Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — President Rodrigo Duterte conveys his apologies — this time, in person — to the Jewish community for the controversial Hitler remark he made last week.
Duterte attended the Rosh Hashanah — or the end of the celebration of the Jewish New Year — at the Beit Yaacov Synagogue in Makati Tuesday evening, where he said his apology “comes from the heart.”
“Please accept my apology. It will never happen again,” the President said.
Related: Duterte decries Hitler comparison
Duterte explained it was never his intention to disrespect the memory of the Jews — and it was his critics in the media and political opponents who had taken his statement out of context and portrayed him as Adolf Hitler.
“My wife is a Zimmerman, she is a descendant of an American jew. Why would I defile the memory of the Jews?” he said.
Earlier before this event, Duterte attended a local governance gathering where he also apologized for the statement: “It was not politically, socially correct for me to say that.”
The President also had previously said sorry for the Hitler analogy last Sunday while in Bacolod City.
The remark, which caused international buzz over the weekend, apparently didn’t affect how Duterte was welcomed by the members of the local Jewish community — as he was even mobbed by audience for pictures or selfies after his speech.
Meanwhile, Israel Ambassador to Philippines, Effie Ben Matityau noted that the history of the Filipinos and the Jews were intertwined.
Matityau mentioned that the Philippines, under President Manuel Quezon, served as refuge to more than a thousand jews fleeing the Holocaust.
He added that Israel was also among the first countries to send humanitarian aid to Eastern Visayas after the landfall of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
The ambassador also said he considered Mr. Duterte’s visit to the synagogue a sign of friendship with Israel and the Jewish people.
“We will always be friends,” Duterte also remarked.
CNN Philippines’ Makoi Popioco contributed to this report.
