North Star with Ellin Bessner Decorated pilot Dr. Bill Novick fought for Israel in 1948, and other ‘Honourable Menschen’ for Yom Ha-Zikaron
As Israel mourns its 24,213 fallen soldiers (and 4,255 civilians killed by terror) this Yom Hazikaron, Canada’s Jewish community also recently lost a war hero who fought for the State of Israel. Bill Novick of Montreal was the second-last surviving Canadian Machalnik—a nickname for volunteers from abroad—who snuck into Israel in 1948 to help the badly outnumbered Israeli military fight their War of Independence. Novick, who practised as an ear, nose and throat physician until the middle of the pandemic, died on March 23 after a brief illness. He was 99. On today’s “Honourable Menschen” epsiode of The CJN Daily, Ellin and Ron Csillag pay tribute to Novick and fellow Montrealer Jerry Gross, who also volunteered for Israel’s 1948 war; Toronto Jewish studies professor Rabbi Michael Brown; Leo Goldhar, who built Jewish projects in Toronto and Israel; and Winnipeg track star Lou “Lightning” Billinkoff, who took up racing only after suffering a heart attack at the age of 89.
What we talked about
- Learn more about Lou Billinkoff in The CJN
- Read Rabbi professor Michael Brown’s obituary in The CJN
- Jerry Gross was one of the last Canadian Machal fighters for Israel, in The CJN
- Hear our extended interview with Bill Novick on _The CJN Daily _from May 2021
- Leo Goldhar devoted his life to building Jewish Canada and Israel, in The CJN
- Find the names of all of Israel’s fallen soldiers
Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.