Bibliography: #D2SWGNMQ

key	D2SWGNMQ
title	"זוהר בארץ הקודש" : הבהאים בארץ ישראלת, 1968-1918 [Zohar be-Eretz ha-Kodesh : ha-Baha'im be-Erets Yisrael, 1918-1968]
author	Rozen, Shay
authority control	Shay Rozen
item type	Thesis
publication year	2017
date	2017-07
abstract note	This research examines the creation process of the Baha'i space in the land of Israel, historically and geographically speaking, regarding the different events which the Baha'i community in the land of Israel underwent, as well as the local, regional and global developments. The main field of study in this research is the historical study that examines events and processes along a defined timeline. However, by the very definition of the subject there are many more fields of study incorporated in this research, such as geographical research (which deals with the spatial distribution of the research's subjects) and a socio-religious research (which examines sociological processes inside a religious community). The combination of these three fields of study enables a social-historical-cultural analysis of the formation of the Baha'i space in the land of Israel. One of the first issues with a research regarding "the Baha'is in the land of Israel" was the definition of who is Baha'i? What is presence? What is the Erets-Israeli space and what is the time span in which the research will be held? The answer to the last two questions was clear: the space of the research will be in the realm of Palestine, which was shaped in the first years of the British presence in the land of Israel, that overlaps the first part of the research, and the time span is to be comprised of the secondary 50 years of the Baha'i presence in the space after the previous were explored during my master's degree research paper. The question of presence was defined as any aspect of the physical Baha'i on-site, or the conscious awareness of the authorities regarding the existence of a local Baha'i community. The definition of the term "Baha'i" was more problematic and for the convenience of the research, it was stated the "a Baha'i" is anyone who believes in the Baha'i lineage of prophecy which begins with the Bab as the "Precursor Prophet" and Baha'u'llah as the "Founding Prophet" of the faith. The Baha'i faith is a new monotheistic religion, that evolved during the second half of the 19th century, and sees itself as the latest in the line of historical monotheistic religions (such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism) that is based on the principles of those religions and considers their prophets as God's embodiment on Earth. The origins of the faith lay on the Shia-Islamic region of the middle-east which mainly contains Iran and southern Iraq and it is based on the belief in Ali-Muhammad Shirazi (1819-1850), knows as the "Bab" and is considered as the "Precursor Prophet" and in Mirzá Husayn-Ali Nuri (1817-1892), known as "Baha'u'llah" and is considered as the "Founding Prophet" of the Baha'i religion. Because of persecution by the Iranian regime, which condemned the Bab to death and haunted his believers, Baha'u'llah and his followers were exiled to Bagdad, then under the rule of the Ottoman empire and then exiled to Istanbul, Edirne, until arriving finally, in the summer of 1868 in Acre, then a remote city at the edge of the empire. Baha'u'llah's staying in Acre alongside his family and believers lasted 24 years until his death in the spring of 1892. During those years Baha'u'llah stayed in several residences in Acre and its surroundings, visited different sites in the area and especially in the Carmel area and Haifa as well as the western Galilee. Baha'u'llah being at this space surrounding Acre had made the entire region, from a Baha'i point of view into "The Holy Land" and a site of pilgrimage. And Baha'u'llah's grave at the centre of his estate in Bahji near Acre, had become the believers' most sacred site and the beacon to which they face during prayer. Baha'u'llah's successor was his son, Abbas Effendi (1844-1921), known as 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who spread the Baha'i religion past the middle-eastern realm and sent Baha'i preachers east, mainly to India, and west, mainly Europe and North America. The highlight of Abdu'l-Bahá's activity in making the Baha'i religion world-engulfing, was a series of pilgrimages made by western believers to the land of Israel and two long journeys made by him to the west at the eve of World War one. Supported by those followers 'Abdu'l-Bahá moved from his residence in Acre to the city of Haifa, which became the administrative centre of the Baha'i religion while Acre preserved its status as the religion's centre of belief. Under the leadership of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Bahá the Baha'is, funded by followers and supporters, gained pieces of land and structures in the area of Acre that were used for the living and well-being of Baha'u'llah, large areas in the Jordan valley that served as the agricultural backbone of the community and grounds in the Haifa region and lower Carmel, that served the residential needs of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his family, the hosting of pilgrims a sacred centre beside Acre, that has the Bab's tomb in its centre on Mt. Carmel. At the start of the 20th century the Baha'is began selling some of their holdings in the Jordan