degraded by disunity

Spending the last 2 weeks in Israel, my interest to the history of the country, which is now dominated by disunity, was aroused. Israel is a beauiful country, and it’s riots and violent past doesn’t change it’s historical importance, especially in relious history.

Approximately 2.000 years ago, during the times of their imperialism, the Romans invented the name “Palestine” for a country they had taken from the Jews after a long and torturous war. This land had been acquired by the Jewish people around 450 BC and according to the book of Exodus in the Old Testemant, the Jewish population were lead from the chains of slavery under the Egyptians to freedom in the land of Israel by Moses.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the founder of the Bahá’í Religion, says: “The children of Israel were in bondage and captivity in the land of Egypt four hundred years. They were in an extreme state of degradation and slavery under the tyranny and oppression of the Egyptians. While they were in the condition of abject poverty, in the lowest degree of abasement, ignorance and servility His Holiness Moses suddenly appeared among them. Although He was but a shepherd, such majesty, grandeur and efficiency became manifest in Him through the power of religion, that His influence continues to this day. His prophethood was established throughout the land and the law of His Word became the foundation of the laws of the nations.” (Baha’i World Faith – p. 271)

After the claim of Israel by the Romans, many Jews fled to Europe and other countries, but ever yearning for a country that they owned and they could live in peace in.
1880 onwards, many Jews returned to Palestine, which was to this time dominated by Arabs. These managed to live peacefully side by side, but the consequences of the first world war were that Palestine was to be governed by Great Britain. The Jews were promised the right to continue living there.

During the second world war, so many Jews flew back to Palestine, that the Land was split up into different territories, Jewish and Arabian, never any unity existing.

In 1948, with the ending of the British assignment to govern Palestine, the state Israel was founded by the politician Ben Gurion, causing the Arab-Israeli war. This war resulted in Israeli victory a year later. Since then there is supposedly a cease-fire between Israel and the parts of the country that are inhabited by Palestinians. The so-called “Green Line“ now seperates these parts, the Gaza strip and Westjordan, from the rest of Israel.

So much for the stuff you probably already knew :) Traveling through Israel, from Tel Aviv all the way south to Eilat and then all the way north to Haifa and Akká and seeing it’s beauty, made me think about how wonderful this country would be if, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also says, the countries would disarm for universal peace and replace the thoughts of hatred towards eachother with thoughts of love to all citizens of humanity.

“There is nothing so heart-breaking and terrible as an outburst of human savagery!

I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.

Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other’s hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!” (Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 29)

Finally one of my favourite quotes by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

“When you meet a Persian or any other stranger, speak to him as to a friend; if he seems to be lonely try to help him, give him of your willing service; if he be sad console him, if poor succour him, if oppressed rescue him, if in misery comfort him. In so doing you will manifest that not in words only, but in deed and in truth, you think of all men as your brothers.What profit is there in agreeing that universal friendship is good, and talking of the solidarity of the human race as a grand ideal? Unless these thoughts are translated into the world of action, they are useless.The wrong in the world continues to exist just because people talk only of their ideals, and do not strive to put them into practice. If actions took the place of words, the world’s misery would very soon be changed into comfort.A man who does great good, and talks not of it, is on the way to perfection.The man who has accomplished a small good and magnifies it in his speech is worth very little.” (Paris Talks, p. 16)