May 18. On this date in 1954, Ruhaniyyih Ruth Moffett arrived in Israel. She described the founding of that country six years previous as "a most remarkable bloodless revolution occurred, when 4,000,000 Moslems fled and 1,000,000 Jews marched in and began tilling their ancestral soil, and a new nation was born. Today the blue and white flag with the star of Bethlehem flutters proudly over the world'' youngest democracy --"" nation as eternally old as yesterday, as eternally young as tomorrow". Phonex-like, from the ashes have risen again to build a new homeland, to develop the most stupendous, life-salvaging operation ever undertaken in the whole history of mankind, and to fulfil the promise of the Ages!"
At 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18, the Royal Sabena glided along the runway to the first stop in Brussels, Belgium, after the long transoceanic flight. There the same plane was reconditioned and flew over Europe, and Brindisi, the tip of the heel of Italy, over the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas, and arrived in Athens, where the plane was again reconditioned, and arrived at 10:30 p.m., May 18, 1954 at the airport at Jappa, Tel Aviv, Israel. This is the modern miracle, to travel thousands of miles from Chicago to Tel Aviv in only thirty nine hours!
As the Royal Sabena plane winged its way toward Israel, Ruhaniyyih wondered how it would look in comparison with when she saw it before - a desert land filled with rocks, sand, thorny bushes and confusion, and where everyone seemed to be against his neighbor. As the approaching lights of the Holy Land again came into view, her heart was filled with joyful and reverential expectancy and she thought to the words of the song, "Israel - The Land of Promise Welcomes You".
As she gazed meditatively at the approaching lights of the Holy Land, the panorama of history seemed to unroll before her mind: of how Palestine was peopled by cave dwellers in about 3500 B.C.; of how Abraham was led to this land, and God made a covenant with Him, "that in the seed of Abraham shall all the nations of the earth be blest"; of the Cananites, and later how Moses led the Israelites out of bondage, and for forty years in the wilderness, and Joshua led them to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey; how the Jewish people built up the land but turned away from God to gods of their own making. Then Saul became the first king and established a civic kingdom, but he died. David became the king unifying the kingdom and calling them to return to God: and David died and was called to his fathers. Solomon, his son became King. He expanded the kingdom, and to this day, the glory and unity of his kingdom is still sung. But Solomon died and the tribes became divided. Then the Assyrians in 1722 B.C., destroyed Damascus and Israel and took the tribes into captivity, and they became scattered. After the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. the remaining tribes of Judah were taken into Babylonia and scattered. Alexander the Great captured Palestine in 332 B.C. The coming of Jusus, the Christ, had a profound effect on the history of this land, which became a noted center of pilgrimages.
Under the Moslem dominion from 636 A.D. for four centuries, and the long period of the Christian Crusades, one lasting 100 years, there was much destruction and a little progress. It was under the control of the Ottoman Turks from 1516 until the first World War, then it cecame a mandate of Great Britain, under the League of Nations. "The White Paper" gave the promise that the doors of Palestine would again open to her people. Many outbreaks of violence have occurred between the Jews and Arabs, which have caused this land to become on of the danger spots of the world. After World War II, the Jews began returning in large numbers, until today there are about 1,465,000 Jews, gathered from 75 countries, 125,000 Moslems, 40,000 Christians, and 16,000 Druzes in Israel.
On May 14, 1948, a most remarkable bloodless revolution occurred, when 4,000,000 Moslems fled and 1,000,000 Jews marched in and began tilling their ancestral soil, and a new nation was born. Today the blue and white flag with the star of Bethlehem flutters proudly over the world'' youngest democracy --"" nation as eternally old as yesterday, as eternally young as tomorrow". Phonex-like, from the ashes have risen again to build a new homeland, to develop the most stupendous, life-salvaging operation ever undertaken in the whole history of mankind, and to fulfil the promise of the Ages!
Ruth J. Moffett was born on January 19, 1880 and met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on a train platform in Chicago in 1912. After attending one of his lectures, she became a Bahá'í and became active in service in 1919. Her teaching efforts took her throughout the Americas, Europe, Egypt and the Near East. The Greatest Holy Leaf (Bahiyyih Khanum) named her Ruhaniyyih, conoting spirituality, joy and beauty. Ruth J. Moffett died on July 5, 1978.
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