our military helped remind our armed forces, from the most junior enlisted person to the most senior officer, what it is we stand for and what it is we must stand against. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Captain Resnicoff reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Navy, and the Department of Defense.
Official citation for the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
Awarded June 2006, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia, from 27 June 2005 to 27 June 2006. During this period, his outstanding leadership, strategic vision, and ceaseless efforts resulted in major contributions to the success of the Air Force. Rabbi Resnicoff skillfully guided the development of the Interim Religious Guidelines and became the face of the Air Force in responding to national media inquiries. He continually found effective ways to get the Air Force message out, to include a highly successful meeting between the Secretary and the leadership of ten influential religious groups.
His professional reputation for excellence is well known throughout the Air Force and Department of Defense. This reputation and his enthusiasm made him ideally suited to lead the Secretary's new Core Values Initiative, traveling to five MAJCOM Headquarters and ten countries across the globe to brief key Air Force leaders. His vision included an Air Force review of its warfighting culture and, for the first time ever, a Joint Service Core Values Workshop. This resulted in renewed progress in the drive to inculcate core values into decision making at every level. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Rabbi Resnicoff reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Invocation delivered at the Presidential Signing Ceremony for DADT repeal
Delivered at the United States Department of the InteriorUnited States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
, December 22, 2010:
O Lord who made a world of change, You challenged us to mend, repair, and change the world.
Some lose faith and think that things will never change, But we Americans - of every faith - religious faith or not - refuse to give up hope or abandon that most American of dreams: that we can make a difference, and that the future can be better than the past. Today we make a change as President Obama signs this bill to law. Today we recall that unity, not uniformity, is our goal,
that we need not fear differences among those united to defend our nation's freedoms and its dreams.
Today we honor ALL brave men and women, including those who served so long without the honor they deserved. O Lord our God, and God of generations past, help us move forward, toward a nation a little more united, more indivisible, a union a bit more perfect, founded on a great deal more respect. Let us pray that if the day has not yet dawned when we can see the face of God in others
then we see, at least, a face as human as our own. Lord, help us keep faith the day will dawn when justice flows - for ALL - like mighty waters, when liberty will be proclaimed throughout the land,
when every man or woman can stand tall, and none shall be afraid. And may we say, Amen.
Prayer for the National Civic Commemoration of the Holocaust Days of Remembrance
Delivered at the official National Civic Commemoration, Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, United States Capitol RotundaUnited States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
, April 28, 1987:
O Lord our God, help us pray as this ceremony ends, that our service might begin: And keep us from forgetting the difference.
Keep us from feeling too good about what we say and do today, for words are not enough, and it is far too easy to recall gigantic evil done by others, yet miss the link to seeds of future horror in our own lives: in apathy, in the careless racial slur, in blindness to a neighbor's wound, or deafness to his cry.
And yet, let us take some pride—and hope—in what we do today, for sometimes, words can pave the way: songs and prayers can help bear witness to the good within us still, can give dreams a voice—a call which might be, must be, heard, to give direction to our lives.
So, from the Holocaust, we learn: when we deny humanity in others, we destroy humanity within ourselves. When we reject the human, and the holy, in any neighbor's soul, then we unleash the beast, and the barbaric, in our own heart.
And, since the Holocaust, we pray: if the time has not yet dawned when we can all proclaim our faith in God, then let us say at least, that we admit we are not gods ourselves. If we cannot yet see the face of God in others, then let us see, at least, a face as human as our own.
So long ago, the Bible taught that life might be a blessing or a curse: the choice is in our hands. Today we vow: the curse will be remembered. But our prayer must also be to fight despair; to find the strength, the courage, and the faith, to keep alive the dream...that—through us and through our children—the blessing might still be.
Prayer at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Delivered as the closing prayer, Memorial dedication, November 13, 1982:Some 2500 years ago, the prophet Jeremiah cried out with words filled with pain and anguish,
words of despair, words which might have come out of the mouths of our Vietnam Veterans...until today.
"Why have we been smitten?," he asked, "and then for us there was no healing. We looked for peace but could find no good. We looked for a time of healing, and, behold, we found terror."
