Hannah Gaventa: You lived in the Philippines? But are there any Jews there? This is a common response when I inform people that I spent the past year as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Philippines Coordinator, as part of my JDC Entwine-Pears Fellowship.
Well yes, actually. I lived in Manila, which is home to a lovely, warm, welcoming and vibrant Jewish community, and the country has had a long Jewish presence — including a fascinating chapter involving President Manuel Quezon, together with JDC, saving Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
That is not what brought me to the Philippines, however.
One of my first site visits this year was to a small remote island called Bintuan, off the coast of Palawan, where I met a representative of the Tagbanua tribe. Manahan Abella, also known fondly as "Tatay" or "Father," is the same age as my own dad. He lives with his community of 36 families and they are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Philippines.
