I was looking up Baha'i pilgrimage - though I don't intent to make one myself in the immediate future - and I came across something that struck me as odd. What seemed to be an official Baha'i website for organizing a pilgrimage essentially said that Baha'is were not allowed to go to Israel unless they received permission, and to receive permission you had to give the reason of your visit. Also, it seems that they give you a time limit, restraining how long you can stay there.

Tell me, why is that? Why do they care when and why and for how long we go the Holy Land? Why do we need their permission? If there's some reason for this that is understandable, then I could accept it, but it seems a little unreasonable to me right now. I tried to look it up myself, but I couldn't seem to find anything about it.

Okay, I think I get it. Thanks so much for bearing with me through my questions. I'm new to the Baha'i Faith and would just like to have a decent understanding of things. I don't plan on making a pilgrimage in the near future - even if I were to register now, it would be a few years. So, just to clarify, a Baha'i CAN go to the World Center on their own, unregistered...they just wouldn't get the time, the depth, and the privaledges of a registered pilgrim...is that right?

Thanks again.

[QUOTE=world citizen;277377]Hi Phoenix ~

I think you might have misread what the website was saying.  One of the first things you will be asked at Ben Gurion Airport by the Customs officer is your business in Israel.  You will then be asked for evidence (proof) that you're there for Baha'i Pilgrimage, and the maximum days allotted by the Israeli government for your visit within the country will be 30 days.  You will also be asked upon leaving the country for that same evidence.  You are, in fact, BECAUSE you are a Baha'i going on Pilgrimage, being given permission by Israel to be in their country.  You must keep in mind that that area of the world is a political hotbed.  While the Baha'i Faith has a special relationship with Israel and Baha'is are always welcome to visit their Holy Places, it is a Jewish nation surrounded by antagonistic neighbors.  Not everyone can just come and go at whim throughout that country unless an Israeli citizen.

Shalom, WC[/QUOTE]

I think two different permissions are being conflated here and confused with one another.

First is the permission of the Israeli authorities in being allowed to enter the country; second is the permission of the Universal House of Justice (or, more generally, the Head of the Faith) to visit.  The two are separate things, but both are necessary.  Now I don't know if Israeli immigration would stop a Baha'i from entering the country for a reason other than visiting the World Center if he/she lacked the permission of the House, especially if the immigration officers did not know that he/she was a Baha'i.  It's not something I propose to find out.

FYI, I believe the tourist visa length is 90 days, not 30 days (so says travel.state.gov)

[QUOTE=koolpoi;292040]Why can't one simply go to Israel as a tourist and visit Bahai sites?[/QUOTE]

The Baha'i sites are open to the public after noon, at least that was the policy when I was there ten years ago.

If you happen to be in Haifa for another reason, certainly you may visit the sites when they are open to the public.

But if you plan to visit during the times it is open for Baha'is only, and given the special access during times when the sites are not flooded with John Q. Public, then register.

There are no Baha'i Police that are going to treat you any differently from how the public is treated because you are Baha'i.  But if you are Baha'i you have two choices to visit the sites near Haifa, 3 or 9 day, or just don't tell anyone you are Baha'i, sit in the gardens, and fight the crowds.

--Kent

[QUOTE=world citizen;300122]That's great news, me!  Do you think the shorter waiting list might have something to do with people being concerned about what's going on in the Middle East lately?  That maybe fewer people are applying right now, especially given that it was only a year ago that Haifa received shelling?  I knew someone that was there during that time.  Pilgrimage continued on schedule but was very limited due to the air raids.[/QUOTE]

Actually, I believe the reason is that larger pilgrimage groups are being formed.  When I went in late December, I was one of 393 pilgrims in that session, the largest ever to that date.  I've heard that the maximum group size is 450.  Forming larger groups will cut down the waiting list -- at least until the new applications from newly enrolled believers start coming in :)