Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice regarding pilgrimage and brief visits to the Holy Land

8 July 2021 / 16 Mercy 178

All Local Spiritual Assemblies
All Regional Bahá’í Councils
All Registered Groups

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

We are writing to share excerpts from a letter of today’s date written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the suspension of pilgrimage and brief visits to the Holy Land.

The House of Justice has been closely monitoring the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the world at large, on travel to and from Israel, and on the public health measures that have, so far, prevented pilgrims and visitors from coming to the Holy Land. We are able to inform you that conditions are improving at a pace that, God willing, makes it possible for brief visits to the Holy Land to resume as early as this summer. A further communication confirming the date of resumption of brief visits will be sent in due course.

While the flexible character of brief visits may make it possible for these visits to resume in the near future, the more structured and complex nature of the pilgrimage programme prevents the pilgrimage season from restarting in October of this year, as had been hoped. However, indications are that the world-wide efforts to bring the pandemic under control may well create conditions that once again make it possible for friends to receive the bounty of pilgrimage to the Holy Land as early as January 2022, following the Centenary Commemoration of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members.

It is essential that friends who intend to visit the Holy Land regularly review the entry requirements of the State of Israel and their chosen airlines prior to travelling. Some information will be available on the pilgrimage website at pilgrimage.bwc.org, but in addition, friends are strongly advised to monitor the travel advisories issued by authorities in their own countries. Visitors should also be forewarned that their flights may be rescheduled by the airlines either before travelling or while in the Holy Land and that they should be prepared for the possible consequences. It is anticipated that all visitors entering the Holy Land will require evidence of COVID-19 immunity, either resulting from vaccination or recovery from the disease. Negative PCR tests, prior to initiating travel and again upon arrival, may also prove essential to avoid the requirement to quarantine. PCR tests performed in Israel may also be required by airlines and the countries to which the friends travel upon departure from the Holy Land.

We are asked to assure the friends of the prayers of the House of Justice in the Sacred Shrines that they may be surrounded by the tender mercies of Bahá’u’lláh and protected under His sheltering wing.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Karen McKye, Secretary