Display of Jewish women graduates restored after US Naval Academy says it was ‘mistakenly removed’

The US Naval Academy has returned photos and memorabilia of Jewish women after they were “mistakenly removed” to apparently comply with diversity, equity, and inclusion directives from the Pentagon.

The US Naval Academy has returned photos and memorabilia of Jewish women after they were “mistakenly removed” from a display to apparently comply with diversity, equity, and inclusion directives from the Pentagon. A Navy spokesperson told CNN that “photos and items of distinguished leaders and graduates were mistakenly removed from the US Naval Academy Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center.” “Naval Academy leadership took immediate steps to correct the unauthorized removal and all items were restored to display cases within the center on April 1,” the spokesperson said. The removal of the Jewish Women of the Naval Academy display occurred just days before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the academy on Tuesday, and spoke with midshipmen and met with Superintendent Vice Adm. Yvette Davids. In an email obtained by CNN, the Friends of the Jewish Chapel, a nonprofit organization created to “enhance the religious and cultural lives of the Jewish Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy,” told its members it spoke with Naval Academy officials and said the removal of the display only happened to coincide with Hegseth’s visit, as Davids had also directed the academy to be in compliance with executive orders and Pentagon policy directives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Davids and other academy leaders went to ensure the removal was corrected, Friends of the Jewish Chapel told members in the email. The email also stated that Hegseth did not visit the Levy Center or the chapel during his visit. The Pentagon did not answer specific question about if Hegseth had visited the chapel.