JWV Aids Members with Relief Funds After Hurricane Ian

By Larry Jasper, National Editor

Thanks to the JWV Disaster Relief Fund, members affected by Hurricane Ian in September were able to get money within days to help with the cleanup.
Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Fort Myers, Florida on September 28. It was the deadliest storm to hit Florida since 1935.

All JWV members in the area were okay, but some of their homes were not so lucky.
“All Post 400 members were impacted by this storm. Most were fortunate in that they were able to get back to some degree of normalcy within a few weeks. There are two members, two Patrons, and one member’s widow who were not that fortunate, as their homes were nearly destroyed by Ian,” said Commander of Post 400 Harvey Charter.
As soon as the hurricane left the area, the JWV Disaster Relief Program swung into action to bring some much-needed help to the JWV members.
“Working with the National Commander and National Executive Director, we were able to move quickly and meaningfully in the wake of Hurricane Ian,” said JWV Emergency Relief Fund Chairman Donald Schenk. “The role of the JWV Disaster Relief Program is to help our members when catastrophe strikes.  We are grateful that we can help in times when resources are limited, and despair is high.”

Schenk’s committee allocated funds to the two members and one widow. Patrons of the organization are unable to receive funds from the program but Post 400 stepped in with financial help in those two cases.

Disaster relief in cases like this comes from many places, but few are as quick to act as JWV.
All of those assisted were grateful for the care, concern, and quick action from JWV as they try to rebuild their lives.
Here are some letters we received from the families helped by the fund.

Dear Harvey and Jewish War Veterans of the USA,
From the bottom of my heart, I like to thank you for your generous gift; contribution towards rebuilding my home.
I never thought that at this stage of life, I’ll be rebuilding and restoring my home without the love of my life.
Your gift will certainly help me with the numerous expenses I am faced with.
Thanks again,
Judith Satin

To the Jewish War Veterans of America and Post #400 Commander Harvey Charter,
My wife and I would like to thank you for the generous contribution that your organization made to us to help in the recovery from Hurricane Ian.
At times like the present we feel so lucky to be part of a community and an organization that gives support to those in need.
We are humble being a recipient of your contribution.
Kind regards,
Isaac & Sue Osin

Dear Jewish War Veterans,
Thank you very much for your very generous Hurricane Ian Assistance Check for me.
It will be very helpful due to the very strong impact of this very powerful Hurricane impact on my house. I will put your very kind assistance to good use as I had a lot of damage that needs fixed. My insurance will not cover all of my damage to my house. It really makes me feel good to know that I belong to such a caring organization that helps Jewish Veterans in need.
Thank you again.
All the Best.
Dennis Simon

This is the first time the relief fund has handed out money after a disaster since a wildfire in California in September of 2020.
For more information on this program, visit our website at https://www.jwv.org/veteran-resources/disaster-relief/.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

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A New Place for Memories

By Mike Rugel, NMAJMH Director of Programs and Content

An area full of dirt and weeds is now a place to sit and reflect. The National Museum of American Jewish Military History (NMAJMH) spent several years discussing the idea of a Memorial Garden outside the front of our building on 18th and R Streets in Washington, D.C. The NMAJMH Board of Directors voted to go ahead with a landscaping plan in August of 2021. By October, the first phase of the work was complete.

The goal of the garden is to provide a place to memorialize and honor those who have served and sacrificed for our country, as well as enhance the building’s curb appeal. It will also provide fundraising opportunities for the museum.

The initial work was completed so quickly thanks to a generous donation from the Department of New York and several other sponsors.
The Remembrance Walk of engraved pavers, which leads to the doors of the building is nearly full. The pavers are filled with inscriptions paying tribute to veterans and those killed in the line of duty. The Memorial Garden provides an opportunity to continue the engraved paver program in a new space next to the walkway. Pavers will lead from the sidewalk to two benches in the garden. We look forward to seeing new messages in the garden honoring and memorializing loved ones.

We’re also planning to install an eternal light and plaque on the main stone in the garden.

There are several sponsorship opportunities still available in the garden.

  • Garden Plaque – $7,500
  • Flagstone – $5,000
  • Trees – $2,500
  • Engraved Pavers –
    • 4×8 – $250
    • 8×8 – $500

If you are interested, contact Michael Rugel at mrugel@nmajmh.org or (202) 265-6280.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

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Jewish War Veterans Working Together To Accomplish Our Mission

By National Commander Nelson L. Mellitz

I have been a member of JWV for more than 30 years, serving in many positions, including numerous Post committee leads, Junior Post Commander and now National Commander. It wasn’t until I became National Vice Commander that I learned of the complexities and capabilities of our national staff. At the JWV headquarters we have wonderful individuals who sometimes work seven days a week in our interest. However, the JWV national staff is made up of just ten paid employees. To compare that with another Veterans Service Organization (VSO), the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) has 84 paid headquarters staff. JWV and MOAA manage many similar programs to support service members and veterans’ issues. In addition, our JWV staff works with me daily to fight against antisemitism and promote the support of Israel.

