24 December 2017, Tel Aviv - Around 20 Israeli students called on Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial at the Embassy last Friday, 22 December, as part of their "Debate for Peace" program, which takes the students to various diplomatic missions in Israel to learn more about their respective countries' relationships with Israel and their perspectives on peace.

The "Debate for Peace" program brings together Arab and Jewish students from all over Israel to participate in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, where they debate, negotiate and try to resolve the most difficult and pressing challenges in international relations.

Ambassador Imperial welcomed the students and gave them a short overview of Philippine-Israel relations, highlighting the historical ties between Filipinos and the Jewish people that underpin the strong bilateral relations that the two countries enjoy today.

The students were then given a private screening of "Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge from the Holocaust", a documentary told from the perspective of one of the Jewish families that helped others relocate and find homes in Manila, examines the impact of the Philippines' Open Door Policy, under which President Manuel L. Quezon welcomed Jewish people fleeing the Holocaust a safe haven in the Philippines.

The Open Door Policy, implemented during a time when Jewish refugees were being refused entry from other countries, has since become a historic milestone in Philippine-Israel relations, and a source of tremendous goodwill between the two countries.

The screening wrapped up a year of activities organized by the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate 60 years of Philippine-Israel relations.  --END

Debate for Peace student members watch the documentary film "Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge from the Holocaust", a film documenting the story of 1,300 Jews fleeing the Holocaust and finding a safe haven in the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial with Debate for Peace student members during their visit to the Embassy