Meanwhile, some of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s writings indicate his prophecies regarding the near future prosperity of the Jews in the Land of Palestine (the Promised Land). In one of these writings, he said:
Hu Allah
O Lord! In the books and scriptures, through the prophets, You have revealed news and given glad tidings to Israel, promising that the day will come when Israel, once hopeless, will become hopeful and, from a state of great humiliation, attain eternal honor; and that this scattered nation shall be united under the shadow of the Lord of Hosts in the Holy Land, becoming beloved among all peoples.
Praise be to You that the day of ease has arrived, and the causes of joy and happiness have been realized. Israel will soon be glorified, and this dispersion will turn into unity. The Sun of Truth has risen, and the rays of guidance have shone upon Israel, so that from distant lands, with utmost joy, they may enter the Holy Land.
O Lord! Make Your promise manifest and honor the lineage of the Holy Friend! You are Powerful and Capable, and You are All-Seeing, All-Hearing, and All-Knowing. [24]
Another statement of his, aligned with the above document, reads:
This is Palestine. It is the Holy Land. Soon, the Jewish people will return to these lands. They shall inherit the Davidic sovereignty and the glory of Solomon. This is among the explicit divine promises, and there is no doubt about it. The Jewish people shall become honored. Under divine guidance, these lands, once desolate, will be cultivated and thriving. All dispersed Jews shall gather, and these lands will become centers of industry and arts. They shall be populated and prosperous, without any doubt. The highest status will be established in the best manner. The prayers and devotions of God’s prophets will not be wasted, and all divine promises will be fulfilled. The exile, wandering, and dispersion of the Jews will transform into visible honor. Even apparently, they shall become esteemed. The Blessed Beauty (ʻAbdu’l-Bahá) prayed for the people of Israel in devotions revealed nearly fifty years ago, saying: “O my God! Make the humbled children of Israel honored and gather them together in the Holy Land!” Certainly, these divine promises shall be realized without doubt. You should visit these holy lands in utmost humility, devotion, and supplication! [25]
A Jewish Historian’s Perspective on ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s Prophecies (circa 1335 AH)
Naturally, from the Baha’i perspective, these statements had a divine and prophetic character. However, from the Jewish point of view, they were issued because of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s awareness of contemporary political developments. According to the renowned Jewish historian Habib Levy:
Since 1882 CE, the migration of Eastern European Jews to Palestine had begun. The uprising of Leon Pinsker from 1883, the writing of a book advocating Jewish liberation and return to Palestine, the attention of Rothschild to purchasing lands and financially supporting Jewish migration to Palestine, the Dreyfus affair, the writing of “Der Judenstaat,” the establishment of the Zionist Congress, and later Herzl’s meetings with the emperors of Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, and the Russian Prime Minister, as well as the founding of Jewish settlements in Palestine—all of these factors convinced any observer that the era of the Jewish national revival had arrived. [26]
From this perspective, ʻAbdu’l-Bahá (d. 1921 CE)—who was informed of contemporary political events and residing in Palestine—issued tablets during that period, indicating that soon the Jews would attain freedom and extraordinary progress. [27]
References:
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Mashallah Mosharrafzadeh, Israel and Palestine in the Eyes of the Baha’is, p. 32. The author of this book is a Baha’i.
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Habib Moayyed, Habib’s Memoirs, pp. 20–21.
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For an understanding of Zionist efforts to establish themselves in Palestine and the Ottoman rulers’ views, see: Hassan Hallak, The Role of Jews and International Powers in the Deposition of Sultan Abdulhamid, and David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, Part Six: “New Worlds and the Promised Lands.”
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Habib Levy, History of the Jews of Iran, vol. 3, p. 892, note 1.