WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A rabbi delivered the invocation at the enactment of a law allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military.

"Today we recall that unity, not uniformity, is our goal," the Washington Jewish Week quoted Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff as saying Wednesday at the White House signing of the bill repealing "don't ask, don't tell" rules that forced gay service personnel to keep secret their sexual identities.

"That we need not fear differences among those united to defend our nation's freedoms and its dreams," continued Resnicoff, a retired U.S. Navy chaplain.

Major Jewish groups backed the repeal.