Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research, Ernesto C. Abella, graced the inauguration of the Balai Quezon (Quezon House) at the Philippine Embassy in Israel on October 29, 2019. Members of the diplomatic corps and Israeli officials were also present at the launch of the center, which was established to honor President Manuel L. Quezon’s policy creating a safe haven in the Philippines for Jewish refugees of the Holocaust. Prior to the inauguration, Undersecretary Abella witnessed the turnover and unveiling of Manuel Quezon in Spontanrealismus, a painting by Filipino artist Celeste Lecaroz. The Philippines’ Honorary Consul in Jerusalem, Mr. Shimon Weinbaum, who had commissioned the painting, donated the artwork to the Balai Quezon in honor of its inauguration.
