Birmingham-Southern College's new president, Gen. Charles "Chuck" C. Krulak, had an extensive career in the military. (See below link.) Since coming to Birmingham-Southern, Gen. Krulak (pictured here) has made a special effort to reach out to Birmingham's Jewish community, to deepen the already good relationship between our Jewish community and the college.

In the course of getting to know Gen. Krulak, he shared a remembrance of escorting and developing a friendship with legendary Israeli general Moshe Dayan in 1966 when Gen. Dayan visited American troops in Vietnam. Gen. Krulak was a young soldier at the time serving in Vietnam.

Gen. Krulak is a passionate supporter of Israel. We asked him to share his remembrance of being with Gen. Dayan for Update readers. Here's what he wrote:

In the Spring of 1966, I was commanding a rifle company operating just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam. I received a radio transmission that a "special person" was going to be joining my company for a week.

I was not given the name of the "special person" due to security concerns. The very next day, a helicopter arrived at a landing zone carved out of the jungle and the "special person" climbed off the chopper. I immediately recognized who this visitor was -- particularly since he was wearing a distinctive eye patch over his left eye (from an injury Dayan received as a young soldier).

For the next week, Gen. Moshe Dayan operated with my company. He went on patrols, sat in ambush sites, interviewed my Marines and served as a wonderful reference on questions covering war fighting and geo-politics.

Every night we would eat together and he would pull out a jar of Vaseline and rub some of it into his wounded eye to keep the scar tissue from tightening. He would do this without fanfare or embarrassment -- just very matter of fact. By the end of his stay, we had became close -- brothers-in-arms -- based upon our mutual experiences under fire.

At the end of the week, my company was ordered to move to a location where it could be helicoptered back to a more secure location. We had to move some 10,000 meters through very rough terrain that included several fast running rivers and streams.

As we crossed one of the streams, Gen. Dayan lost his footing and slipped and fell into the rushing water. He went completely under but was able to regain his footing and stand up. As he arose from the river, water was pouring off of him -- he was a sight! Instead of being concerned, Gen. Dayan broke out laughing -- laughing at himself. At that moment, he won the hearts of all 150+ Marines in my Company!

In 1998, as Commandant of the Marine Corps, I made my fourth visit to Israel. During that visit, I was given a book by the Israel Defense Forces -- a book written by Gen. Dayan. In that book was a description of some of his time with my company and pictures taken during the time he operated with us. I cherish two of the pictures. One is with the General and myself when he was coming off the helicopter on day 1 and another is a picture of the General crossing the stream just before he slipped!!

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has praised the Bergen County (NJ) Prosecutor's office for the identification and arrest of a suspect in two recent attacks against synagogues in Rutherford and Paramus, NJ.

"Our community breathes easier now that law enforcement has identified and arrested this individual who allegedly was deeply infected with anti-Semitism and who apparently acted on his beliefs," said Etzion Neuer, ADL's Acting New Jersey Regional Director. "We are gratified and relieved at the arrest in these horrific attacks against Jewish houses of worship."

Anthony M. Graziano, 19, of Lodi, NJ, has been charged with nine counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of hate intimidation in connection with the Jan. 11 firebombing of Congregation Beth El in Rutherford. Graziano (pictured here) also has been charged with one count of aggravated arson and one count of hate intimidation in the Jan. 3 firebombing of Congregation K'Hal Adath Jeshurun in Paramus. On Wednesday, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. (See below link.)

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said during a news conference that Graziano chose his targets and perpetuated these acts "because they were synagogues and specifically to intimidate and cause alarm or concern to people of the Jewish community."

ADL commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the local, county and state law enforcement agencies who worked together on a task force in this investigation. Two previous incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti against synagogues in Hackensack and Maywood remain unsolved at this time.

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The above is from the website of the Anti-Defamation League. ADL, which monitors and combats anti-Semitism, is one of 32 agencies and programs funded by The Birmingham Jewish Federation Annual Campaign.

(Regarding the case of a swastika being painted outside the home of a Birmingham Jewish family in Vestavia Hills in December, the investigation is continuing. The Vestavia Hills mayor's office and law enforcement authorities are in touch with The BJF and said they will let us know when there are any new developments.)