Israel doesn't require visas for Philippine tourists because they rescued thousands of jews in WWII

[sean miguel]

Today I learned:

The Philippines: A distant haven from the Holocaust

The Philippines, a nation of some 7,000 islands in the South China Sea, was one of the few countries to open its doors to Jews fleeing the Holocaust.

By Carl Hoffman
April 25, 2017 13:20



As we pause to remember the Holocaust and mourn the six million Jewish lives it took, we should also commemorate those who attempted to save some of Hitler’s victims. While most of the world looked away and ignored the plight of Europe’s Jews, a small emerging country thousands of miles away resolved to rescue as many as possible.

The Philippines, a nation of some 7,000 islands in the South China Sea, was one of the few countries to open its doors to Jews fleeing the Holocaust.

The Philippine government was willing to grant more than 10,000 visas to Jews, and more than 1,300 Jews arrived in Manila before the Japanese invaded and occupied the country in 1942.

the full article here:
https://www.jpost.com/Metro/The-Philippines-A-distant-haven-from-the-Holocaust-488500

Why Israel offers visa-free access to Filipino tourists

posted March 12, 2016 at 11:30 pm by

Israel provides visa-free access to Filipinos who want to visit the “Holy Land,” an arrangement forged in history and made possible by Filipinos’ open door policy.

An act of Filipino hospitality, at a time the Jewish people needed it most, earned the gratitude of Israel, which now shows it by welcoming Filipino pilgrims, tourists and even skilled workers, according to Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Effie Ben-Matityau.

Ben-Matityau said the moral courage shown by the late Commonwealth president Manuel Quezon and the Filipino people in the 1930s was not forgotten by the Israeli people.

“It is a moral victory for the Philippines,” said Ben Matityau, referring to the time Quezon opened the Philippines to Jews fleeing the holocaust perpetuated by the Nazi in Europe. Around six million Jews died at the hands of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945.

Filipinos condemned the holocaust, and Quezon declared the Philippines open for Jewish survivors seeking refuge. Ben-Matityau said records showed that Quezon planned to welcome as many as 170,000 Jews and initially issued 10,000 visas, with the help of American High Commissioner Paul McNutt, Lt. Col. Dwight Eisenhower, American Jewish businessman Herbert Frieder and his brothers.

Eisenhower, an aide of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, later became the 34th president of the US.

Nearly 1,300 Jews mostly from Austria and Germany made it to the Philippines, including two young women met by Judge Simplicio Sempio del Rosario on a ship leaving Germany. Simplicio, the late grandfather of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, adopted the two women and gave them jobs in Manila.

These were among the stories shared by Ben-Matityau when he visited The Standard recently to remind the paper’s editors of the strong friendship between the Philippines and Israel spanning more than 80 years.

He said that in 1947, the Philippines led by then president Manuel Roxas, was the only Asian country that voted in favor of United Nations Resolution 181, creating the state of Israel. That was a crucial vote that broke the tie in favor of Israel’s statehood. Ben-Matityau said the two “Manuels” of the Philippines were among those responsible for the close bond between the two countries.

http://manilastandard.net/business/...rs-visa-free-access-to-filipino-tourists.html

God bless the Philippines for what they did for the jewish people when few others would. And for being the tie-breaker in the UN for Israel's statehood.

#PinoyPride

 

[sean miguel]

bump.

so f'n proud of this.

While Britain was signing the White Paper of 1939 and the U.S. was turning away a ship full of Jewish refugees, the Philippines did the right thing.

And interesting that the subsequent occupying Japanese forces considered the jews' German citizenship as that of an ally and let them be.

 

[earlyriser]

That is very interesting to know