Jewish refugees in the Philippines: An overlooked phenomenon

"Could I have done more?" — President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) to his wife, Aurora Quezon (Rachel Alejandro), as they address the valuable yet insufficient aid the Philippines has provided to Jewish refugees. Contentiously one of the most desolate and profound scenes in the film.

On the 29th of May in 2019, Quezon's Game — a film written by Janice Perez and Dean Rosen was shown nationwide in the Philippines. The film focuses on the substantial risk former President Manuel Quezon took in opposing the Third Reich with regard to the detestable Holocaust. The accommodation of the Quezon administration towards the Jewish diaspora was rather successful with the support of then-Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Eisenhower, final High Commissioner to the Philippines Paul McNutt, brothers and active participants of the Manila Jewish Community Alex and Philip Frieder. Albeit the film's inevitable factual and historical inaccuracy due to limited resources, its primordial intention was to expose the overlooked phenomenon; wherein the Philippines chose to receive Jews whom sought refuge, despite powerful first world countries (e.g. – United States of America & Canada) shunning them away. The Philippines, somewhat incapable of offering such assistance to foreign entities, given that the country had its own affairs to deal with, went against its better judgement and chose to be in service to others. Might it have been that the phenomena had no significant relevance formerly, the disputable action then-President Manuel L. Quezon enforced certainly remunerates presently. Although contestable that the former President somewhat "prioritized" the Jews over the Filipinos, having attended to the matter ever so diligently (as compared to timely issues of the locale then), it was the noble thing to do. At present, it is best to reminisce the achievements and the capabilities of the great political personas then, whom now resides at the shadow of the plethora of trapos, populists, and other breeds of the sort. It is precisely times like this wherein we are in desperate need of a statesman, and not a strongman.

Philippine-Israel Diplomatic Relations: From mid-World War II to post-World War II

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the State of Israel was formally established in 1957, both countries consequently signed a treaty of friendship in 1958. However, bilateral relations between both countries date as far as the 1930s with the occurrence of the "Open Door Policy" implemented by former President Manuel L. Quezon, furthermore, the relationship between both countries  strengthened when the Philippines under the Roxas administration voted in favor of the Partition Plan for Palestine, thus the establishment of Israel. Amongst the 33 countries who supported the establishment of Israel, the Philippines was the only Asian country. Recently, both countries engaged in 14 major bilateral agreements noted by the Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ICCP), enabling to further stabilize economic relationship. The recent visit of incumbent Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Israel anticipates further solidification of diplomatic relations between the ally countries.

Bibliography:

Limos, M. A. (2019, May 9). Why President Manuel Quezon Sheltered Jewish Refugees in the Philippines in 1939. Retrieved from Esquire: https://esquiremag.ph/long-reads/why-president-manuel-quezon-sheltered-jewish-refugees-in-the-philippines-a00293-20190509-lfrm

Park, M. (2015, February 3). How the Philippines saved 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Retrieved from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/02/world/asia/philippines-jews-wwii/index.html

Padayhag, M. J. (2019, May 19). ‘Quezon’s Game’ promises to be a touching, educational historical film. Retrieved from Cebu Daily News: https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/234810/quezons-game-promises-to-be-a-touching-educational-historical-film

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (n.d.). Israel Among the Nations: Asia and the Pacific . Retrieved from Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.israel.org/mfa/aboutisrael/nations/pages/israel%20among%20the%20nations-%20asia%20and%20the%20pacific.aspx

Evangelista, A. (2018, September 4). 'Lasting friendship': Philippines-Israel relations. Retrieved from Rappler: https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/211131-things-to-know-philippines-israel-relations

Quezon, M. L. (1937, August 21). Proclamation No. 173. Retrieved from Official Gazette: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1937/08/21/proclamation-no-173-s-1937/

Quezon, M. L. (1940, July 1). Proclamation No. 570. Retrieved from Official Gazette: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1940/07/01/proclamation-no-570-s-1940/

Commonwealth Act No. 613 . (1940, August 26). Retrieved from Official Gazette: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1940/08/26/commonwealth-act-no-613/

Cruz, R. T. (2016, March 12). Why Israel offers visa-free access to Filipino tourists . Retrieved from Manila Standard: http://manilastandard.net/business/201576/why-israel-offers-visa-free-access-to-filipino-tourists.html

Hoffman, C. (2007, April 11). The Ties that Bind: Filipinos and Jews, the Philippines and Israel. Retrieved from The Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/Features/The-ties-that-bind-Filipinos-and-Jews-the-Philippines-and-Israel

History of Philippine-Israel Relations. (n.d.). Retrieved from Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines: https://www.iccp.ph/about-us/history-of-philippine-israel-relations/

PH-Israel connection: A lookback on decades of friendship, ties . (2018, September 3). Retrieved from ABS CBN News: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/03/18/ph-israel-connection-a-lookback-on-decades-of-friendship-ties

Treaty of Friendship, Manila, 26 February 1958, United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 507, No. 7398, available from treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20507/volume-507-i-7398-english.pdf

General Assembly resolution 181(II), Resolution adopted on the report of the ad hoc committee on the Palestinian question, A/RES/181(II) (29 November 1947), available from undocs.org/en/A/RES/181(II)

Additional Tools:

Cañero, Z. (2015, June 20). Timeline: Philippine laws and policies on refugees . Retrieved from Rappler: https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/96929-timeline-philippine-law-policies-refugees

Izon, N. [Noel Izon]. (2012, September 14). An Open Door: Jewish Rescue in the Philippines (Extended Trailer) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq--fABVaYo&t=104s