Servicemen call on army of helpers

The charitable arm of the Jewish Committee for HM Forces is relaunching on the back of a continuing increase in the number of Jews in the services.

Now known as the Friends of Jewish Servicemen and Women, the charity has raised funds to support chaplaincy services and a magazine to keep personnel abreast of wider community and faith issues.

Martin Newman — vice-chairman of the forces committee and a trustee of the charity — estimates the total number of serving Jews to be “in the low hundreds. They are spread across the forces, although the majority are in the Army. Those who go in tend to be successful. A very high proportion are in commissioned ranks”.

Factors behind the rise are that “people are beginning to realise that it’s a good professional career” and the military’s greater understanding of the religious requirements of Jewish personnel.