Michael L. Weinstein () is an American attorney, and former

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

officer. He is the founder and president of the

Military Religious Freedom Foundation The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2005 by Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and attorney. The organization's mission is to ensure that members of the United States Armed Fo ...

and author of '' With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military'' and ''No Snowflake in an Avalanche'', both of which describe purported Christian evangelical and fundamentalist proselytizing by some members of the military.

Military service and education

Weinstein graduated with honors from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

in 1977. He has stated that while at the Academy he encountered a string of incidents of psychological harassment, including notes emblazoned with

swastikas The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

and

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

slurs, death threats, and two violent incidents of

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

where he was ambushed, beaten, and, in one case, hospitalized. Weinstein graduated from Cabrillo High School in

Lompoc, California Lompoc ( ; Chumashan ) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast, its population was 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called t ...

in 1973. He began his legal studies at

McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on ...

at the University of the Pacific. He enrolled in the university through the Air Force Law School Program shortly after his appointment as Chief of the Secure Systems Branch of the 2049th Communications and Installations Group at

McClellan Air Force Base McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base in California, located in the North Highlands, California, North Highlands area of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County, northeast of Sacramento, Califo ...

. Weinstein graduated with his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree in 1981. Weinstein served for as both an air force sponsored law student and a practicing JAG officer with the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps for over ten years.

Legal and political career

Weinstein spent over three years working in the West Wing of the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

as legal counsel in the White House. He began with an appointment to the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

and was soon named the Committee Management Officer of the Iran-Contra affair in his capacity as Assistant

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of The White House

Office of Administration In the United States government, the Office of Administration is an entity within the Executive Office of the President tasked with overseeing the general administration of the entire Executive Office. History The Office of Administration was fo ...

Executive Office of the President of the United States The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

. Weinstein served as the first general counsel to Texas billionaire and two-time Presidential candidate

H. Ross Perot H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. H may also refer to: Musical symbols * H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů * H, B (musical note) * H, B major People * H. (noble) (died after 12 ...

and

Perot Systems Corporation Perot may refer to: People * Ross Perot (1930–2019), United States business leader and presidential candidate * H. Ross Perot, Jr. (born 1958), United States businessman and son of Ross Perot * Alfred Pérot (1863–1925), French physicist * ...

and left in 2006 to work full-time on the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a nonprofit foundation he founded in March 2006. This foundation was formed as a watchdog organization to protect religious freedom in the military in accordance with

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Directive 1300.17, "Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services". As of 2024 the MRFF reported that it represented just over 90,000 active duty U.S. marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen, cadets, midshipmen, national guard, reservists and veterans, about 95% of whom self-identify as practicing Christians.

Activism

Weinstein says both his sons were exposed to Christian proselytizing at the Academy. In the case of his younger son Curtis, he reported that it included

language and being asked " how it felt to kill Jesus". His elder son, Casey, a 2004 Academy graduate, alleged that "Senior cadets would sit down and say, 'How do you feel about the fact that your family is going to burn in hell?'" He wrote in his autobiography (Weinstein and Seay, p. 208): Describing his trajectory in an interview with '' LA Progressive'' that was published in April 2012, Weinstein said: On October 6, 2005, Weinstein sued the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

for failing to prevent religious proselytizing in the U.S. Air Force. U.S. District Judge James A. Parker dismissed the case of ''

Weinstein v. U.S. Air Force Weinstein is a German or Yiddish surname meaning :de:Weinstein, ”wine stone”, referring to the crystals of potassium bitartrate, cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) that precipitate out of winemaking, fermenting grape juice.MRFF v. Gates, undated
militaryreligiousfreedom.org; accessed June 13, 2012. in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, against then-

Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosu ...

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...

, and Major Freddy J. Welborn, accusing them of allowing a "pervasive and pernicious pattern and practice of unconstitutional religious rape of freedoms of our U.S. military".An Interview with Michael Weinstein
''Philadelphia Jewish Voice'', February 2008; accessed June 13, 2012. On March 5, 2008, the lawsuit was re-filed to include allegations that co-plaintiff Army Specialist Jeremy Hall was denied a promotion due to the filing of the original lawsuit. Following the

2009 Fort Hood shooting On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), near Killeen, Texas, United States. Nidal Hasan, a Major (United States), U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 other ...

, Weinstein suggested that proselytizing by "

fundamentalist Christians Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

" may have created a hostile environment that contributed to the psychological pressure on Major

Nidal Hasan Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is an American former United States Army major, physician, and mass murderer convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on November 5, 2009. Hasan, an Army Me ...

