A decorated Canadian airman

            During a time of war all participating countries rely of the commitment of regular citizens to put aside their regular jobs and take up arms. For a WWII pilot that meant at least two years of training and undertaking some of the most hair-raising missions in the history of flight. When Canada joined the war in September 1939, 24 year old Sydney Shulemson signed up for the Royal Canadian Air Force and by the end of the war he was his country’s most decorated airman.

            Sydney Simon Shulemson was born in 1915 in Montreal and always had dreams of flight. His grandfather was a kosher chicken seller and his parents owned a dry goods store. His dream job was as a flight engineer but the Great Depression in 1929 put a hold on his plans. Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939 and volunteers immediately began to sign up for the armed forces. Shulemson signed up that day to become a pilot in the air force. He graduated in 1942 and was sent to Scotland to fight the Nazis with the 404 Squadron.

            The 404 primary mission was coastal patrol and to sink enemy shipping off the coasts of Norway and the Netherlands. Equipped with Bristol Beaufighters as well as bomber and patrol aircraft they were ready for anything the Germans could bring into the chilly waters. The Beaufighter was a heavy two engine fighter that was heavily armed and could carry a torpedo. They would need the rugged plane to stop the flow of war materials coming from neutral Sweden.

            On his first mission Shulemson down a German flying boat. On the same mission they were alerted by the cruiser HMS Belfast that more planes were on the way. Sydney and his flight commander then proceeded to the location and shot down another flying boat. It was a good start to his flying career.

            Shulemson was not promoted probably because he was Jewish but he earned the respect of his peers and some of his superiors. The squadron was short of wing commanders and Shulemson was selected to lead a group of 14 Beaufighters on a mission of 80 aircraft against enemy shipping off the coast of Norway. He was the only one with experience and he led them on a difficult mission against better planes. Enemy ships had been sighted and on February 3, 1944 they went out to give them the works.

That morning they ran into several Me109 fighters. The Me109 was faster and lighter than the heavy Beaufighter and usually defeated the British plan in an aerial dogfight. Shulemson saw a Me109 chasing one his buddies and positioned himself behind the enemy. He shot cannon into the Me109 and gave it a one way ticket to the ground. Realizing that if the Beaufighter flew close to the ground the Messerschmitts could not position themselves for an attack. He thought that the Germans had turned for home but one determined Me109 began the chase again. Forced to perform dangerous maneuvers the Beaufighter escaped major damage. There was a blown tire but the plane and Sydney were safe. The fighter wing safely returned home and Shulemson received the Distinguished Service Order for downing an enemy fighter and for saving the life of a fellow airman. Their overall mission was a success as well and three merchant vessels were severely damaged or sunk (the records of the battle are vague).

Later that year he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “consistently successful sorties against heavily defended convoys and units of the German navy off the Dutch and Norwegian coasts”. Two heavily defended German ships were sunk in the Bay of Biscay thanks to the actions of Shulemson and his flight.

After completing the required number of missions he stayed with the air force as an instructor. The all-wooden Mosquito fighter was being outfitted with rockets and Sydney was tasked with creating methods to use them against Axis shipping. Even though he was a Flight Lieutenant e rained an entire wing on these tactics that saw much success. These methods were used for many years until long range and smart weapons were invented.

            After the war Shulemson was recruited for the new Israeli Air Force that was being created out of desperation. Jewish pilots worldwide were being asked to assist their beleaguered brethren to fight off their Arab neighbors. The departing British Army left many planes and advisors for the Arabs and the Israelis were being outclasses. Sydney himself did not take part in the action but he helped recruit key pilots including the famed George “Buzz” Beurling. He also was able to acquire 200 Mosquito planes originally destined for China and divert them to Israel.

            Sydney was honored by the State of Israel for his efforts in their hour of need. He died in 2007 at the age of 91. Shulemson was the highest decorated Jewish Canadian of WWII. Even though he was never promoted due to anti-Semitism he will be remembered for the daring missions that most people would have balked at taking. His efforts on behalf of Israel were important for the existence of the state. 

The Jewish general who singlehandedly won a war

Heroes in the military are usually the ones fighting the enemy in close range combat. Very rarely do commanders meet the enemy face to face. During the Bangladeshi War of 1971 a commander went to the enemy and forced an entire army to surrender. This incredible feat is more impressive when you know that he had very few soldiers in his command and was bluffing. Lieutenant General Jack Jacob of the Indian Army was the man who singlehandedly defeated an entire army.

            Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob was born in 1923 in Calcutta which was then part of British India. His family was Baghdadi Sephardic Jews who had moved there in the 1700s. The family was described as deeply religious in an area with few Jws.. During WWII Jack heard of the plight of his brethren in Europe and decided to join the British Army to fight the Nazis.

            After graduating from officer school in 1942 he was given his first assignment. Ironically, it was with the Arab Legion in the British Army posted in Northern Iraq in case the Germans got that far. Soon it became apparent that the main battle was in Egypt and North Africa so Jacob was reassigned to an artillery unit to fight the Afrika Korps. However, they arrived after the battle and were sent to Burma to fight the invading imperialist Japanese Empire. He saw action here in some of the toughest terrain fighting of the war.

While in Burma (today the country is called Myanmar) he met the eccentric British General Orde Wingate. Wingate was not Jewish but morally was a Zionist and had trained Jewish settlers in Palestine in clandestine warfare. This was Jacob’s first time meeting a Zionist and it rubbed off on him. Later this had an effect on India’s positive reception towards Israel.

            After the war Jacob attended military schools in the U.S. and England and joined the Indian Army when they gained independence from Britain in 1947. He had risen through the ranks and in 1963 was promoted to brigadier general. Two year later he commanded a division during one of the many wars between India and Pakistan. In 1969 he was a major general and was appointed chief of staff of the Eastern Command. His job was put down insurgencies these areas and to keep tabs on neighboring Pakistan.

            In 1971 the eastern section of Pakistan had an uprising and wanted to start their country called Bangladesh. The Pakistani government was ruthless in their retaliation and killed upwards of half a million civilians. Millions more fled to India who then declared war on Pakistan. General Jacob was tasked with drafting a war plan and came up with the idea drawing the Pakistanis into swampy lands in Eastern Pakistan. After tiring out the enemy they then would capture the capital Dhaka. Jacob’s superior, Lieutenant General Sam Manekshaw, agreed to the plan except for the capture of Dhaka.

            Jacob realized that the capture of Dhaka was more strategic then the small towns fortified by the Pakistani Army. The Indian Army therefore bypassed many of these defenses and severed communications. Control of East Pakistan was coming under Indian Army control in two weeks of war but Dhaka still remained to be captured. A drawn out war could spell disaster for the small Indian Army so Jacob came up with a daring plan. He went to the heart of the enemy and gave them an ultimatum.

            Pakistani Lieutenant General A.A.K. Niazi invited Jacob to discuss a cease fire on December 16. Instead of a cease fire Jacob wrote a declaration of surrender for the Pakistani general to sign. Unarmed and accompanied by only one staff officer he flew to Dhaka. Jacob told Niazi that he had a half an hour to decide or the Indians would be coming to Dhaka to destroy the enemy. Indian planes would bomb the 26,000 or so Pakistani soldiers in Dhaka and an untold number of civilians would be in harm’s way.

While Niazi was contemplating the surrender Jacob went outside and said Shema Yisrael. The truth was that Jacob had but 3,000 men some 30 miles away and they were up against 93,000 Pakistani troops. He was hoping that Niazi focused on the previous two weeks of Indian victories and didn’t want to see any more bloodshed. The United Nations was also pushing for a cease fire and this would be the only chance that the Indians could capture Dhaka. Against all odds the bluff worked. All of the Pakistani soldiers in the area surrendered and Jacob became the hero of the war. It was the largest surrender of soldiers since WWII and when Niazi returned to Pakistan he was stripped of his rank. The war was over and Bangladesh became an independent nation.

After 38 years in the army Jacob retired in 1978 and went into business and became the governor of Goa. He cracked down on criminals and saved areas from destruction. When he left office someone put graffiti on the walls that said “Without Jacob who will feed the poor?” A truly beloved officer of the state he stayed in politics for over 30 years. In the 1990s Jacob was a big advocate for an advanced India-Israel relationship. He visited Israel many times and was a personal guest of former Prime Minister Rabin. Several of Jacob’s personal effects were donated to Israel and his uniform hangs in the Israeli military museum in Latrun.

Although there are some reports that Jack Jacob passed away last year many sources still maintain that he is alive at the age of 90 living in Delhi, India. He said about his time in the Indian Army, “Although I was one of only a few Jews in the army, I never came across any anti-Semitism, only enthusiasm and acceptance.” However, he won’t talk about his time in the British army. General Jack Jacob will be remembered as the man who convinced an entire army to surrender under incredible odds thereby saving countless lives.