The message gladdened my heart.
“Can you help us?” it began. “We received an email regarding San Benito, and would like to know more…”
The sender was the press officer at the Israeli embassy in Manila, a Filipina named Rose, who–as a permanent resident and columnist in the Philippines–I’d worked with before and consider a friend. And San Benito? Well, let’s just call it a tiny municipality on the northwestern coast of Siargao Island, a place I hold dear.
“We received an email from their mayor asking for a humanitarian partnership for food security,” Rose continued. “Do you know anyone there?”
Boy, did I!
In fact, the mayor in question is related to my wife, who was born and raised on that rustic island where, yes, the price of rice has reportedly skyrocketed beyond the reach of many residents. So, my dear spouse immediately contacted the dear mayor, who, within hours, responded with a long letter offering details and documentation. Which means that Israel is now seriously considering her request.
Why does that gladden my heart? Because, aside from the obvious satisfaction of helping people in need, it puts a positive face on one of my favorite countries in a place where that visage has been badly disfigured.
Let me explain.
It all started early last year when, following a dramatic upsurge of tourism in what’s been touted as the surfing capital of the Philippines, local Siargaunons complained that the foreign influx was negatively impacting the island’s culture and tranquility.
That discussion quickly singled out one nationality in particular; the highly visible population of Israelis alleged to be rude, demanding, and unruly. Then it got political; detractors described the Israelis—mostly young people vacationing after their military service—as “war criminals” whose “occupation” threatened a defenseless Philippine island. The Palestinian foreign minister publicly demanded that the “invading” Israelis be “tried and held to account.” And finally, classic antisemitism raised its ugly head in the form of cruel tropes likening Jews to Satan.
All of which broke the heart of this longtime supporter of Israel intimately connected to the island that so many of its citizens favor.
The latest brouhaha occurred last month after an old video resurfaced showing a violent altercation between several transgenders and a group of young Israelis boasting that their country was “the most powerful” in the world.
“We have never been disrespected and assaulted like this,” one LBGTQIA defender posted on Facebook.
And that’s when the authorities got involved. “Our surfers who give lessons have also been complaining that some foreign tourists don’t pay after receiving the tutorial,” former Congressman Bingo Matugas said in an interview, adding that not all of the offenders are Israeli.
The town of General Luna, where most transgressions occur, issued a statement warning tourists that any violations involving “environmental damage, disorderly conduct, illegal activities, disrespect toward locals, or non-compliance with regulations” would be dealt with severely.
And even the national Bureau of Immigration got involved, promising to escalate its monitoring of foreign tourists to punish those overstaying their visas or otherwise breaking the law. The penalty: deportation and blacklisting.
Let me say for the record that I’m not defending misbehaving Israelis. On the contrary, I applaud the increased enforcement and urge that all violators, wherever they’re from, be punished accordingly.
That said, however, I agree with Matugas that not all violators are Israelis and highly doubt that most Israelis are violators. Which is why I’m happy to help introduce that other Israeli face to the locals: the side that’s here to help.
To be sure, San Benito wouldn’t be the first Philippine municipality to receive Israeli aid. The Embassy, to mention just a few of its projects, has supported a women’s health center in Pasig; created elementary school libraries in Cavite and Quezon City; donated relief packets to typhoon victims in Bicol; provided 16,000 antigen test kits during Covid; and financed a solar power plant in Quezon.
My fondest hope is that rice for San Benito will soon be added to that list.
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(Published originally in The Manila Times)
David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist, author, and radio broadcaster with homes in Joshua Tree, California, and Northern Mindanao, Philippines, where he writes a weekly column for The Manila Times. The son of a Holocaust survivor, he is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, where he contributed to two Pulitzer prize-winning stories. His latest book is Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise.