Jewish groups to Congress: repeal ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy on gays in the military

This just in: as the Obama administration continues to dither, a group of ten Jewish groups is asking Congress to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military.

“Advanced militaries throughout the world, including many of our NATO allies and Israel, allow gay, lesbian and bisexual personnel to serve openly,” the organizations said in a letter to the Hill. “Today, 75 percent of Americans, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, believe openly lesbian and gay citizens should be able to serve in the U.S. military.”

The letter was organized by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA); signing were  the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Labor Committee, the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (why does my spell checker always want to change that to "deconstructionist?"), the National Council of Jewish Women, the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.”

Absent – not surprisingly – were the major Orthodox organizations.