Authority of the State of Israel of a dilapidated
house, situated south of the Mansion and blessed by the presence of
'Abdu'l-Baha and in which He was wont to receive His friends, amongst them
the first party of western Baha'i pilgrims to arrive in the Holy Land
after the passing of Baha'u'llah. To these latest acquisitions must be
added the purchase of another plot situated in the neighborhood of the
Bab's Sepulcher and adjoining the area surrounding the future seat of the
World Baha'i Administrative Order, raising thereby the total area of the
international Baha'i endowments in the Holy Land to over four hundred
thousand square meters. Furthermore, the necessary formalities have been
completed in connection with the purchase of the site of the future
Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar on Mt. Carmel, while the transfer of the title deeds
of recently acquired plots to the name of the Israel branches of the
United States, the British, the Persian, the Canadian and Australian
Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies is being expeditiously carried out.

EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

In the United States of America, the home of the champion-builders of a
fast-evolving Order, an official invitation was extended to the Baha'i
Community by the San Francisco Council of Churches to send representatives
to attend a Service of Prayer for Peace and Divine Guidance to the United
Nations, an invitation to which the Community warmly responded. At this
inter-religious gathering, held in the Cow Palace in San Francisco, the
birthplace of the Charter of the United Nations, which united nearly
sixteen thousand people in worship and silent prayers, and at which
government leaders, among them the United States Secretary of State, were
present, the voice of the Baha'i representative was the first to be
raised, reciting a prayer revealed by Baha'u'llah, after whom a prayer was
read by each of the representatives of the Christian, the Muslim, the
Jewish, the Hindu, and the Buddhist Faiths, all of whom were similarly
invited to participate in that immense and historic gathering. A prayer
revealed by 'Abdu'l-Baha for America was presented by the elected national
representatives of the United States Baha'i Community to President
Eisenhower, who acknowledged its receipt in warm terms and above his own
signature.

OTHER VICTORIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Nor should mention be omitted in this brief survey of Baha'i victories and
achievements in the cours