The  60th  Philippine-Israel Friendship Day was celebrated in simple ceremonies on Wednesday. The event, called “Philippines Israel Friendship Celebration: A Day of Jubilation,” is held on the same day that Israel commemorates its 70th year anniversary. In the Scriptures and Jewish-Christian tradition, the 70th year marks a season of freedom, profound change and new beginnings. The Philippines, first Christian nation in Asia, was the only Asian nation that voted for the rebirth of Israel, the  biblical “Promised Land,” during a special assembly of the United Nations on November 29, 1947. This led to the proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948, ,almost, 2,000 years after the Jewish state was renamed “Syria Palaestina” or Palestine by Roman conquerors in 135 A.D. “The revival of Israel is the fulfillment of a Biblical promise” observes Bishop Dan Balais, chairman of the Intercessors for the Philippines or IFP. “In the Book of Jeremiah, it is written that the God who commands the sun to shine by day and the moon and stars to shine by night is the same sovereign God who preserves Israel as a nation. The Lord said in this scripture verse written thousands of years ago: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.” The Philippines has a long history of standing with Israel and the Jewish people. Jews fleeing persecution during the Spanish Inquisition rode Spanish Galleons that sailed to the Philippines in the 16th century. During the Nazi Holocaust, the Philippines was the only country in the world that opened its doors to fleeing Jewish refugees from 1938 to 1942.  President Quezon offered asylum to 10,000 refugees, but only 1,200 managed to flee before the Nazis closed the borders to the escapees. President Quezon even gave the refugees free land in Marikina from his own estate to get them settled. Israel has repaid the favor generously. When typhoon “Yolanda” struck Samar and Leyte, Israeli disaster relief teams were the first to arrive. The American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) donated $2.7 million in financial aid and medium-term rehabilitation expertise to typhoon ravaged Leyte. Danny Pins, Finance Director of JDC, is the son of  Jewish Holocaust survivor – Margot Pins-Kestenbaum who fled Nazi genocide in Germany to find a second home in the Philippines in 1942.  She has resettled in Jerusalem but can still sing “Bahay Kubo” and “LeronLeronSinta” with charm and aplomb. “We’re just returning a favor,” her son Danny explains. “You sheltered my mother and helped us rebuild our nation. Now, we’re helping you rebuild yours.” In the city of Rishon le Tziyon, an “Open Door” monument stands as tribute to President Quezon and the Philippines for sheltering Jewish refugees during the war. Israel has also provided scholarships to thousands of young Filipinos in the fields of education, health and agriculture. Tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) also enjoy good pay and warm acceptance in Israeli households as much-in-demand caregivers for the elderly and children.