12 January 2015 - The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv and Rishon LeZion city officials visited the Open Doors Monument on 30 December 2014 at the city's Shederat Hasidei Umot Ha-Olam (Righteous among Nations Boulevard).  The Open Doors Monument is one of several landmarks representing the countries that assisted and helped in saving the lives of Jews during the Holocaust.  The monument, which also symbolizes the unique and deep friendship between the Philippines and Israel, has recently been included as one of the city's attractions in its official brochure/map for tourists.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial was accompanied by Embassy personnel and Rishon LeZion's former and current Directors for Foreign Relations, Mr. Asher Cohen and Ms. Annette Ben-Shahar.  The Ambassador and the city officials discussed plans to repaint and further improve the monument, which will serve as a venue for cultural activities in the future.  The Embassy and Rishon LeZion have cooperated closely on cultural and other events.

Ambassador Imperial and the Embassy personnel were also given a guided tour around Rishon Lezion.

Rishon LeZion is the fourth largest city of Israel in terms of population and a host to a large number of Filipino workers. END