. Hasan reportedly had claimed he faced harassing insults related to his Arab ethnic background and Islamic faith. In November 2009, the

American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.life of Christ, so Muslims are taught to imitate the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

in all things. Yesterday,

Nidal Malik Hasan Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is an American former United States Army major, physician, and mass murderer convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on November 5, 2009. Hasan, an Army Me ...

was simply being a good Muslim." Weinstein's denunciation of the AFA position as "bigoted, racist, ndvile" was featured prominently by Hatewatch, the official blog of the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

civil rights organization. In 2011, the US Air Force, in response to a

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

request submitted by the Foundation, revised a training course taught to nuclear missile launch officers which included quotations from

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( ; ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German–American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and '' Allgemeine SS'', the leading figure in the development of ...

and also cited Christian

Just War Theory The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of #Criteria, criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. I ...

, among other materials. Radio host

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942) known by his professional name Michael Savage, is an American author, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Nation'', a nationally ...

criticized Weinstein, saying, "What Weinstein doesn't know was if it was not for the warrior mentality of the Christians he hates so much, who rescued his ancestors from the ovens of

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

and

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

, Mickey Whine- omething edited outwouldn't be here plaguing the United States of America." Weinstein responded in a newsletter to his audience, saying that Savage's "stupefying rant" was "a rabidly ad-hominem, personal assault ... which should serve as a particularly revealing clue as to the psychological state of this specimen, a professional bottom-feeding hyena who earns his daily bread by foaming at the mouth and spreading extremist hysteria which he likely doesn't even believe himself." In March 2011, Weinstein submitted a written testimony to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution,

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, and Human Rights for a hearing entitled "Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims". He expounded on the varied complaints and injustices made by Muslim clients who have purportedly been subjected to pejoratives and racial slurs, such as " towel head", " raghead", or "camel jockey", on a regular basis. In December 2011, he resubmitted a written statement on the same subject. This statement went into more detail on the origins and effects of Islamophobia in the U.S. military. Weinstein pointed out several relatively prominent figures in the U.S. military hierarchy, particularly the chaplaincy, who advocated for what Weinstein said are

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

policies and behaviors. He also pointed to an alleged culture of Dominionist Christianity as a contributor to the trend. In January 2012, ''No Snowflake in an Avalanche'' was released. The book, co-authored by Weinstein and Davin Seay, details MRFF's prominent case studies and struggles, as well as the violent impediments that continue to be imposed against MRFF by its opponents. He supported the book release with nationwide speaking and book signing tour which includes one bookstore in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, NM being forced by public pressure to reverse its decision to deny an in-store appearance due to "controversy" surrounding the event. When protests broke out in various parts of Afghanistan over the improper disposal of copies of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

at the US military

Bagram Air Base Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient town of Bagram at an elevation of a ...

, for which the US apologized, protesters shouted "

Death to America "Death to America" is an anti-American political slogan widely used in Iran,Arash KaramiKhomeini Orders Media to End 'Death to America' Chant, Iran Pulse, October 13, 2013 Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Pakistan. Ruhollah Khomeini, the f ...

" and burned U.S. flags. In a MRFF statement, Weinstein noted that the desecrations of the Muslim holy book by U.S. personnel revealed "a fatal attitude of patronizing colonial hostility

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

has indeed been allowed to hijack the US mission in Afghanistan. By adding grist to the mill of escalating regional resentment, America's own religious extremists, racists and anti-Muslim bigots within the military have ensured that they and their comrades in arms will continue to pay the awful price in spilled blood ... the real-world consequence of this intrinsically ingrained religious prejudice and bigotry is the loss of service members' lives and limbs." In 2012 Weinstein sued former chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt for issuing an

imprecatory prayer A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

that he equated to a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

. The suit was dismissed by the judge, who stated that Weinstein failed to connect the prayer to any subsequent threats or actions against him. Weinstein is often mistakenly characterized as an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, a charge he and his defenders vociferously deny on the basis of him being "a Jewish

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

who still prays three times a day in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

... definitely not an atheist." News sources announced that permission granted to use military emblems on Holman Military Bibles had been revoked.

B&H Publishing Group Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services. Until the end of its physical retail presence ...

being notified in 2011 that the decision was made based on new military trademark licensing issues. In February 2013, the Air Force Academy posted a link to a homophobic site as a guide to Jewish holidays. Weinstein was contacted by around 22 AFA staff members, faculty, and cadets who asked that the link be removed. He expressed "profound bewilderment, shock, and no small amount of disgust" at the inclusion of such a website in official AFA material, calling it "Pernicious, homophobic, and clearly misogynistic." In response to Weinstein's demands the Air Force Academy spokesman, Lt. Col. John Bryan, said he wasn't sure how or why the links were included. He does say that it was most likely an oversight and that "nobody does things maliciously here." In April 2013, Weinstein met with top-level officials in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

to discuss proselytizing in the U.S. military and the role of the chaplaincy. He called it a "national security threat ... spiritual rape ... sedition and treason." In an interview with the Washington Post after that meeting, Weinstein blamed military and political leadership for the abundance of proselytizing going on the military today. Weinstein again claimed the culture in the military is misogynistic, anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic and that the

