Adherents of the Baha'i religion in Israel celebrated their new year holiday on Monday March 21st. The international headquarters of Baha'i is located in Haifa, where an elaborate garden surrounds the burial site of the faith's founder, Baha'u'llah (1817-1892). Born in Persia, Baha'u'llah and his followers were persecuted by the Muslim rulers of the country and fled to Israel where they settled in Akko, in northern Israel.
An international conference is taking place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on "Modern Religions and Religious Movements in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Babi-Bahai Faiths". It continues until March 24th in the Rabin Building on Mount Scopus campus. The conference will be conducted in English and will be open to the public.