(JTA) — Near the start of the Iraq War in 2003, David Goldstrom found himself leading a Yom Kippur service for about 50 soldiers in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces in Tikrit, Iraq.

"In the six months preceding Saddam's execution, our soldier grows close to Saddam, sharing the stale air of a bombed-out palace turned into a high-security prison whilst navigating the fine line ...