I don’t want to discourage Departments and Post members from contacting our national staff, but every day headquarters receives requests that could be handled at the Department or Post level. Our national headquarters staff is composed of strong individuals who all contribute to our ever-improving organization and to our outreach and reputation in the military, veteran, and Jewish communities – thank you for working at JWV.

As your National Commander I travelled across much of the United States on almost every weekend of October and November, including trips to Minnesota, West Point Academy, Air Force Academy, Reserve Organization of America’s National Convention, Mikve Israel in Savannah, Post 1 events in New York City, Veterans Day ceremonies in Arlington, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, etc. I have plans to travel in January and February to attend the Departments of Florida and TALO Conventions, The Aleph Institute, The Chapel of Four Chaplains Foundation 54th Annual Banquet, Federation of Jewish Men’s Club, Middle Atlantic Region Dinner, and other events. At these events I talk about what JWV has recently accomplished and what we are planning to accomplish, including improved benefits for service members and veterans, actively fighting antisemitism, and support for Israel. I explain why qualified individuals should join and be active members of JWV. If you would like me to attend one of your events, please contact me through email with the request.

In my travels the most rewarding events have been ones involving young Jewish members of the military. A good example is the recent Jewish Warrior Weekend held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There were nearly 100 Jewish cadets, midshipmen, ROTC students, and military academy future service members in attendance. The students mobbed me after my presentation with pointed questions about military service, JWV’s mission, and how we at JWV are fighting antisemitism. Wherever I travel, I have found wonderful young Jewish service members and veterans. Jewish women and men serve in the U.S. military – let’s recruit them to serve in the Jewish War Veterans.

Last year and during part of this year the Jewish War Veterans celebrated our great accomplishments over the past 125 years. We must all work together and continue to accomplish our mission to support service members, veterans, fighting antisemitism, and support of Israel. I am here to help you accomplish our JWV mission. Feel free to reach out to me at nationalcmdr@jwv.org.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

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Current Issues before Congress and the Executive Branch

By National Executive Director Ken Greenberg

I bring you greetings from JWV headquarters. I am pleased to share information on current issues before Congress and the Executive Branch. Please write to me at kgreenberg@jwv.org with feedback or concerns. I hope all JWV members and their families have a joyous holiday season.

Election Results Bring Changes to 118th Congress in January 2023
All indications are that the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) will continue with Senator Jon Tester of Montana as the Chairman and Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas as Ranking Member. In the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Chairman Jack Reed of Rhode Island will retain his position and Roger Wicker of Mississippi is expected to become the Ranking Member. The previous ranking member, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, has retired.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois is expected to become the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) and Rep. Mark Takano of California is expected to become the Ranking Member. For the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama is expected to be named Chairman and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington is expected to be named Ranking Member. Both HVAC and HASC leadership will be swapping their positions from the current Congress.
JWV has an excellent working relationship with all four committees as well as their respective staffs. We will continue to keep you posted as any updates occur.

NED Greenberg Participates in Antisemitism Roundtable
On November 17, 2022, JWV National Executive Director Ken Greenberg represented JWV at a roundtable on antisemitism sponsored by The Friedlander Group.  In his remarks, Greenberg stated JWV’s strong position in fighting antisemitism and cited examples of JWV having a Nazi lithograph removed from the walls of a USAF base in Texas and calling for the resignation of a German official for comments about British Major General Orde Wingate. Greenberg also noted that JWV’s advocacy for William Shemin and Tibor Rubin led to each receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Six members of Congress also spoke at the event.  Attendees included representatives from Jewish community organizations and at least 12 embassies.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023
JWV worked hard and collaborated with many VSOs as Congress moved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 forward. The NDAA contains many provisions of importance to veterans, retirees, servicemembers, and their families including pay raises, housing, TRICARE, childcare, and commissary access.  On December 6, the House and Senate Armed Services committee leadership announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement. It will be voted on shortly.

JWV Supported H.R. 3304, AUTO for Veterans Act Advances
JWV joined 15 other organizations to urge SVAC to seek expeditious passage of H.R. 3304, the AUTO for Veterans Act.
The House recently passed H.R. 3304. This important legislation had bipartisan support and would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to immediately provide an additional automobile allowance to eligible veterans if 25 years have elapsed since they received their first automobile grant. Over time, the period would shorten to 10 years. The bill would also change the definition of medical services to include certain vehicle modifications like van lifts, which are offered through VA’s Automobile Adaptive Equipment program.

