Pinoys in Israel wary, but undaunted by war

TEL AVIV, Israel — It’s business as usual for Filipinos based here despite the threat of an all-out war between Israel and its neighboring countries.

Ferdinand Ocampo, a kitchen helper at the Market House Hotel in the old city of Jaffa, said the conducive work environment, fun-loving people and attractive salary are enough for them to forget the possibility of a war that could even escalate into a nuclear strike.

Ocampo is just one of the around 100,000 Filipinos working here, but only 30,000 of them are registered in the list of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

He is sharing an apartment with six other Filipinos in an area that is just 10 minutes away from the Jaffa district, making them safe when the Hamas terrorists launched a deadly cross-border attack in the southern part of Israel on 7 October last year.

Around 150 militants raided the quiet village of the kibbutz in Nir Oz, leaving a trail of horror and destruction with 1,200 civilians — most of them elderly, women and children — murdered, abducted, tortured and raped.

Then, the terrorists attacked the Nova Music Festival to murder around 370 partygoers who were celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukot.

With that, the Israelis launched retaliatory attacks that killed around 3,500 Hamas operatives, prompting the DFA to impose an Alert Level 2 status, which means that Filipino tourists are barred from visiting Israel and its popular destinations such as the Temple Mount, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate, Al Wad Road, Musrara Road and East Jerusalem.

“Of course, we are also afraid. We even thought the fighting would worsen,” the 30-year-old Ocampo, a native of Sta. Barbara town in Pangasinan, told DAILY TRIBUNE in an interview.

“But we’re happy here. We are up to the tasks the jobs require and the pay is good. Even though expenses may be high, we are still able to save to send money back to our families in the Philippines,” he added.

Nuclear attack

There’s a serious threat to the lives of the Israelis and all other nationalities living in Israel, including Filipinos.

Mijal Gur-Aryeh, Israeli ambassador to Costa Rica, told DAILY TRIBUNE that the war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and their battle against Hamas terrorists in Palestine could lead to a nuclear strike from Iran.

Last April, Israel was suspected of striking Iran’s embassy compound in Syria, leading to the death of seven members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals who led the elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon.

Iran retaliated by launching 300 missiles and drones into Israel.

Reports have it that the Iranians are already enriching their uranium up to 60 percent purity, close to the 90 percent purity of weapons-grade uranium.

If the current nuclear material on hand were enriched further, it would suffice for Iran to manufacture two nuclear weapons, according to the official yardstick of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“The worst-case scenario, which is realistic but I hope is not going to happen, is the decision of Iran to make a run for the nuclear bomb,” Gur-Aryeh said shortly after visiting the kibbutz community near Gaza Strip.

“It’s possible that in this case, it wants to create a distraction so it is instructing Hezbollah to attack Israel with thousands of missiles everyday and Hamas to continue attacking Israel. So while the world is very busy with this crisis, it may be trying to create a bomb that will annihilate all of Israel.”

Gur-Aryeh has a wide knowledge of international law and diplomacy. She joined the Israel Foreign Ministry in 1999 and served as spokesperson in New Delhi, vice consul general in Istanbul, deputy ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg in Brussels, and counselor for Political Affairs in Rome.

She is also a qualified advocate and mediator with Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Research, Management and Resolution from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“I would say that it’s the very worst-case scenario that after a few weeks of escalation, Iran might do a nuclear test and become a nuclear state,” Gur-Aryeh said.

“I hope it won’t happen, but it is a very realistic scenario.”

Repatriation

There is no doubt that the Israelis are also prepared for war.

Aside from having modern warfare and a strong defense force composed of 169,500 active personnel and 465,000 reservists, the Israelis also have a rock-solid defense system called the “Iron Dome.”

The “Iron Dome” is an air-defense system that was designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away, effectively denying them of reaching the populated areas.

It was first used in 2011 in which it successfully intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza.

Still, Ocampo and other Filipinos are threatened.

“We are scared; that’s already nuclear. When it’s a nuclear war, it’s all over. We’re defeated,” he added, expressing the opinion that Israelis are more wary of Lebanon than Palestine due to the former’s very sophisticated warfare.

“Still, we think Israel is ready for any war. What’s difficult is if its enemies are able to prepare and drop a nuclear bomb. That’s another matter altogether,” he said.

He said if tension escalates, he would avail the repatriation offer of the DFA and hop onto the next flight bound for Manila.

“We have a repatriation offer from the government and we can go home at anytime. But presently, we are staying put. We need to make money,” Ocampo said before politely excusing himself to attend to his regular tasks inside the kitchen.

It’s just another day in the office for him and other Filipinos.