QC Mayor Belmonte Honors President Quezon at "Open Doors" Monument in Israel

TEL AVIV 25 May 2023 — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Philippine Ambassador to Israel Pedro R. Laylo, Jr. paid tribute to President Manuel L. Quezon by laying a wreath at the Open Doors Monument in Rishon Lezion, Israel on 10 May 2023.

The monument honors President Quezon, whose Open Door Policy provided refuge in the Philippines for 1300 Jews fleeing Europe at the eve of the Holocaust in the late 1930s.

Designed by Filipino artist Luis Yee Jr, the monument depicts three open doors which symbolize how the Philippines welcomed the fleeing Jews. The triangular shapes of the doors recall the triangle in the Philippine flag while the Star of David that the doors form when seen from above references the Israeli flag and the enduring symbol of the Jewish faith.

In each of the openings of the doors are footprints etched on the floor of marble shipped from Romblon. Two of the footsteps belonged to George Loewenstein and Max Weissler, two of the Jewish refugees who found safe haven in the Philippines. A third footprint belongs to Doryliz Goffer, a Filipino-Israeli born in the Philippines and a granddaughter of the Jewish survivors. Her footprint represents the generation of Jews who are alive today because of Quezon's rescue of their forebears.

After the wreath-laying, Mayor Belmonte and Ambassador Laylo also planted a tree near the monument to commemorate the sister city agreement between Quezon City and Rishon Lezion.

Mayor Belmonte and delegation visited Israel from 08 to 12 May to reaffirm the twinning pact with Rishon Lezion, hold dialogues with counterpart city officials, and study Israeli technology and innovations that can support her ongoing development programs in Quezon City. END

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