Last Jewish Australian WWII veteran passes
Leon Bloom z"l passed away a day after ANZAC day and his legacy was honoured in Parliament.
Leon Bloom, known to be the last surviving Jewish Australian veteran of WWII has passed away, symbolically a day after ANZAC Day this year.
Monash MP Mary Aldred attended the Victorian Association of Jewish (ex & current) Servicemen & women (VAJEX) ANZAC ceremony on the day Bloom passed, and honoured his memory in the House of Representatives stating: “Leon Bloom served in the 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…He reached the rank of corporal and was discharged in February 1946… May Leon Bloom’s memory forever be a blessing.”
Born in Footscray in 1923, on Bloom’s 100th birthday in 2023, Minister for Veteran Affairs and Defence Matt Keogh sent him a personal birthday letter and posted on Facebook: “Leon was proud to be of service to his country and said his time in the RAAF was life changing.” Adding, “Leon credits his long life to ‘finding happiness in marriage and enjoying 72 years with my wonderful wife. Marriage is the secret.’”
Last year on ANZAC Day, there were four known surviving Australian Jewish Servicemen who had fought in World War II. Leon Bloom as well as chaplain and serviceman Rabbi Shalom Coleman from Perth both ‘waited’ until one day after ANZAC Day before passing away in 2026 aged 103 and in 2025 aged 106 respectively. Woolfe (Gunner) Lewis from Caulfield North passed away on 19 October 2025 at age 104 while Maurice (Modge) Smith from Carnegie passed away on 2 March 2026 aged 102. Smith was best man at Bloom’s wedding and it also where he met his future wife Rachel.
President of VAJEX Australia Janice Furstenberg told The AJN, “I had the honour of paying final respects to Leon at his funeral at Springvale Cemetery last month by reciting The Ode while his five war service medals were temporarily placed next to the Australian flag draping the coffin.”
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