PH Ambassador to Israel, Rishon Lezion Mayor Discuss Sister City Agreement between Quezon City, Rishon Lezion

 Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog S. Alberto (right) hands a token of appreciation to Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich (left). (Tel Aviv PE photo)

TEL AVIV 03 August 2021 – Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog S. Alberto paid a courtesy call on Rishon Lezion Mayor Raz Kinstlich on 29 July 2021 to discuss the conclusion of a sister city agreement with Quezon City, as well as other proposals for cooperation with the municipality. 

Rishon Lezion’s Holocaust Park is the site of the Open Doors Monument, which is to date the only monument to the “Open Doors” policy of Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon, under which the Philippines provided refuge to 1,300 European Jews fleeing from the Holocaust.

“I wish to assure you of the Philippine Embassy’s full support of the sister city agreement that is being forged between Quezon City and Rishon Lezion,” Ambassador Alberto told Mayor Kinstlich. “This agreement is deeply meaningful to us because of the link it will create between Rishon Lezion and Quezon City, home to the Quezon Memorial shrine which honors President Manuel L. Quezon and his legacy.”

Mayor Kinstlich affirmed Rishon Lezion’s intent to engage with Quezon City, particularly in terms of building awareness of Quezon’s legacy and its contribution to Philippine-Israel relations. “The monument is the only one in Israel to represent the Jewish people’s appreciation of Manuel L. Quezon’s ‘Open Doors’ policy,” the mayor said. “It stands as a testament to the friendship between Filipinos and the Jewish people.

Ambassador Alberto and Mayor Kinstlich  both agreed to further strengthen the partnership of Quezon City and Rishon Lezion by developing other areas of cooperation, including possible collaborations between academic institutions and organizing a special screening of the movie  “Quezon’s Game”  to be held sometime in October. END

From left: Mr. Erich George Oquendo, Protocol Officer; Ms. Annette Ben-Shahar, Director of Foreign Relations of the Municipality of Rishon Lezion; Vice Consul Patricia Narajos, Vice Consul Judy Razon, Mayor Raz Kinstlich, Ambassador Macairog S. Alberto, Dr. Anat Leibovich, Member of the City Council Foreign Relations Portfolio; and Ms. Geraldine Gamoso, Cultural Attaché, pose for a group photo after the call. (Tel Aviv PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.telavivpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.org.il or https://www.facebook.com/PHinIsrael/.