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. Military chain of command In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders ...

is compliant to this culture. In October 2013, Lt. Colonel Chaplain Stephen W. Austin contacted Weinstein on October 8, 2013, regarding initial development and implementation of a spirit(ual) dimension component to a U.S. Army soldier resilience platform called ArmyFit. Lt. Col. Austin requested MRFF's advice and review "as we progress in the development of this dimension. Your opinion matters and we would like to work collaboratively on a topic that is clearly complex and sensitive." In December 2013, Weinstein was contacted by a Jewish member of a State National Guard regarding specific actions taken against him by his chain of command in response to his religious beliefs. The Brigadier-General of the State's National Guard initiated an investigation into the claims made. The investigation resulted in several high-ranking members of the chain of command being fired, reprimanded, or going back into training. On November 7, 2014, the U.S. Air Force created controversy when it updated its rules on religious neutrality. Two instances in particular were the focus of intense debate. First, the new draft dropped language that required airmen to "avoid the actual or apparent use of their position to promote their personal religious beliefs to subordinates or extend preferential treatment for any religion." And second, the new draft changed language that stated, "Airmen, especially commanders and supervisors, must ensure that in exercising their right of religious free expression, they do not degrade morale, good order, and discipline in the Air Force", to language that stated, "expression of sincerely held beliefs (conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs) shall not be prohibited unless the expression would have a real, not hypothetical, adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, health and safety, and mission accomplishment." Weinstein claimed instances of the new language severely weakened the rules on religious neutrality and opened the door to discriminatory language, particularly towards

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

airmen, being protected as sincerely held religious beliefs. On November 19, 2014, Weinstein appeared before th
Military Personnel Subcommittee
to testify on the current state of religion in the military. After Weinstein's opening statements he was questioned regarding some statements he had made in the past by Rep.

Randy Forbes James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017. P ...

(R-VA). Following that, Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-NC) asked a series of questions to Weinstein asking that he respond with "fair" or "unfair". Weinstein took severe issue with this line of questioning and his responses caused Rep. Jones to leaves the chamber before recess was called. In October 2015, Weinstein sent a letter to Lt. Col. Don Tasker, the commanding officer of the 436th Force Support Squadron at

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force (USAF) base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. The 436th Airlift Wing is the host wing, and runs the bu ...

, to report that one of Tasker's subordinates was illegally using her official government email to endorse and encourage participation in

Operation Christmas Child Samaritan's Purse is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Chri ...

, an annual charitable event created and led by

Samaritan's Purse Samaritan's Purse is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelis ...

that explicitly endorses the Christian faith and encourages evangelization for that faith. Shortly after receipt of this letter, Tasker disavowed the email and stated, "I want to be absolutely clear that the email in question was not sent at my direction and is not endorsed in any way by me or any level of command." In October 2015, Weinstein was contacted regarding a practice of a regional supervisor at the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

Directorate of Contracting. This supervisor signed his emails with various Bible quotes, a practice in violation of the U.S. Military's rules on religious neutrality. Weinstein successfully demanded the practice cease and the supervisor be disciplined. In January 2016, eight U.S. Air Force officers contacted Weinstein concerning an explicitly religious speech given by a new commanding officer at their base: This speech was followed by an invitation to silent prayer for the entire gathered base. Weinstein intervened and rendered assistance to the eight officers in the form of contacting the chain of command. The officer received a reprimand and sent a personal apology letter to the eight officers who contact Weinstein. In February 2016, Weinstein was instrumental in the functional demotion of a Pentagon fitness blog writer, Colonel Thomas Hundley. The writer in question published a post recommending various Christian exercises, including prayer, as a way to increased fitness. Weinstein and his non-profit foundation MRFF filed a complaint with Army Regional Health Command at

Fort Belvoir, Virginia A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

after being informed of the post by several military service members. In the complaint, Weinstein accused Col. Hundley of "conflating his Army officer rank, title, and position with his professed evangelical Christian faith." Several days later the Defense Health Agency (DHA), released a brief notice informing readers that Col. Hundley was no longer a featured writer and they were "expanding the pool of writers ..." A football game between

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

in September 2016 ended in controversy as the head coach of the West Point team, Jeff Monken, had the team gather around and participate in a prayer in celebration of their upset victory. After the game, a video was posted online showing the prayer. That video was removed shortly after the controversy arose and was replaced by one that depicted an abridged version of the team's locker room celebration. A parent of one of the students said that "Coach Monken had no business telling my son and his Army teammates to get on their knees and pray a prayer to Jesus! My son was very upset about this. ... This violates the Constitution and to think it happened at West Point?" Weinstein, upon hearing of the incident, stated, "We want three things, an admission that there was a mistake, an apology, and assurances that this won't happen again." Coach Monken apologized to his players and assured that the behavior would not be repeated. In December 2016, an Air Force Academy coach was using his Twitter account to post religious quotes. Weinstein, via the

