Photo: Yosef Hochheiser
He's a kippah-wearing Jew from Oak Park and she's a hijab-wearing Muslim from Dearborn -- and the friendship they have forged in the US Air Force has a lot to do with religion. Yosef Hochheiser and Maysaa Ouza are both captains in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps of the Air Force and they bonded over their coverings. Their story started when Hochheiser was assigned to research the issue of providing a religious accommodation for a Muslim recruit who wanted to wear a hijab. He submitted a report and lost track of the matter, then later saw a story about a case involving an active-duty JAG officer whose request to wear the hijab had led to a policy change. He contacted her by email and they began corresponding; both eventually were assigned to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and they were finally able to meet in person. We were both raised in households where we learned to respect all people. We are more similar than we are different. So, while we don't always agree. We will stand together, Hochheiser said.
|
|
More:
