Treasure Trove: Remembering a War Hero for Both Canada and Israel

Sydney Simon Shulemson (1915-2007) was Canada’s highest decorated Jewish soldier in World War Two.  Born in Montreal, he left McGill University to enlist in the Canadian Air Force and was awarded his wings in 1942.

His squadron was part of the Coastal Command stationed in Scotland whose job was to find and attack enemy forces in the seas off Western Europe. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1944 for a mission along the coast of occupied Norway where he evaded heavy fire as he flew his Beaufighter fighter-bomber at the head of a 12-plane attack that sank a German minesweeper and damaged four other vessels, and then engaged a German fighter for 18 minutes which enabled a plane that was hit in the same mission to return safely to base.

Shulemson developed innovative techniques to destroy enemy shipping in the North Sea by flying approximately 20 metres over the water and calibrating the proper speed, angle of attack and release point (a tactic that was used for decades until more sophisticated weapons replaced  unguided rockets).  In 1945 he was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in creating an anti-shipping strike force. He ended his combat service credited with destroying at least 12 enemy vessels during the course of some 50 missions. Shulemson then served as an instructor for the rest of the conflict since his knowledge was so valuable he was barred from flying in missions.

Shulemson’s story is told in comic book form in the 1944 comic booklet “Jewish War Heroes” published by the Canadian Jewish Congress to combat the incorrect perception that Canadian Jews were not doing their part in the war effort.  See https://thecjn.ca/arts-culture/on-remembrance-day-treasure-trove-recalls-the-sacrifices-made-by-jewish-canadians-and-all-those-who-served/  This page from the book is signed by him at the top.

After the end of the war (according to CJN podcaster Ellin Bessner in her book Double Threat: Canadian Jews, The Military and World War II), Shulemson worked undercover for the Haganah to recruit soldiers for the army of the future Jewish State (doing so was illegal under Canadian law).  He also helped to equip Israel’s newly formed air force finding 200 Mosquito fighter bombers that were bought by China and diverting them to Israel.  He also recruited Canada’s leading (and non-Jewish) fighter ace, Buzz Beurling, to fight for Israel.  Beurling was killed in a mysterious plane crash in Rome on his way to Israel in May 1948.  Years later Shulemson helped the Beurling family in having Buzz’s remains exhumed from Italy and reburied in the military cemetery in Haifa.

Shulemson demonstrates that one can be loyal both to Canada and Israel.  During World War II he dedicated himself to Canada and after the war he devoted himself to the building of the State of Israel.

On Remembrance Day (November 11 in Canada) we remember not just the heroes like Sydney Shulemson, but all of the men and women who fought and died for our benefit. Their fight for a better world continues. As John McCrae wrote in his poem In Flanders Fields (the source of the poppies we wear at this time of year):

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

   The torch; be yours to hold it high.

   If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

                            In Flanders fields.

The torch has been thrown to us.

For more treasures from the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, which have appeared weekly in the Treasure Trove column in the Canadian Jewish News (www.thecjn.ca) since February 2021, see https://herzlcollection.com/treasure-trove

Treasure Trove is a program of the Herzl Project.  Another program is the #Herzl100 where 100 Herzl videos were posted in 100 days between June 6 and September 9, 2026.  You can watch all of the videos here:  https://herzlcollection.com/%23herzl100  They are available for viewing individually by searching #Herzl100 on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.  Also check out #Herzlbreak on these platforms.