Docu on PH rescue of Jews debuts in Israel

Noel Izon

A Filipino filmmaker will premiere this week in Tel Aviv his documentary on how the Philippines provided refuge to some 1,300 Jews fleeing from the Holocaust.

According to Philippine ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial, “An Open Door: Holocaust Haven in the Philippines” by Noel Izon will be shown at the Cinematheque Tel Aviv on Jan. 25.

The documentary premiere will kick off the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Israel.

“Through this excellent historical documentary, we hope to celebrate and generate greater awareness of the enduring friendship between Filipinos and Jews, which even antedates the independence of both countries,” Imperial said.

Izon’s film is about how the Philippines, under President Manuel L. Quezon, saved some 1,300 European Jews from the Holocaust.

President Quezon, the envoy said, worked with Jewish networks in Manila from the 1930s to 1941 to provide visas and shelter to the European refugees most of whom became “Manilaners,” making the Philippines their home.

He said that the late President’s open-door policy for Jewish refugees is a significant aspect of Philippine-Israel relations.

The premiere of the documentary is a joint project of the Philippine Embassy in Israel, the American Jewish Committee Asia Pacific Institute and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Following the advanced screening, Izon as well as coproducer and Humanities scholar Sharon Delmendo and Holocaust scholar and researcher Bonnie Harris will join a panel discussion, which will also be participated in by two surviving Manilaners—Max Weissler and Margot Pins Kestenbaum.