Not long after the historical UN vote upgrading the Palestinians' diplomatic status to a non-member observer state over the weekend, hundreds of Filipinos held a colorful and festive march in Manila in support of Israel, despite the fact that the Philippines government voted for the Palestinian status upgrade.
Some 300-400 Filipinos gathered in a busy Manila business district, some armed with huge signs, Israeli flags, white and blue balloons, loudspeakers booming songs in Hebrew, and even some shofarot.
They were followed by a convoy of some 50-60 cars, decorated with signs reading, "Standing with Israel, now and then," hinting at 1947 when the Philippines was the first Asian country to vote in support of the founding of the Jewish nation.
The march was organized by a handful of pro-Israel Christian organizations, which support Israel in myriad of ways throughout the year with weekly mass prayer sessions in support of Israel, fundraisers from different Israeli organizations and even similar marches held on an annual basis.
According to Israel's ambassador to the Philippines, more than 40,000 of the Philippines citizens currently work in Israel, mostly nursing elderly.
The march's final destination was the national park located some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the starting point. The marchers convened there, where they were joined by additional avid supports and concluded the celebration by singing a perfect rendition of "Hatikva" (Israel's national anthem) and blowing the shofars.
Beside the support of Christian organizations, it is important to the note that the large number of Filipino citizens working in foreign countries is one of the Philippines economy's major income sources.
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