The United States is a nation of immigrants and definitely word of immigrants who choose to serve country in this difficult time is the most important. Did they feel well integrated in military environment? I was lucky to interview two who have been in Baghdad, and they both came from Russian-Jewish immigrant families. Their answers, positive attitude and enthusiasm are better than eloquent propaganda.

"...of all societies for the entire course of history only in the Judaism, man can be punished for the fact that it made nothing, to save a life of another man, when it could be done something " - by these words began his story Mikhail Ekshtut, the assistant to the chaplain of American army, Jew-orthodox and civil-engineer in a peaceful life. "I was a participant in two combat operations of American army in the Middle East: "Desert Storm" and "Iraqi Freedom". For the first time I was a marine, for the second time (2004) - in Air Force. "Recently Russian service of the BBC ventured the discussion: "Does the faith of Americans in God help in war?" Mikhail answered: "It is not only helping, but it also preserves. If a soldier is not in some way prepared spiritually for combat, then he will be a lot less effective a soldier, even if he is prepared physically." Mikhail wrote several articles published in Jewish newspapers and magazines. My personal favorite story is about how he lit Chanukah's candles in the middle of the Persian Gulf. Michael does not deny the fact that military service is not easy, not for everyone. "Why did you leave military service?" - "After nearly 13 years of service, I left the military to keep Shabbat."

My second encounter was a woman: Captain, U.S. Army and Judge Advocate Katherine Lev. Her family moved to the US in 1990 and she enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1995 with only a green card. Her first MOS was Medical Supply, but she soon reclassed to Civil Affairs. After completing Fordham University School of Law and passing the New York State Bar Exam, she went on active duty in the JAG corps. As a part of 1st Armored Division she deployed to Iraq from May to December 2003 where she provided legal assistance to soldiers in the Baghdad area. "Many of my clients downrange were immigrants like me. In an effort to complete their naturalization we encountered numerous obstacles. It was always my firm conviction that American citizenship is a privilege, but I believed GI’s in Iraq earned that privilege more than anyone did. During the visit of the Secretary of the Army Less Brownlee I brought my clients’ plight to his attention (and got a coin out of it). Starting October 1, 2004 this year, our embassy in Baghdad began conducting naturalization ceremonies for soldiers." Katherine was very initiative taking and agreed immediately to answer my questions.

Question: What are the moral dangers of fighting in a war? Answer: You know something is wrong when you start enjoying seeing the enemy suffer. I worked in a prison camp in Baghdad International Airport. We housed common criminals and security detainees. The conditions were cramped and unsanitary. I knew that the moment I started enjoying seeing prisoners suffer. I don't deserve to call myself an American anymore. Thank G-d, I never came close to enjoying.

Question: Was it possible to predict a current situation with "combat stress?”
Answer: It was not only possible, it was doable and should have been done. This is not the first conflict in the history of the U.S. military. There is a huge body of psychological research out there on how combat stress affects veterans.

Question: How do Jewish soldiers feel now?
Answer: Readjustment of a returning veteran to civilian life depends on the support system of the veteran. Loving family is the most important factor. A veteran who belongs to a culture that stresses family (like Jewish, Italian, Irish, and Latino) has a better shot at successful readjustment than a soldier from culture where family is falling apart.

Question: How do officers go through combat stress?
Answer: You would be better off asking someone who actually was in command during the war. I was just a lawyer. But being an officer adds an additional stress of being responsible for your soldiers. Every time I had to go outside the wire, I agonized over taking a paralegal with me. I thought: this girl is only 19, what if she gets killed because I told her to go on this mission with me?

Question: Did you encounter anti-Semitism in the army?
Answer: In my ten years in the Army no one has ever made an anti-Semitic statement to me. For many people I was the first Jew they saw in their lives and they asked some ignorant questions, but there was no hate. One African American girl tried to feel under my ears if I have horns. We shared a tent in basic training.

