Rabbi, Rejected As Army Chaplain Because of Beard, Sues

The Washington Post reports that yesterday an Orthodox Jewish rabbi filed suit against the U.S. Army challenging its refusal to allow him to serve as a chaplain because he wears a religiously-mandated beard. Originally the Army appointed Menachem M. Stern, a member of the Brooklyn (NY) Chabad-Lubavitch community, as a second lieutenant, but then withdrew his commission in September because of the Army's policy barring beards. The suit alleges that the refusal is discriminatory, particularly since the Army has since granted waivers of the beard regulation to two Sikh and a Muslim Army officers. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]