SAVANNAH, Ga. AP – In a letter home, a Jewish soldier in basic training at Fort Benning complained of religious discrimination and wrote that a friend overheard platoon members saying they wanted to beat him up.

Days later, Pvt. Michael Handman was beaten so badly he had to be treated at a hospital, and his father believes the attack stemmed from an investigation of Handman’s claims that instructors had harassed him and used anti-Semitic slurs.