valley to the institutes of the Zionist movement (upon those lands the Degania group was built). On the outbreak of WWI 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his family lived in Galilee and then returned to Haifa. It seems that their class and status were no different than those of any other residents, and no particular danger by the authorities had put them at risk, yet as the war progressed, and especially after the conquest of the southern land of Israel by the British army, rumors began to spread regarding a deterioration of the government attitude towards 'Abdu'l-Bahá and a direct threat on his life. Those rumors were picked by the British intelligence and arrived at the ears of 'Abdu'l-Bahás followers in England. Those followers began acting among the British authorities in London, Cairo and Jerusalem to influence them so they would ensure the well-being of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the British advanced north. Their efforts had no influence on the army's actions but they brought to the awareness of the British the existence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which became a key factor in the British strategy in the middle-eastern space. With the death of A'bdu'l-Bahá in 1921, his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, became the leader of the Baha'i community under the title of "Guardian of the Faith". Shoghi Effendi's appointment brought some objection to his leadership in some parts of the Baha'i community, both local and global, yet he managed to unite most of the community under his leadership, and convinced the British, and later Israeli authorities, that he is the unquestioned leader of the community. This status of his enabled him to transform the Baha'i community into a religious community known by the governments, to invest in the development of the Baha'i properties in the space of Acre, Haifa and the Carmel, to develop a world-wide administrative-religious system centered in Haifa and act for the spread of faith throughout the world. Unlike the development of the Baha'i properties in Acre, Haifa and the Carmel, which are religiously considered as "The Holy Land" and as sites of pilgrimage, Shoghi Effendi, like his grandfather, did not attribute any religious value to the Baha'i lands in the Jordan valley, and during the 1930's-1940's the Baha'i began selling their estates and lands to the Zionist institutes. It was a process that began at the days of 'Abdu'l-Baha' who sold a large part of the lands of Um-Ghuni, and ended after the war of 1948 when JNF (Jewish National Fund), by the initiative of the Israeli government, purchased some of the Baha'i land in the region while as the Israeli government recompensed the Baha'i landowners for selling those lands financially or in other lands elsewhere. With the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the dynasty of Baha'u'llah led the Baha'i community no more and was replaced by the "Ministry of the Custodians" which one of its key figures was Mary Maxwell (1910-200), Shoghi Effendi's wife. the Ministry of the Custodians acted much among the Baha'i communities to promote the elections for the "Universal House of Justice", the Baha'i leadership's institute that was conceived by Baha'u'llah and promoted by Shoghi Effendi. The ministries efforts paid off and in 1963 the first 9 members of this establishment were appointed. Their tenure was set to 5 years and when those end, after the establishment proved its durability and capabilities, and after 100 years of Baha'i presence in the land of Israel, the Universal House of Justice, in elections that included representatives from all over the world, was elected for a second term. Those elections are the final chord of this research. The secondary 50 years of the Baha'i presence in the land of Israel (1918-1968) are, by any definition, a story of success. From a small community, which had a few hundred members in Israel and several thousand believers world-wide at the start of that period the Baha'i community had, in 1968, with 100 years of Baha'i presence in the land of Israel, around 2 million believers that spread to almost every political entity or continent in the world. From a small religious centre with a few small monuments and humble houses the Baha'is managed during this period to raise as a global religious, spiritual and administrative centre with a series of monumental memorials, spectacular gardens, administrative buildings and hostels for the Baha'i pilgrims, now arriving to the land of Israel in growing numbers. And from a young religion unknown by the authorities and with none of the privileges that other religious communities had, the Baha'i religion gained during those 50 years a status of a known religion, even if not officially, which has all the benefits of honour and money, that larger, richer and older religions with much more believers had, as said by the prophet Hosea, whom the Baha'is often quote: "There I will give her back her vineyards and the Valley of Trouble (Emeq Achor, the valley of Acre according to the Baha'i conception) into a door of hope..." (Hosea 2, 17).
number pages	[9], VIII, 304, IV, [3]
publisher	Universitat Hefah, ha-Hug le-limude Erets Yisra'el [University of Haifa]
place	Hefa [Haifa]
language	Hebrew,
type	Doctorate
manual tags	ISRAEL

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