Prime Minister Shimon Peres Wednesday sent a warm message of congratulations to the new President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino.
“…. your victory is the victory of democracy in the Philippines. We here in Israel followed your struggle with concern. We knew that the great majority of the Filipino nation stood at your side.”
The Premier praised Aquino’s “unusual courage,” and said Israel had known all along that justice would triumph in the end. “We were enchanted by the way you pursed the struggle …. to improve the lot of your people,” Peres stated.
The tenor and tone of the Premier’s cable transcended regular diplomatic practice, and reflected in this way the sincere sense of gratification which most Israelis feel at the outcome of the power struggle in the Philippines.
WARM RELATIONS WITH THE PHILIPPINES
Relations between the two countries were warm under former President Marcos — and Israeli officials believe they will be no less cordial under President Aquino.
Israeli experts work in the Philippines in agriculture and other fields, and a surprisingly large number of ordinary Israelis have visited as tourists. Invariably they have found a warm and hospitable country, whose people relate without ideological preconceptions to Israel and the Mideast conflict.
Ambassador Uri Gordon, a career diplomat, telephoned the duty officer at the Philippine Foreign Ministry in Manila before dawn Wednesday to read out over the telephone the formal announcement from the government in Jerusalem recognizing the new government in the Philippines.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
