One of the U.S. Army’s newest chaplains in Europe is trying to build a congregation and a sense of community for a faith that has relatively few numbers compared to other religions.
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Avi Weiss said although his first priority as a Jewish chaplain based in Heidelberg, Germany, is as a deputy commander in Installation Management Command-Europe’s chaplain corps, he also plans to reach as many Jewish soldiers and Jewish Department of Defense civilians as possible.
“I want to be a resource to people,” Weiss said. “People can call me about questions or if there are issues about observances.”
IMCOM-Europe officials said that Weiss may be the first Jewish chaplain at his level in Europe in at least 10 years.
He arrived here in March, but deployed to Afghanistan for about three weeks in April.
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