VA only allows eligible veterans to receive a single grant currently worth $22,355.72 to help them purchase a new or used vehicle. Unfortunately, the average useful life of a modified vehicle is about 11.5 years, and it can cost anywhere between $40,000-$60,000 to replace it.

Thanks to advances in science and modern medicine, these veterans are living longer and more independently. Now more than ever, access to an adapted vehicle is essential to the mobility and health of catastrophically disabled veterans by increasing access to VA medical care and improving access to employment, especially for veterans living in rural areas with little or no public transportation. JWV calls on SVAC to move the bill to the floor and for the full Senate to act swiftly and pass the legislation.

VA Plans to cut Emergency Medical Air Transportation Reimbursement Rates – Putting Veterans at Risk
In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, JWV and the National Military Veterans Alliance (NMVA) expressed deep concern with the Proposed Rule (RIN 2900-AP89, Change in Rates VA Pays for Special Modes of Transportation) that cuts the VA reimbursement rate for emergency air medical services to below the costs of the services themselves. If it is published without changes, it would put more than 2.7 million rural veterans in our country who are enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and 4.8 million rural veterans overall, at risk of losing life-saving emergency air transportation.

These emergency air services are ordered by physicians and first responders, when they believe providing health care within the golden hour after a stroke, heart attack, or other life-threatening situation could be the difference between life or death for a veteran. This proposed rule would cut VA’s reimbursement rate to less than 50% of operational costs, which will cause emergency air medical bases around the country to shut their doors, halting services to veterans.

In January 2022, the No Surprises Act went into effect, requiring air medical companies to submit two years of cost data to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). VA must delay the consideration of any change to its reimbursement rate until HHS publishes that cost data report. JWV and NMVA are requesting that VA immediately stop moving the final rule forward and await the HHS report on the air medical company data.

JWV calls on DOD and HASC and SASC Leadership to Address TRICARE Pharmacy Cuts
JWV, along with NMVA, expressed concern about the recent announcement that nearly 15,000 local and independent pharmacies have chosen not to continue participating in the TRICARE pharmacy program. A letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calls on the Department of Defense to immediately reverse the changes to the TRICARE program which led to the mass exodus of these pharmacies, and if the Department of Defense is unable or unwilling to do so, it calls for Congress to adopt a legislative solution in the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The letter was also addressed to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the HASC and SASC.

Under current practices, Express Scripts acts as a pharmacy benefit manager for the TRICARE program while serving as a mail-order and specialty pharmacy itself. This poses a conflict of interest that must be reconciled to ensure TRICARE is compliant with federal procurement law and provides for additional competition in the marketplace to drive down costs and expand options for beneficiaries. The sudden and wrongful network reduction goes far beyond simply reducing access to care for TRICARE beneficiaries.
For those beneficiaries, it eliminates the crucial role local pharmacists play in protecting beneficiaries’ health, especially those requiring multiple medications where contraindications are always a concern.

JWV and NMVA opposes any decisions made solely to ensure cost savings over the quality-of-care beneficiaries are receiving. Such an approach to taking care of service members and their families will harm beneficiaries in the short term and readiness down range.

JWV Joins New Coalition to Reduce VA Surgical Wait Times
JWV has joined Veterans Need Care Now, a grassroots coalition committed to reducing surgical wait times in VA facilities. The coalition is calling on the VA to take urgent action to reduce wait times for veterans requiring anesthesia and pain management services by expanding access to the Department’s 1,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

Six years after news reports and court documents first showed veterans were experiencing significant wait times accessing surgeries and other healthcare in the VHA, a national survey conducted by Veterans Need Care Now has found that more than 23% of veteran households still report delays in securing VA health appointments and surgical procedures. Of these delays, 13% were viewed as major problems for veterans and their families.

The coalition’s survey found broad and strong public support for VA to give veterans direct access to the care and services of CRNAs. An overwhelming 88% support this change, extending across party, age, gender, race, and all other key demographics. Among veteran households, 88% are strongly in favor of the proposal. To learn more about the coalition and email your lawmakers and the VA about the proposal, visit
VeteransNeedCareNow.org.

Coalition Building Continues – JWV Added to White Oak Collaborative (WOC)
JWV was recently approved as an observer member of The White Oak Collaborative (WOC). The Collaborative seeks to address the challenges faced by military and veteran-connected communities through data-driven, cross-sector partnerships among its members. Efforts include direct service and/or policy-level solutions, while applying a whole-of-family lens. The steering committee wrote, “We believe that Jewish War Veterans will add a great deal of value to the overall Collaborative, and we look forward to welcoming your organization into the wonderful work we are doing together.”

