Israel Thriving in the Philippines
The Craziest Seder Ever
By David Haldane
April 21, 2025
This was going to be a column about Middle Eastern politics.
How suffering Gazans had finally risen against Hamas, the fanatical terrorists who started a war they couldn’t win, subjecting their civilian constituents to unfathomable death and destruction. How, despite the threat of torture or worse, those brave dissidents bared their souls in a plea for rescue and salvation. And how, though it was clearly too little too late, their actions sent the world a message of hope.
Then other things happened, giving my hope a slightly different focus.
First, nearly 4,000 Filipinos of varying faiths gathered at the Bataan Sports Complex earlier this month to express their solidarity with Israel and shared commitment to what the organizers termed “peace, resilience, and remembrance amid ongoing global challenges.”
“In times of darkness,” Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss told the crowd, “we are reminded that it is the light of solidarity, courage, and unwavering faith that moves us forward. Together, as Christians and Jews, we are united—not just in words, but in actions, in prayer, and in hope.”
Second and more recently, my wife and I attended a Passover seder in the town of General Luna on Siargao Island, where she was born. And not just any seder, but one celebrated by about 800 exuberant young Israelis in an enormous municipal gymnasium. “Be sure and arrive 45 minutes early to get a seat,” warned Rabbi Mendel Shpindler of Chabad, the branch of Hasidic Judaism sponsoring what he described as the largest Passover gathering ever held in the Philippines.
Passover, you may recall, is the annual commemoration of the Jews’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt and ultimate return to the Promised Land of Israel around the 14th century BCE. All of which, I must say, seems especially relevant today as Israel once again fights for its very survival.
“One is our God, in the heaven and the earth!” the gym full of youthful 20-somethings sang in Hebrew while standing on chairs, pumping their fists, jumping up and down in the balconies, and hugging each other with joy. And later, “Blessed be He—always loves me!”
What they were saying, Rabbi Shpindler explained, is that “we believe God will give more good, even better than before.” And I don’t mind admitting that the intensity of their joy and optimism nearly brought me to tears.
Most of those dancing youngsters were former soldiers who had recently completed their military service in the tragic war that still drags on. Lately, in fact, Israel has intensified its efforts to rid the world of Hamas, which has steadfastly refused to lay down its arms or release the 59 hostages it holds.
“The first victim of Hamas is the Palestinian people,” one Gazan protestor recently told the New York Post. “Nobody likes Hamas in Gaza. My message to the world is, don’t think that we are all Hamas.”
In fact, the 37-year-old teacher said, he even supports Donald Trump’s controversial plan to relocate displaced Gazans, a sentiment echoed in some newspapers and social media posts worldwide.
“With Gaza in ruins and Hamas holding its grip on the people,” one compatriot posted on Facebook, “the situation is dire. President Trump’s proposal to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza offers a lifeline…This isn’t about abandoning Gaza; it’s about giving its people a way out of oppression.”
Which, of course, is also a major passion for Jews. In fact, it reminds me of an old joke regarding the theme of almost every Jewish holiday: “They tried to kill us; they failed; let’s eat!”
That certainly seemed to describe the overriding mood of the former soldiers attending last week’s seder in Siargao. “Whoever believes in God,” one young woman at our table declared, “is not afraid!”
And that pretty much says it all; if these young people represent the abiding spirit of their nation, then Israel will be just fine.
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David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist and author with homes in Southern California and Northern Mindanao. His latest book, Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise, is available for preorder on Amazon. This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
