Weiner’s New Home In Prison Offers Rabbi, Kosher Food, Shabbat Services

By Nathan Guttman November 10, 2017

Anthony Weiner Image by Getty Images

Anthony Weiner reported Monday to the Federal Medical Center Devens, a federal prison in Massachusetts where he will spend the next 21 months after being convicted on charges of transferring obscene material to a minor. He will also be able to observe Jewish traditions there.

“With the assistance of this rabbi and other volunteers, FMC Devens provides services for the Sabbath as well as for Jewish holidays,” a spokesperson for the bureau said. “The current weekly Jewish program schedule includes Jewish study and a program with the rabbi on Wednesdays, Jewish prayer and study on Saturdays, and a Jewish Sabbath service on Fridays.”

The prison offers treatment programs for sex offenders, and it is likely Weiner will participate in these programs.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the facility works with a volunteer rabbi who is available for Jewish inmates, at their request.

The bureau did not provide the name of the rabbi visiting Devens.

According to the inmates’ handbook the prison also offers a “religious diet program” for inmates, including kosher food, if Weiner should be interested.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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