Episode #17
A book discussion of “The Manila Poker Club: Eisenhower, Quezon, and the Plan to Harbor Europe’s Jews in the Philippines”
The Manila Poker Club: A Forgotten Rescue Story. In this episode, Allied Voices for Israel (AVI)'s Founder and Executive Director Daniel Koren sits down with author Mark Sy about his book The Manila Poker Club: Eisenhower, Quezon, and the Plan to Harbor Europe’s Jews in the Philippines , the remarkable and largely forgotten story of how a small group of influential Americans and Filipinos helped rescue Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in the late 1930s. The “Manila Poker Club” brought together Philippine President Manuel Quezon, U.S. High Commissioner Paul McNutt, Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, and businessmen Philip and Alex Frieder, who formed an unlikely alliance through late-night card games. Their friendship ultimately became the foundation for a clandestine effort to circumvent restrictive U.S. immigration policies and provide refuge to Jews escaping Europe. Mark explores the creation of the “McNutt-Frieder list,” which helped refugees qualify for entry based on occupational categories, as well as the ambitious “Mindanao project,” which envisioned resettling as many as 10,000 Jewish refugees in the Philippines. Although the Japanese invasion in 1941 brought the larger plan to an end, approximately 1,300 Jewish refugees ultimately found safety in the Philippines. Why did this extraordinary rescue effort remain so little known? Mark discusses how the participants deliberately kept their work private, how refugees became scattered after the war, and how postwar priorities in the Philippines shifted toward national reconstruction. The episode also explores the enduring lessons of this history: the importance of moral courage in the face of prejudice, the power of cross-cultural cooperation, the dangers of disinformation, and the life-saving impact of humanitarian immigration policies during times of refugee crisis. Mark shares what first drew him to this story during the pandemic, as well as moving survivor accounts—including the Weish family, who escaped Austria with the help of an unexpected German sponsor. The Manila Poker Club is ultimately a story about ordinary human connections leading to extraordinary acts of courage—and a reminder that history can offer powerful lessons for the challenges we face today. #TheManilaPokerClub #JewishHistory #HolocaustHistory #RefugeeRescue #PhilippineHistory PURCHASE A COPY OF "THE MANILA POKER CLUB": https://www.amazon.com/Manila-Poker-Club-Eisenhower-Philippines-ebook/dp/B0GHZK4Q1F INTRO & OUTRO MUSIC: https://www.instagram.com/westsidegravy/CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND THE PROGRAMS WE OFFER: https://alliedvoicesforisrael.org FOLLOW US:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliedvoicesforisrael/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alliedvoicesforisrael/?originalSubdomain=caFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alliedvoicesforisraelX: https://x.com/alliedvoicesILTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alliedvoicesforisrael INTRO & OUTRO MUSIC: https://www.instagram.com/westsidegravy/CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND THE PROGRAMS WE OFFER: https://alliedvoicesforisrael.org FOLLOW US: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliedvoicesforisrael/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alliedvoicesforisrael/?originalSubdomain=ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alliedvoicesforisrael X: https://x.com/alliedvoicesIL TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alliedvoicesforisrael
