Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday left for a visit to Israel and Jordan, pursuing a pivot away from his nation’s long-time reliance on American military hardware and support, Agence-France Presse reports. The four-day visit to Israel will be the first by a Philippine leader in more than 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations. While the visit will also promoting commercial and military ties, Israel sees the tour by Duterte and his top ministers as a chance to thank Manila for taking in Jews during the Holocaust and backing the Israeli independence campaign that followed. Duterte’s visit may also draw protests as he once compared himself to Hitler massacring the Jews in his war against drug dealers.