Dr D Gershon Lewental

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Bio

D Gershon Lewental is a cultural historian of the Middle East, focusing on how societies use religion, memory, and conflict to define and maintain identity. He is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Iranian history at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Since 2015, he is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Persianate Studies. His specialisations include Iranian and Persianate history, early Islamic historiography, Israel’s Bahaʾi community, Central Asian identities, and Middle East minorities.

Redrawing boundaries: The 1967 War and Israel’s recognition of the Bahāʾī faith

Abstract

This paper argues that the 1967 War, rather than Bahāʾī lobbying, enabled Israel's 1971 recognition of the Bahāʾī faith. Governing enlarged Christian populations, Israel recognised the Evangelical Episcopal Church in 1970, creating a precedent within its inherited Ottoman–Mandatory confessional system. Bahāʾī recognition followed this logic, extending patterns visible earlier with the Druze. The last community Israel recognised, the case illustrates continuity rather than rupture in Israel's incremental adaptation of the millet framework to new realities.