Air Force dental technician accused of being a witch

By Jeff Schogol, Staff writer 5:32 p.m. EDT October 5, 2015

Deborah Schoenfeld says she was harassed at a Fort Meade, Md., dental clinic for her Hindu faith
and then fired when she complained about it.(Photo: Photo courtesy of the Military Religious
Freedom Foundation)
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is representing a former Air Force contractor who
saysshe was fired from a dental clinic at Fort Meade, Maryland, after complaining that her coworkers discriminated against her because she was Hindu. She claims they thenaccused her of being
a witch.
Group founder and president Mikey Weinstein wrote in a letter to officials:We have spoken with
witnesses at the clinic under your command who have universally confirmed that, not only did this
horrid harassment take place, but ever since the execution of her punishment for failing the
religious test imposed by the leadership of Epes Dental Clinic, a particular offending party has
effusively celebrated her replacement by a Catholic woman by saying publicly that It's good to see
we got an angel, since last time we had the devil.
The alleged harassment violates a vast sea"of Defense Department and Air Force directives as well
as the U.S. Constitution, Weinstein writes.
"The No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of our nations Constitution absolutely forbids
the exact same type of practices which are so commonplace under your command in the brazen
establishment of evangelical Christianity as the only approved solution for religious belief in the
579th D[ental] S[quadron] of the Epes Dental Clinic at Fort Meade, the letter says.
Reached by Air Force Times, Deborah Schoenfeld said that her co-workers at the Epes Dental Clinic
harassed her over her Hindu faith, claiming she was satanic for wanting to practice yoga and
meditating.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, two of her former co-workers confirmed Schoenfeld's account
toAir Force Times and said that other
http://fleckenzwerge.net/blog/2015/08/ways-whiten-teeth-cheap-way/ employees at the dental clinic
are devoutly Christian and deeply suspicious of Hinduism. One of them confirmed that she was
referred to as a "Hindu witch."
One co-worker, whoSchoenfeld said prayed for her to find Jesus, told her that meditation summons
demons, adding that all the soldiers who are doing meditation and yoga to help their PTSD, they are
getting infected also, Schoenfeld said.

When her requests for help through the chain of commandwent nowhere, shefiled a formal
complaint on Sept. 2, Schoenfeldsaid. That day, she wasfired for allegedly using profanity against a
co-worker, although she was not allowed to know who had accused her of doing so, she said.
The Air Force District of Washington has received Weinstein's letter and is looking into the
allegations raised, said spokesman Maj. Joel Harper.
"The Air Force thoroughly reviews all instances in which airmen report concernsregarding religious
freedoms or accommodations," Harper wrote in an email Monday to Air Force Times."Mutual
respect is an essentialpart of the Air Force culture. Supporting the right of free exercise ofreligion
relates directly to the Air Force core values and the ability to maintain an effective team."
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