Canadian Jewish war veterans remembered in ceremony

Larry Rosenthal, left, listens as air force Sgt. Xylo Acevedo sounds the bugle JANICE ARNOLD PHOTO
Larry Rosenthal, left, listens as air force Sgt. Xylo Acevedo sounds the bugle JANICE ARNOLD PHOTO

The Jewish population of Canada in 1941 was just over 170,000 people. Ten per cent of them served in the Canadian armed forces during World War II.

That little-known figure was cited at a moving community-wide Remembrance Day service held at the Field of Remembrance at the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery.

While anti-Semites have historically levelled the canard that Jews shirk military service, said Rabbi Reuben Poupko, who spoke on behalf of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the record shows that Canadian Jews have fought in disproportionate numbers throughout history. During World War II, their rate of participation was 10 per cent higher than the national average.

The service was organized by Larry Rosenthal and held at the monument to the Canadian Jews who fell in service. Two years ago, Rosenthal was instrumental in having the original monument – erected in 1947 and inscribed with 130 names, mostly from Montreal – expanded.

Under the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery’s sponsorship, two side stelae were added and inscribed with the names of all 577 Jews in the Canadian armed forces known to have died in the two world wars and the Korean War. The list, along with other information about each individual, was compiled from the Canadian Jewish Congress archives by its staff and volunteers.

This year was the 70th anniversary of war’s end and the liberation of the Nazi camps, so the service took on special significance.

Rosenthal has made it his mission to ensure that those young people who sacrificed their lives are not forgotten. A religious man, he asks all Jews to perform acts of loving kindness in their memory.

He vividly remembers the day in 1943 when a telegram arrived at his home informing the family that his older brother, William Guy Rosenthal, had been killed in action in Sicily. Just 21 and an aspiring journalist, he was a gunner in the Royal Canadian Artillery.

Rosenthal read a passage from an article his brother had written shortly before his death for the Y Beacon, the YM-YWHA’s publication. The eloquence belies his youth, as William Guy avers that no price is too great to defend our values and to prevent fascism from coming to our shores.

President Andrea Rosenbloom said the Y was a “home away from home” for soldiers during the war. Montreal was lacking in recreational facilities for those waiting to go overseas, and the Y opened its doors. Thousands took advantage, she said.

Many of those overseas looked forward to receiving the Beacon, which gave them a welcome connection to Montreal.

Today, the Y continues to display a memorial to members who made the ultimate sacrifice and holds its own commemoration.

The two wreaths were laid by new Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather and Israeli Consul General Ziv Nevo Kulman.

Housefather observed that Remembrance Day is also a time to show gratitude to those veterans who returned and contributed to society.

“Côte St. Luc was largely built by World War II veterans,” said Housefather, the former mayor of that municipality. “They also helped build many Jewish institutions, based on community and volunteerism. Even in their 80s and 90s, they continue to serve and raise money for the community.”

Nevo Kulman stressed that Canada and Israel share the same democratic values and grief over those who gave their lives for them. “Your loss is our loss,” he said.

Both the Canadian and Israeli flags fly over the Field of Remembrance.

Other speakers included Federation CJA president Evan Feldman; Eric Bissell and Allen Adel, respectively, honorary president for life and national chair of the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada; and Fran Gutman, executive assistant of D’Arcy McGee MNA David Birnbaum, who was in Quebec City.

As Austrian-born Bissell noted, two days earlier the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the beginning of the Holocaust, was commemorated.

“That was the evil. Now we remember the good, those who came to the defence of humanity,” he said.

Four current members of the Canadian Armed Forces were present. Col. Dan Chafai, commander of the 34th Canadian Brigade Group, spoke on their behalf. Bugler Sgt. Xylo Acevedo of the 438th Tactical Helicopter Squadron played The Last Post.

Canadians who were killed in the recent conflict in Afghanistan were also remembered, as were the dead of the Israel Defence Forces.

Cantor Yaacov Bauer recited the Kel Malei Rachamim, while Rosenthal and Fred Pfeiffer, representing the Vaad Ha’ir, said Kaddish.

The main monument bears a passage from the Book of Samuel: “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their deaths were not divided; swifter than eagles, stronger than lions to do the will of their master, and the desire of their rock.”