JTA — For more than a century, US military chaplains have worn insignia identifying their faith — a cross for Christians and tablets with a Star of David for Jews. Now Jewish chaplaincy groups are asking the Pentagon to intervene after chaplains from Messianic Judaism, a Christian movement that blends Jewish practices with belief in Jesus, began wearing the Jewish symbol.

The effort is being led by the Aleph Institute, a Chabad-affiliated organization that endorses Jewish chaplains for the US military.

Aleph asked the military to investigate the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, which endorses Messianic chaplains, and to revoke its endorsement authority if it continues allowing clergy to wear Jewish insignia traditionally reserved for Jewish chaplains.

“It is clear that [the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregation] is acting in a manner incompatible with the interfaith cooperation and respect that has defined 150 years of U.S. military chaplaincy,” Aleph wrote in a letter to the Armed Forces Chaplains Board.

In a view shared by many Jews, Aleph suspects that the Messianic movement is a facade — a deceitful tactic aimed at proselytization.

“They have engaged in heavily deceptive behavior, all for the purpose of trapping unsuspecting Jews into the belief that Jesus is part of Jewish theology,” Aleph’s letter said. “Due to persecution, forced conversion, and extreme tactics employed by many Christian countries over the millennia, proselytization of Jews is considered an antisemitic tactic.”

Military chaplains serve as clergy and counselors for members of the armed forces, providing worship services, pastoral counseling and religious accommodations for troops and their families. Because chaplains may be the only clergy available in combat zones or remote postings, their insignia — patches and small metal pins worn on their uniforms — function as a quick signal of religious identity.

Aleph and other Jewish chaplaincy groups say the chaplaincy system is being undermined by the Messianic movement, whose adherents may identify as Jews but are not recognized as such by any denomination of Judaism.

Rabbi Sanford Dresin, Aleph’s vice president of military programs and a retired Army chaplain, warned in a separate letter that using Jewish symbols could mislead Jewish troops about who represents Judaism.

“The entire spectrum of American Jewry unequivocally opposes any insignia to be designed for wear by Messianic chaplains other than the cross,” Dresin wrote. “Any insignia containing a traditional Jewish symbol would be misleading to Jewish service members, and would be deceptive in nature.”

Other Jewish chaplaincy organizations have joined Aleph’s effort.

Rabbi Laurence Bazer, who endorses Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis and cantors as military chaplains through the Jewish Chaplains Council, said Jewish groups are working together on the issue.

“In dealing with the Messianic chaplains and insignias, we stand with our partners, Aleph Institute, and others in our position,” Bazer said. “We’re in partnership, and we’re working toward resolving this so they are not using any sort of Jewish symbol.”

Modern Orthodox leaders have also raised concerns.

In a January letter to the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, the Rabbinical Council of America warned that the use of Jewish symbols by non-Jewish clergy could create confusion in the military chaplaincy system.

“In the military setting, insignia are not private expressions of belief,” RCA leaders wrote. “They are government-authorized identifiers that communicate a chaplain’s religious endorsement and pastoral role. The use of Jewish symbols by chaplains not endorsed by recognized Jewish bodies creates a serious risk of confusion and misrepresentation and conveys an appearance of official Jewish authenticity that does not exist.”

Messianic leaders reject the criticism and say their chaplains are simply following existing military policy.

Barney Kasdan, a leader of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations who oversees the group’s military chaplaincy endorsements, said Messianic chaplains identify as Jews and therefore wear the same insignia as other Jewish chaplains.

“The tablets — the Ten Commandments — are the traditional Jewish insignia,” Kasdan said. “We identify as Jews, and as far as the Department of Defense is concerned, if you’re a Jewish denomination, you wear the Jewish insignia.”

Kasdan said the organization currently has five Messianic chaplains serving in the military and three candidates in training. The group became an officially recognized chaplaincy endorser with the Department of Defense in 2017, he said.

Kasdan said Messianic leaders would be open to adopting a separate insignia if the Pentagon created a policy allowing one.

“We would be happy with our own distinctive insignia design that is different from the tablets,” he said. “But right now we’re just following the current policy.”

Messianic chaplains also say the Christian cross does not reflect their religious identity.

“A cross does not reflect who we are culturally,” Kasdan said. “If a chaplain wearing a cross is leading a Jewish-style service — reciting the Shema, using a siddur — Christians would say that’s misleading.”

The dispute comes at a moment when the military chaplaincy is under heightened scrutiny amid broader political debates about religious expression in the armed forces. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signaled support for expanding religious expression protections for service members and chaplains, though the Pentagon has not announced any policy changes related to chaplain insignia.

Asked about the Jewish groups’ concerns, a Pentagon spokesperson said the department had received the correspondence but declined to comment further.

“As with all correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors as appropriate,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “At this time, we don’t have anything to provide on this.”

One of the chaplains cited in Aleph’s complaint is James Burling, who serves with a Marine combat training battalion in North Carolina. His religious training comes from Christian institutions, including a master of divinity from Azusa Pacific University, an evangelical Christian university, and graduate studies in pastoral counseling at Southern California Seminary.

Burling said in an interview that he wears the insignia his endorsing organization directs him to wear.

“I wear the insignia I am directed to by my endorser,” he said. “He directed me to wear the stone tablets with the Star of David on top.”

Burling describes himself as Jewish but says his religious practice takes place in Messianic congregations.

“I identify as Jewish,” he said. “But as far as what I practice, I attend a Messianic synagogue.”

He said he does not attempt to convert Jewish service members and instead focuses on pastoral care.

“If I meet Jewish Marines, I make sure they have what they need,” he said. “I give them Tanakhs. I make sure they have their scriptures. I don’t push anything on them.”

Burling pointed to a San Diego rabbi, Yoram Dahan, as someone familiar with his Jewish learning and involvement in the community. But Dahan said that while Burling had studied Torah with him, he never understood Burling to be Jewish.

“James studied Torah with us and he was very serious about it. He loves Israel. But of course he is Christian,” Dahan said.

“If he says he is Jewish, it is not true and it’s not good,” Dahan added. “The Messianics are a very dangerous group.”

Kasdan said Messianic chaplains hope the issue can be resolved cooperatively.

“We want to work in the spirit of cooperation and peace,” he said. “We’re just trying to serve the military and their families.”

But Aleph and other Jewish chaplaincy groups say the stakes go beyond theology.

Because Jewish service members may rely on insignia to identify clergy who represent their faith, particularly in remote or high-stress military settings, they argue that Jewish symbols should remain reserved for chaplains representing Judaism.

“This is not a theological dispute or an effort to exclude any individual from service,” the RCA letter says. “It is a matter of accuracy in government speech and the protection of religious freedom for a minority faith community that depends on clear institutional signals.”

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Christian proselytizing

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