Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to Leon Bloom, believed to be the last surviving Jewish Australian veteran of World War II. Born in Footscray, Victoria in 1923, Leon Bloom passed away, symbolically, just a day after Anzac Day this year. On that day, I had the honour of attending a post-Anzac Day service for the Victorian Association of Jewish Ex & Servicemen & Women in Melbourne. Leon Bloom was to have been there as well. Janice Furstenberg, the President of VAJEX, paid her final respects to Leon at his funeral by reciting the ode next to his five war-service medals. Leon Bloom served in the Royal Australian Air Force during the war and continued to serve the community after. Leon later worked in civil engineering before going into an electrical-motors business. His passion in life was photography, and his work was selected for the National Trust. On Leon's 100th birthday, in 2023, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Matt Keogh, paid tribute. He said:

Leon was proud to be of service to his country and said his time in the RAAF was life changing. He reached the rank of corporal and discharged from RAAF in February 1946.

Last year, on Anzac Day, there were four known surviving Australian Jewish servicemen who had fought in World War II. Although almost 4,000 Jewish Anzacs who served in World War II are no longer with us, they leave behind a legacy of courage, sacrifice and mateship. May Leon Bloom's memory forever be a blessing.