Oh Lord our God, and God of generations past, help us, we pray, make this the beginning of the time of healing that we all seek. Help us ease the terror and the pain of all who suffered because of war.
And help them and help us find the way to peace.
God, let this monument and this dedication forever remind us that we will come together to mourn our dead. We will come together to reach out to our wounded. We will come together to remember and to honor our brave. Only then may we have the vision to dream our dreams again; may we have the faith to pray our prayers again; may we have the courage to march along together again. And together, help make this the kind of country, and the kind of world, for which we all pray.
May we all join together and say, Amen.
Sample Senate Prayers (Excerpts)
January 22, 2003 (Week of Martin Luther King Day):O God, who made a world of change, you challenged us to change the world. You gave us dreams of better times, and the power to pursue those dreams: to do our part to make a difference, and help those dreams come true. This week we set aside a day to recall that there are those who seek to kill the dreamers, and thereby kill the dreams. But we will remember dreamers, and…we will keep the dreams alive: to build a land where liberty will be proclaimed, where justice rolls like mighty waters, where all shall live in freedom – and, one day, where none shall be afraid.
Apr 28, 2003:
And so, we pray that we be touched, inspired, by the dreams of faiths that make our nation rich; and that we work with all who share the dream of freedom—and freedom's holy light. Let us see the danger is not that sometimes faiths see God—see You—in different ways, but that there are those in every faith who see themselves as gods. Let us keep faith, but let faith keep us, as well, in its embrace. May faith keep us humble, so that we know our limits, even as we learn our strength.
May 2, 2003:
We take time now to offer thanks: for freedoms that are far from free, for they are bought and paid for at the cost of lives cut short, and family dreams that now can never be…. Lord, who gives to everything a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven, we honor those who gave their lives; and we honor those who still live and serve, within a world that knows too well the time of war. And we honor in a special way their families: those they love and who love them, for whom the wars seem much more close to home.
June 13, 2003:
O God who made the rainbows in the sky, you made our land a rainbow, too: from purple mountain majesties to amber waves of grain, we marvel at the colors of our nation, and the beauty of our land. Today, this week, and tomorrow in a special way–Flag Week, and June 14, Flag Day–we set aside some time to honor special colors: the colors of our flag.… In a moment we will pledge allegiance to the flag—and to the Republic for which it stands. As we take that pledge today, let us make that pledge a prayer…: May our flag bring hope of better times to all citizens of our land, and all the nations of our world. May it forever wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
June 16, 2003
Almighty God of freedom, who gave us the promise and the dream of liberty to be proclaimed throughout the land, we pause before this session to recall words spoken by a Senate nominee–Abe Lincoln–on this day, June 16, in 1858. "A nation divided against itself cannot stand," he said, and we "cannot endure half slave, half free." O Lord our God and God of generations past, we offer thanks for all the progress we have made since that historic speech, even as we recognize we still have more to do. Slavery, the institution, is no more. But let us unite in our resolve that none, enslaved by prejudice or hatred, live lives half slave, half free.
Articles
- "Understanding Jewish Holy Days," Church Teachers Magazine, spanning issues 1982–84
- "Seeking God's Presence: Report from the Beirut Bombing," Military Chaplain's Review, 1984
- "With the Marines in Beirut: A Holy Day Journal," Jewish Spectator, Fall 1984
- "Retaliation: Self-Defense, Justice, or Revenge?": Moral and Legal Perspectivews on an Anti-Terrorist Strategy," a paper written for the Naval War College, 1985
- "May It Be a Blessing: An Introduction to Judaism," Navy Chaplain's Bulletin, Summer 1986
- "Since War Begins in the Minds of Man: Combat Ministry Away From the Battle," The Navy Chaplain, Fall 1986
- "Prayers That Hurt: Public Prayer in Interfaith Settings," Military Chaplain's Review, 1987; expanded and reprinted in Curtana: A Journal for the Study of the Military Chaplaincy, inaugural edition (Vol 1, No. 1), Fall 2009.
