06 November 2014 – More visitors of Rishon Lezion will be able to see the Open Doors Monument as the city featured the Philippine marker as one of its attractions in its official brochure/map for tourists. The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv welcomed the gesture and deemed it significant in promoting the historical monument and the deep friendship between the Philippines and Israel. 

The Open Doors Monument was unveiled on 21 June 2009 at Rishon Lezion’s Holocaust Memorial Park by then Tourism Secretary Joseph H. Durano, along with Minister for Improvement of Government Services and Member of the Knesset Michael Eitan and Rishon Lezion Mayor Dov Zur. The marker honors the Philippines’ humanitarian act of saving the Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe through President Manuel L. Quezon’s “open doors” policy in 1939. At a time when Jews were refused admission by most countries, the Philippines opened its doors to them, allowing the issuance of 10,000 visas of which 1,300 Jewish refugees reached the Philippines. The Open Doors Monument also symbolizes the strong and enduring friendship between the Philippines and Israel.

Rishon Lezion is Israel’s fourth largest city and a host to a large number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Visitors passing by the city may wish to visit the Philippine marker, which is located along Shederat Hasidei Umot Ha-Olam (Righteous among Nations Boulevard). END