(Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss shows one of the foods served during Rosh Hashanah. The challah bread symbolizes the cyclical nature of life or the crown of God. Photo courtesy of Mark Nilo Odiaman.)
(Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss together with Pandesal Forum Moderator Wilson Flores dipping apple in honey which signifies a sweet new year in celebration of Rosh Hashanah.)
The Embassy of Israel in the Philippines led by Ambassador Ilan Fluss celebrated the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, at the Pandesal Forum, a unique media and public issues forum, hosted by Kamuning Bakery Cafe on September 20.
One of Judaism’s holiest days, Rosh Hashanah is a time of rejoicing and serious introspection. Meaning “head of the year” or “first of the year,” the festival begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which falls during September or October.
Rosh Hashanah 2023 began on the evening of September 15, and ended at sundown on September 17.
Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world and marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in the Yom Kippur holiday, also known as the Day of Atonement. This high holiday is a time to do self-reflection of the previous year and an opportunity to plan and make decisions for the coming year.
Highlighting the historical friendly relations between Israel and the Philippines in his message, Ambassador Fluss said, “As we enter this new phase, the Embassy of Israel looks back on the fruitful year we had here in Manila. The recent visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Eliyahu Cohen signified the strong relations between Israel and the Philippines. It further strengthened our bilateral relations and the areas of cooperation such as agriculture and water, trade and economy, innovation and technology, and defense, among others. The Embassy is working closely with the Philippine government to reap the fruits of the high-level visit.”
Another important visit the Embassy sponsored was with Volcani Institute of Israel Deputy Director Prof. Uri Yermiyahu who spoke with relevant agriculture leaders, departments, and agrimovers in the Philippines. According to Ambassador Fluss, this is one way to answer the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for Israel to support the Philippine agriculture.
In the new Jewish year, Israel is working on many economic and defense cooperation between the two nations: (1) a visit of the Israel Asia Chamber of Commerce to the Philippines soon; (2) the first Israel-Philippines Joint Economic Committee in Jerusalem in October; (3) a delegation from Israel’s Minister of Defense International Defense Cooperation is currently in the Philippines to further strengthen the defense cooperation; (4) another high-level delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Defense-SIBAT will pay a visit to the Philippines soon.
“This year, as we enter the post-pandemic year, the Embassy has been more active in other areas to bring Israel and the Philippines closer. We recently participated in the Manila Improv Festival and held a side event for the Israeli Improv group which is dedicated to the OFWs in Israel and to remember the late DMW. Sec. Ople. Annually, the Embassy participates in the Brigada Eskwela program of the Department of Education. This year, we built a mini-library called Jerusalem Learning Resource Center in Barangay Bagong Tanyag Annex A in Taguig. We work closely with the DepEd, and we actually agreed on commemorating together the International Holocaust Remembrance Day every January,” Ambassador Fluss added.
MASHAV – Israel’s agency for International Cooperation, has been offering training programs for Filipinos to go to Israel. Some of the training courses are about environmental challenges, flood forecasting, intensive fish farming, inclusive Early Childhood Education for Children with Disabilities.
Further, with the aim of enhancing the level of interaction between citizens of the two nations, Ambassador Fluss noted, Israel is working on promoting its innovation and technology to different academes around the Philippines. The Embassy will also soon be bringing back the Israeli Film Festival halted by the pandemic, and promote cultural exchanges including the upcoming concert of Julie Ann San Jose, Rayver Cruz and Boobay in Tel Aviv.
In October, Filipino delegates will join the Agritech 2023 in Israel which is one of the most important exhibitions in the fields of technology, irrigation, fertilization, agricultural mechanization, water and food. Agritech is also a leading platform for global exhibitors presenting the best innovative technologies in the field of agriculture.
