establishing a Baha'i Court in the Holy Land... this goal remained unfulfilled.

Shoghi Effendi, towards the end of 1950, appointed a body of men and women to support him in his work. He named this institution the International Baha'i Council. He assigned the members of the International Baha'i Council such duties as forging ties with the government of the newly emerged state of Israel, helping him in the construction of the Bab’s Shrine, and conducting negotiations with the civil authorities about the possibility of Baha'i laws of personal status being officially recognized in the Holy Land. Shoghi Effendi explained that the appointed International Baha'i Council would pass through several stages in its evolution. The appointed Council was to become an appointed International Baha'i Court. The appointed Court would cease to exist, and then the Universal House of Justice would be elected.

[... after the death of Shoghi Effendi]

One of the duties that the Hands of the Cause gave to this International Baha'i Council was to continue the work of investigating the possibility of establishing a Baha'i Court in the Holy Land. The members had to bear in mind that Shoghi Effendi had repeatedly said that we would have a religious court on one condition only: it should have the same rights as the other religious courts, as the Baha'is should have equal status with the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims in the country. If we weren’t given equal status, we wouldn’t accept. The members of the elected International Council started going to Jerusalem. They must have gone about 20 times to meet with different ministers, the Prime Minister, and the President. However, it was not possible to establish a Baha'i Court that would have equal rights with the others. Shoghi Effendi had been correct in his anticipation of this outcome, and so this goal remained unfulfilled. However, this does not mean that we have given up. If at any time it would be possible to do so, no doubt the Universal House of Justice will take action.

(SHOGHI EFFENDI: THE RANGE AND POWER OF HIS PEN by ‘Ali Nakhjavani, 2006)