The Open Door Policy espoused by former Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon that allowed the entry of approximately 1,300 Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe at the onset of World War 2 was the hallmark of a “true leader” and simply the “right thing to do.”

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz made this emphasis during the virtual Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day on Wednesday, April 8, 2021, an event being observed worldwide in honor of the six million Jews killed during World War 2. 

Harpaz said President Quezon was a unique leader who took a brave decision while most nations in the world “shut their doors” to the fleeing Jews in Nazi Germany.

“President Manuel Quezon’s Open Door Policy embodied the responsibility of a true leader. When no one else did, he took action and when needed because simply it was the right thing to do,” the Israeli diplomat said in his opening remarks. 

In August 1937, President Quezon issued Proclamation No. 173 calling on all Filipinos to welcome the fleeing Jews and instructed the government to assist them. 

During the commemoration, Harpaz said Israelis from all walks of life will stop from whatever they are doing and stand in a moment of silence against the backdrop of two-minute sirens.

It is imperative, according to the Israeli ambassador, to commemorate the six million Jews – a million and a half of them children - who perished in one of the darkest chapters in the history of humanity. The annual solemn event also aims to safeguard the stories and the accurate accounts of the remaining survivors whose numbers are dwindling as the days go on. 

“Today, the decrease in the number of Holocaust survivors indicates that there will come a time when there will be no one left to tell their own survival story. This is why the Embassy and other similar institutions around the world uphold the testimonies of these victims,” he said. 

It was for this reason that in 1953, the Israeli Parliament established an act creating Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, with the task of commemorating, documenting, researching, and educating about the Holocaust and in memory of the six million Jews slaughtered by the German Nazis and their accomplices. 

“We rely on these institutions to condemn all forms of intolerance, of violence against people, or communities based on their ethnic origin or religious beliefs. We all need to learn from these trying moments of the past. It should not only be stories of suffering or reason of victory but also a reminder to all of us that we should never tolerate prejudice, injustice, anti-Semitism, and race. We should uphold the idea that each one of us has the right to live free from hate and judgment in all forms,” Harpaz said in closing. 

During the virtual ceremony, the Israeli ambassador was joined by Jewish community members in the Philippines, Jewish synagogue representatives, faculty members of the Benigno Aquino High School, and students from the Jose Abad Santos Memorial High School.