, filed a request for an official investigation into the coach to verify the tweets, and to discipline the coach if the allegations proved to be true. The tweets were removed from the account and the coach was ordered to display an appropriate disclaimer on his personal Twitter to denote that it is not an official Academy account. In 2011, Weinstein filed a

FOIA request The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA ), , is the United States federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the U.S. governme ...

with USAFA for records regarding himself and his family, several of whom also graduated from the academy. After four years of "processing delays", he filed a lawsuit through the MRFF in 2015. The two-year legal battle ended with USAFA producing over 8,000 documents regarding Weinstein and MRFF, conducting new searches, expanding the date range of new searches, and paying legal fees MRFF incurred during the proceedings. In February 2017, Weinstein was contacted by five U.S. Army soldiers concerning a statement made by their CO, who had reportedly stated that "it was the army's priority to come to the Lord Jesus Christ." The soldiers contacted Weinstein and MRFF because their unit had many non-Christian soldiers serving in it, several of whom took offense to the above statement. Weinstein contacted the commander's superiors and the commander was ordered to desist from engaging in the objectionable behavior. Weinstein and the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

cooperated in February 2017 to remove posters from the lobby of Air Combat Command at

Joint Base Langley-Eustis A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGra ...

in Virginia. The posters prominently featured the quote: Complaints were submitted on February 7, and the posters were removed later that month.

Awards and recognition

In 2006, Weinstein was named by ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'' in the "Forward 50", a list of those it considers to be the most influential Jews in America. He received the Buzzflash Wings of Justice Award.

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

awarded him its Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Risk-Taker Award for taking extraordinary risks in pursuit of justice. In December 2012, Weinstein was named one of the "100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense" by ''

Defense News ''Defense News'' is a website and newspaper about the politics, business, and technology of national security published by Sightline Media Group. Founded in 1986, ''Defense News'' says it serves an audience of senior military, government, and in ...

''.

Criticism

Weinstein has been accused of "waging a war on Christianity" by some critics. He has described "gangs of fundamentalist Christian monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates", and has said that the vast majority of his clients are practicing Catholics and mainline Protestants. Weinstein has come under criticism for his salary and practice of voting on his own compensation as he is one of the voting members of MRFF's three-member board. According to Weinstein, although he is a voting board member, he abstains from any votes on his own salary and has always done so. Supporters have noted this criticism comes from the same media source which had named Weinstein one of the 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense in December 2012 and that the study upon which this criticism was based noted, "If you come across a charity whose CEO pay is higher than other similar charities, don't immediately dismiss that charity's request for funding. You're better off supporting a charity that is fiscally efficient, accountable and transparent, achieving its programmatic goals and paying its CEO well, than a charity that has substandard fiscal health, fails to live up to its mission, but under-pays its CEO." This compensation policy for charity CEOs has been expressed by other reputable sources. Jews in Green, a Jewish military support group, has challenged some of his claims, such as an entrenched anti-Semitism in the military, calling them baseless.

Personal background

Weinstein and his wife have two sons and one daughter. Weinstein graduated from the

University of the Pacific (United States) University of the Pacific (Pacific or UOP) is a private university originally founded as a Methodist-affiliated university with its main campus in Stockton, California, United States, and graduate campuses in San Francisco and Sacramento. It was ...

in 1981.

Media

Weinstein appeared in the film adaptation of James Carroll's '' Constantine's Sword''. Weinstein has appeared on major cable and network TV news networks and is a frequent guest on national radio networks. He has written for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'',

AlterNet AlterNet is a left-leaning news website based in the United States. It was launched by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''. Coverage Coverage is divided into several special sections re ...

, and

Truthout Truthout is an American Nonprofit organization, non-profit Progressivism in the United States, progressive news organization which describes itself as "dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social just ...

. His activism has been covered in such media as

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

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The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

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The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

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The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

''.David Van Biema
"Pentagon: Hold On, Christian Soldiers!"
time.com, August 3, 2007; accessed June 13, 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Michael L. Weinstein and Davin Seay, ''With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military'' (Thomas Dunne Books, 2006) * Michael L. Weinstein and Davin Seay, ''No Snowflake in an Avalanche'' (Rare Bird Books, 2012)

External links

Military Religious Freedom Foundation official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Michael L. United States Air Force Academy alumni 20th-century American Jews American agnostics American lawyers 1950s births Living people Reagan administration personnel Jewish agnostics American military lawyers United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps United States Air Force officers 21st-century American Jews Year of birth missing (living people)