- "Jewish Views of War and Peace," Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly, March 1989
- "Treat Your Shipmate as Yourself," Ethics for the Junior Officer, Naval Institute Press, 1994
- "From Vision to Action," The Navy Chaplain, Volume 8, Number 2, 1996
- "Rules for Our Sake; Not for our Enemies," Living Words IV: A Spiritual Source Book for an Age of Terror, published by Sh'ma, JFL Books, 2002.
Holocaust remembrance resources
- Horror and Hope: Americans Remember the Holocaust, United States Navy Chaplain Resource Board (Chaplain Arnold E. Resnicoff, Project Officer), March 1987.
- Days of Remembrance: A Department of Defense Guide for Annual Commemorative Observances, First Edition (96 pages), Office of the Secretary of Defense, March 1988 (Editorial Board, and U.S. Navy representative to the DOD Days of Remembrance Committee).
- Days of Remembrance: A Department of Defense Guide for Annual Commemorative Observances, Second Edition (revised and expanded, 145 pages), Office of the Secretary of Defense, March 1989 (Editorial Board, and U.S. Navy representative to the DOD Days of Remembrance Committee).
Further reading
- Albert Isaac Slomovitz, The Fighting Rabbis: Jewish Military Chaplains and American History, New York University Press, New York: 1999. (Includes report from 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.)
- Pete Mitchell and Bill Perkins, Modern Day Heroes: In Defense of America, Anderson-Noble Publishing, California: 2004. (Includes report from 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.)
- James P. Moore, Jr. (editor), The Treasury of American Prayer, Doubleday, New York: 2008. (Includes two prayers by Resnicoff.)
- Lester Westling, All That Glitters: Memoirs of a Minister, Hillwood Publishing Co., Bend, Oregon: 2003.
- Nancy B. Kennedy, "Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring stories from Military Chaplains," Acu/Leafwood Publishing, scheduled March 2011. (Includes story of Chaplains Resnicoff, Wheeler, and Pucciarelli at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.)
External links
- Speech (text version),President Ronald Reagan, reading Resnicoff's report of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing; Text of original report.
- Speech (video version),President Ronald Reagan, reading Resnicoff's report of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing.
- Library of Congress Veterans History Project video history interview (2 hours)
- YouTube video: Brief interview with Resnicoff regarding Beirut barracks bombing.
- Religion News Writers October 29 2008 webinar on "Religion and the Military"
- "Finding Accommodation," Washington Jewish Week, Oct 23, 2008. Editorial, looking back 25 years at lessons of interfaith cooperation from the Beirut barracks bombing.
- Article: Prayers That Hurt: Public Prayer in Interfaith Settings, Curtana: A Journal for the Study of the Military Chaplaincy, Vol 1, Issue 1, Fall 2009, pages 25–36.
- Article: Rules for our sake, Not for our enemies, Sh'ma, 2001,on the blog site for author John Fenzel.
- Article about Resnicoff's role in the conversion of UNICEF Executive Director and former National Security Advisor, Tony Lake.
- Newspaper article: A Call for Perceptiveness, Christian Science Monitor, Jane Lampman, May 23, 2002.
- Speech (video version): Ethics and the Military, Presentation at Naval War College, November 1999
- Speech (video version): America's Shared Prayers, Presentation at Keesler Air Force Base National Prayer Breakfast, February 1991
- Prayer (video version), 20th Anniversary, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 2002, repeating the original closing prayer from the 1982 dedication.
- Senate Prayers (Videos) Jan 22, 2003, Apr 28, 2003, Apr 29, 2003, May 5, 2003, May 19, 2003, May 21, 2003, Jun 13, 2003, Jun 16, 2003.
- Speech (video), "Religion and Military Service," Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Jan 24, 2006.
- Op-Ed, "On Becoming Our Own Worst Enemy," on the reason to avoid certain actions against enemies for our own good: Christian Science Monitor, June 28, 2004.
- Op-Ed on the threat of some religious groups to withdraw their chaplains if gay service personnel are allowed to serve openly in the military: USA Today, July 12, 2010.
- Video: Library of Congress presentation, May 6, 2010, "Faith and Foxholes: Religion in the Military
- Online Holocaust prayerbook, with Resnicoff's 1987 National DRVH Ceremony invocation, page 77.