WOC is a cross-sector coalition of organizations committed to supporting service members, veterans, wounded warriors, caregivers, survivors, and their families. Blue Star Families is the convening authority and secretariat for the collaborative, with more than 200 members representing military and Veteran support organizations, other nonprofits, and private, philanthropic, government, and community sectors. The work of the White Oak Collaborative is non-partisan.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

 

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D’vrei HaShomrim by Chaplain Matt Friedman

By Chaplain (Major) Matt Friedman, California State Guard, 195th Wing/Joint Forces Head Quarters

It’s December – a month of happiness and trepidation. How do we get through it and more importantly, how can we get through it and be happy about it? I’ll start with the challenging element with childhood memories and move to the celebratory. Why that order? In ancient days the Rabbis, even when delivering the harshest of messages would always end with a positive idea and encouragement. That will come, but for now the trepidation.

Trepidation is a sense of concern with an element of uncertainty and perhaps even some fear. What is it about December? It is typically when Hannukah occurs. Hannukah with latkes, gelt, and of course lighting the Menorah (some use the term Hanukkiah), is a time of anticipation. Along with those happy elements, it also comes with its definition as the Jewish Christmas. Many Jewish people have childhood memories of explaining that it isn’t a Jewish Christmas, many of us don’t eat ham on December 25 (or any other day), and we feel a bit uncomfortable singing songs that have no meaning to us or perhaps are in opposition to our beliefs. Some of these memories are distressing.

As an elementary student I attended a school where there were only a few Jewish families. Most classes had one, two or sometimes three Jewish students. My first memory of Christmas was in kindergarten. A man arrived at the school in a fire truck. He had long white beard and red and white clothes. My classmates were very excited. They called out, “Santa, Santa.” I had no idea what was going on. Within 30 seconds they all lined up, so I followed them. One by one they would sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what toys they wanted for Christmas, and he would reward them with a candy cane. I also wanted a candy cane, so I came up with a fine list of toys. It never occurred to me that I would get any of those toys, but I got a candy cane, and I eagerly told my friends that I liked Santa. At some point during that month, we were ushered into the auditorium, and we were told we needed to learn a song that we would sing at an assembly. The song was called “Silent Night.” The words were strange to me, and I couldn’t understand why there was such attention being directed at a baby. What was the big attraction? There are babies everywhere and they usually cry and need to have diapers changed.

By fourth grade, the Jewish parents had convinced the principal that singing Christmas songs and making tree ornaments wasn’t of interest to us. Two events stand out. The Jewish kids were excused, much to our joy, from singing Christmas songs. The Muslim kids also asked to be excused. The principal turned down the request. At that moment it occurred to me that the principal, who was generally a very nice man, didn’t quite understand that it also did not make sense for the Muslim kids to sing the songs. That same year the teacher came up with a solution to our lack of interest in making tree ornaments. She crafted a flat Menorah out of black construction paper. For the next three weeks, Mark Ehrlich, the other Jewish kid in the class, and I cut up pieces of colored paper and glued them to the paper Menorah. It was boring, but we were avoiding ornaments and singing. As vacation time approached the teacher realized she had a dilemma. There were two boys, but only one (ghastly) art project. Immediately, we both offered to send it home with the other. The teacher was touched by our magnanimity! In her Solomonic wisdom she decided to cut it in half. We looked at each other and realized we were expected to take home our half of the Menorah. Both sets of parents found the entire incident ridiculous and hilarious.

While many of use share similar memories from our childhood, we can now view Hannukah as adults and adults in the military. Over the years I have contemplated how to think of the holiday and as a Jewish chaplain serving all faiths, how to make it relevant. While there are many themes and lessons from the Hannukah story, there is one that can resonate with everyone. Hanukkah is a story of optimism. During this time of year, the days are short and often gray. Some are deployed far from home. Hannukah takes the symbol of increasing light to give us a message of optimism and positivity. The rededication of the Temple reminds us that we can not only endure, but we can thrive.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

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Massachusetts Wills for Veterans

By PNC Harvey Weiner

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, JWV’s Department of Massachusetts revived its annual Wills for Veterans program on November 10. The Department hosted the event alongside the Massachusetts chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Seven estate planning attorneys from the Boston law office of Day Pitney LLP donated their services to draft wills, trusts, durable powers of attorneys, and/or health care proxies for 13 veterans, members of the Massachusetts National Guard, five spouses, and a Gold Star wife. Among the veterans helped was the lead plaintiff in a landmark case which holds that there should be equal military benefits for spouses regardless of gender. If any departments or posts are interested in a template on how to hold a similar event, you can find it in JWV’s Resource Center under the membership tab on our website.

Volume 76. Number 4. 2022

 

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