Oi! Again with the mishuggeneh guy on the cross!

There's been talk for a while of evangelical Christians overtaking the military and creating an oppressive environment for those of other faiths. It's a big enough issue that several watchdog organizations, such as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Jews on First ("because if Jews don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind"), have formed to challenge the eroding separation of church and state in military institutions.

The Des Moines Register reports that David Miller, an Orthodox Jew who has been hospitalized regularly at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center for chronic kidney stones, is now suing for damages because he has been submitted to unrelenting proselytizing by evangelical Christian staff during his stays.

Miller says he often went hungry during his hospitalizations because staff refused to allow him kosher food or to contact his rabbi for assistance. Military chaplains, said Miller, repeatedly attempted to convert him to Christianity while he was in acute pain.

Over the past two years, Miller said, he has been asked over and over by the Iowa City VA medical center's staff within its offices, clinics and wards, "You mean you don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah?" and "Is it just Orthodox Jews who deny Jesus?" He said one staffer told him, "I don't understand; how can you not believe in Jesus; he's the Messiah of the Jews, too, you know."

Amazing. This is one of those instances where reality overtakes satire. I mean, look at the guy! Anyone who tries to convert David Miller to Christianity has clearly crossed the line. This goes beyond issues of church and state and the outrageous spiritual hubris involved to outright anti-Semitism. It's more like, "Look, Jew, worship Jesus!"