Question: Do Jewish service members have an access to a rabbi to seek spiritual help?
Answer: Not always. CENTCOM theater had one rabbi that rotated between Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. In an absence of the rabbi a Jewish soldier can go to a chaplain of another faith for generic spiritual guidance. Chaplains are forbidden to proselytize.

Question: Do soldiers believe that spiritual guidance only for weak people?
Answer: Many soldiers seek comfort in prayer, individually and in-groups. It is not seen as a weakness. Statistically, the Army has more religious groups than the general population. We had a gospel choir and bible study classes in Iraq.
Katherine finished the interview with a famous quote written by Vladimir Nabokov: "From all the decrees of nature the most remarkable one is, possibly, the survival of the weakest."

My story would be incomplete without the GREAT story about Jewish mother: Deborah Astor is a director of conservative synagogue in Boston (www.tisharon.org, MA), the mom of the Navy officer of US Army, who is currently involved in combat operation "Iraqi Freedom". She is an organizer and leader of the Internet support-group "TheBrave" for the Jewish families of the soldiers, who were deployed on Middle East. Dr. Paul Eidelberg defined Jewish mother as "the moral mainstay of the family." For sure, he is right, because this woman decided not just to sit and wait for her son, she decided to be a "mom" for those who need support. I asked Deborah: "Why did you decide to organize this support-network?" Her answer was sharp and defined: "We must educate society, that two percent in American army are Jews. This is important. They are with us." What can be better than emotional support and understanding in the difficult time? Jewish mom, she is ALWAYS with us.

There is a time to learn from our past... There is a time to reflect upon our present... There is a time to think about FUTURE. Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jew who was killed in Auschwitz, kept a diary during the Nazi occupation. When I have read her diary, I had a strange feeling, that she is not only wrote to herself, she did for us, and we can pass to the next generations:

“-You must be able to bear your sorrow; even if it seems to crush you. You will be able to stand up again, for human beings are strong, and your sorrow must become an integral part of yourself; you must not run away from it.
-Do not relieve your feelings through hatred. If you reserve the space inside of you for hatred and thoughts of revenge, then sorrow will never cease in this world.
-Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself that is its due, for if everyone bears grief honestly and courageously then the sorrow that now fills this world will abate.
-If you give sorrow the space it demands, you may truly say; life is beautiful and so rich. So beautiful and so rich it makes you want to believe in God.” L'Haim.

I would like to particularly thank to the families Of Gezunterman, Grichener, Rabinovich, Shusterman(Minneapolis, MN). I'm grateful for help and support Jason Rubin (administrator www.jewsingreen.com), to Katherine Lev Captain, U.S. Army, Judge Advocate, to Mikhail Ekshtut(Seattle), to Rabbi Mitchell S Ackerson Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Reserve, to Dr. Dan Bar On, Ben-Gurion-University of the Negev, Israel, to representatives Third Army/ARccENT/cFLccC (Public Affairs Office, www.arcent.army.mil), MAJ Web Wright (2BCT 10MTN, 2nd Brigade Combat Team In Iraq), to Deborah Astor, MA, USA. All photographs were donated specially for this article. If you have any questions or proposals, please email write info@allastar.net

Literature
1. "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" - Thomas L Friedman
2. "From Beirut to Jerusalem" - Thomas L Friedman
3. "Longitude and Attitudes" - Thomas Friedman
4. "Hope and Honor" - Sidney Shachnow, Jan Robbins
5. "The Life and Fate" Vasily Grossman
6. "Fear and Hope: Three Generations Of The Holocaust "- Dr.Dan Bar-On
7. "Legacy of Silence: Encounters With Children Of The Third Reich "- Dr.Dan Bar-On
8. "Bridging the Gap. Storytelling as a way to work through political and collective hostilities "- Dr.Dan Bar-On
9."Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military"-Bryan Mark Rigg
10."The Nuremberg Interviews" - Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately