Rabbi Henry Soussan, was recently promoted from US Army Captain to Major. Rabbi Soussan received his rabbinical ordination at the SSC in Jerusalem. He is now the chaplain at the Chaplin School at West Point Military Academy.
While serving in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq theater of operations as the Jewish Army Chaplain, Rabbi Soussan was called to Afghanistan to conduct services for three Jewish soldiers (one of them a wo
man) who died from a bombing. US Military personnel were fearful of Major Soussan conducting the service in Hebrew while wearing his tallit, a religious article, in a Muslim country.
At risk to his own life, Major Soussan performed the service, honoring the Jewish soldiers who died in the line of duty protecting democracy. The Afghani generals attending said that this was a true war for democracy when Jews and Muslims could join together to battle for freedom.
The British-born soldier joined the American military after the September 11 tragedy at the World Trade Center. Rabbi Soussan’s father, Rabbi Benjamin Soussan of Friberg, Germany, and his brother, Rabbi Chaim Soussan, of Dusseldorf, both received their rabbinical ordination from the SSC. Rabbi Henry Soussan’s son Joshua is an SSC-trained sofer, who plans to complete college and attend the SSC-rabbinical training program, before joining the U.S. Marines as a Chaplain.