# Israel Resurgent

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

---

> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Norman Bentwich, Israel Resurgent, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Israel Resurgent
> 
> Norman Bentwich
> pp. 206-207
> 
> London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1952
> 
> 1. 1960 version, from the book Israel Resurgent, pp. 206-207: text
> 
> Another peculiar religious minority with a community in Israel
> is the Druze population. Their main centre is in Syria. The
> Israeli section live in the northern district, and are mostly tillers
> of the soil. They are sturdy and warlike, and in the War of Independence
> they fought on the side of Israel. Though Arabic-speaking,
> they had never been on happy terms with the Moslem
> Arabs, and lived apart. Their sect is derived from ancient races in
> the Middle East, and they have held fast, for a thousand years, to
> esoteric doctrines, which are believed to be a mixture of Semitic
> and Persian paganism, Islam and Christianity. According to their
> doctrines they are 'in the period of concealment', and may not
> divulge anything about their faith. They have lay and spiritual
> leaders, but no priests. The Ministry issues in three languages a
> separate bulletin on Druze Affairs in Israel, most of the articles
> being written by heads of the community.
> 
> A smaller sect, of Persian origin, but having its religious and
> spiritual centre in Palestine for more than half a century, is of the
> Bahais or Babis. They were formed during the nineteenth century
> in Persia, where a religious reformer claimed to be the forerunner
> of the Moslem Messiah, and assumed the title of Bab, or the Gate,
> because he was the Gate to the New Era. One of his Persian disciples
> preached a universal religious teaching in Persia, and when
> exiled from that country, took refuge in Turkey. The Turkish
> Sultan, Abdul Hamid, alarmed at the spread of the new creed,
> imprisoned him in the fortress of Acre, but after some years he was
> released, and made his home first in that town and later in Haifa.
> Baha-Ullah continued to preach human brotherhood, and his son
> Abbas, who succeeded him, spread his doctrine also in America.
> Father and son are buried in a beautiful garden above Haifa on the
> Carmel Mountain, which has become a place of pilgrimage for the
> members of the world community. A shrine with a gold cupola,
> and a hall of archives in the style of a classical Greek Temple,
> have been built in recent years, and are striking landmarks of
> Haifa's expansion on the Carmel slopes. The head of the community
> at the establishment of the State was Shoghi Effendi, the
> grandson of Sir Abbas. He died in 1956, and no member of the
> Persian family has taken his place. The direction of the world
> community is now shared by an international Spiritual Board with
> its seat at Haifa.
> 
> 2. 1952 version, from the book Israel, pp. 183-184: text
> 
> Another religious minority with a considerable community
> in Israel is the Druze population of some 15,000. They live
> entirely in the northern district, and they are mostly tillers
> of the soil. They are sturdy and warlike, and in the War of
> Independence they fought with Israel. Though Arabic-speaking,
> they have never been on happy terms with the
> Moslem Arabs and lived apart. Their sect is derived from
> many ancient races in the Middle East, and they have held
> fast, for a thousand years, to esoteric doctrines, which are
> believed to be a mixture of Semitic and Persian paganism,
> Islam and Christianity. According to one of these doctrines
> they are 'in the period of concealment', and may not divulge
> anything about their faith. They live happily today with the
> Jewish settlers, and in the last election to the Assembly of
> Israel they returned two members.
> 
> A much smaller sect, which has also a Persian origin, but
> has had its religious and spiritual centre in Palestine for
> more than half a century, is the Bahais or Babis. They were
> formed during the nineteenth century in Persia, where a
> religious reformer claimed to be the forerunner of the Moslem
> Messiah and assumed the title of Bab, or the Gate, because
> he was the Gate to the New Era. One of his Persian disciples
> preached a universal religious teaching in Persia, and when
> exiled from that country, took refuge in Turkey. The Turkish
> Sultan, alarmed at the spread of the new creed, imprisoned
> him in the fortress at Acre, but after some years he was
> released and made his home first in that town and later in
> Haifa. Baha-Ullah continued to preach human brotherhood,
> and his son Abbas, who succeeded him, spread his doctrine
> also in America. Father and son are buried in a beautiful
> garden above Haifa on the Carmel Mountain, which has
> become a place of pilgrimage for the members of the world
> community. The present head of the Bahais, Shoghi Effendi,
> who is a grandson of Abbas, and was educated at Oxford,
> continues to live at Haifa, and round his house a small
> Bahai enclave, inhabited largely by Persians, remained undisturbed
> in the period of the troubles. Some of the members
> of the community who were sympathetic to the Arab cause
> took flight to the Lebanon, but most remained in Israel, and
> so far as their influence goes, are a factor making for interreligious
> understanding.
> 
> 3. 1960 version, from the book Israel Resurgent, pp. 206-207: image scans
> 
> 4. 1952 version, from the book Israel, pp. 183-184: image scans
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views5747 views since posted 2013-07-22; last edit 2013-07-22 20:20 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../bentwich_israel_resurgent
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> Scanned 2001 by Dan Povey; Formatted 2013-07-22 by Jonah Winters.
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> Shortlink: bahai-library.com/2145
> Citation: ris/2145
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> — *Israel Resurgent (Used by permission of the curator)*