DFA Sec. Del Rosario Visits Israel

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario visited Israel last June 25-28, 2014.

During his visit to the Holy Land, the Secretary was accompanied by his wife Madame Gretchen andAssistant Secretary for the Office of Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA) Ms.Petronila Garcia and they met with Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman together with other government officials. They also visited the historical sites such as the Western Wall, Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum), Church of the Annunciation and Holy Sepulchre.

The relationship between the Philippines and Israel can be traced as far back as February 26, 1958 when both countries signed the Treaty of Friendship and this year celebrated 56 years of diplomatic relations.

This bond strengthened when typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines and upon knowing of its devastation, Israeli Ambassador Menashe Bar On shared that “it wasn’t a question of if we would come to help. It was a question of how and when.”

The elite team of the Israel Defense Forces proceeded to Bogo City, Cebu and brought with them a mobile hospital, medical equipment and medicine to the typhoon stricken areas and helped those in need of assistance.

The Secretary who attended the 66th National Day of the State of Israel last May 5 shared with the audience the experience his grandfather had when he was in Nazi Germany during the Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) – a pogrom against the Jews in Germany and Austria. Judge Simplicio Sempio Del Rosario rode a ship and fled the country when he met two Jewish women who had nowhere to go. The kind-hearted judge opened the doors of his country and gave them jobs.

In the past year, economic, trade and tourism ties between both countries have deepened and the Air Services Agreement was signed last May 26, 2014. It is anticipated that this agreement will create more trade and tourism opportunities as well as encourage the thousands of Filipinos working in Israel to come home more often to visit their families.

This is the 1st visit to Israel of a Philippine Foreign Secretary in 20 years after former DFA Secretary Roberto Romulo in 1994 and in the past year has had visits from Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

This visit commemorates the unwavering relations between the Philippines and Israel and it is expected that it will pave way for future partnerships and ties in the economic, trade and tourism sectors of both countries.
(Press Release from the Embassy of Israel)