Freemasonry In Israel
           by Leon Zddis, MPS

    Israel is privileged by having in its capital city the site of Free-
masonry's legendary cradle: the Temple built in Jerusalem by King Solomon 
almost exactly three thousand years ago. It is rather surprising, then, that 
historically our craft was introduced in this part of the world only in 
relatively recent times. Its full development had to await the consecration of
the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, in 1953. Individual Masons may have
visited the country, even stayed for some time (among Napoleon's officers, for 
example, many were Freemasons), but there was no organized Masonic activity
until the second half of the nineteenth century.
    What is not generally known is the involvement of American Masons in the
first stirrings of Masonic activity in this country.
    Indeed, the first recorded Masonic ceremony in Israel (then part of the 
Ottoman  Empire)  was  performed  by M.W. Bro. Robert Morris, past Grand
Master (1859) of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky.(1) The event took place on
Wednesday, 13 May 1868, in the Cave of Zedekiah, better known as King 
Solomon's Quarries, deep under the walls of the old city of Jerusalem. Morris
was then on a Masonic pilgrimage to the Holy Land, looking for traces of 
Ancient Freemasonry.(2) The men who joined Morris in a Secret Monitor ceremony
were the few Freemasons he had found in Palestine: Charles Warren, then on an
archeological mission for the Palestine Exploration Fund of London, (3) and 
later first W.M. of the premier Lodge of Research, Quatuor Coronati No. 2076; 
the Turkish governor of Jaffa, Noureddin Effendi, member of Lodge Amitie Cle-
mente of Paris, who held the 28 degree in the A.A.S.R.; Henry Petermann,
Consul of Prussia in Jerusalem; R. Beardsley, of Elkhart, Indiana, then 
serving as American Vice-Consul in Jerusalem; and several officers from the
British vessel Lord Clyde, then at anchor in Jaffa.
    The "American Connection" in the development of Freemasonry in Israel did
not stop here, for Robert Morris's untiring efforts brought about the creation 
of the first regular Masonic Lodge in Palestine. Royal Solomon Mother Lodge 
No. 293 was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Canada (Ontario) on 17 February 
1873. Most, if not all its founding members were American settlers living in 
Jaffa, who belonged to a Christian sect, the Church of the Messiah. In 1866, 
they had left Jonesport, Maine, for the Holy Land, with the avowed intention 
of founding an agricultural settlement and preparing for the Second Coming.(4) 
Robert Morris was supposed to be the Lodge's first Master, but it appears that 
he could not arrive, and Bro. Rolla Floyd, one of the leaders of the American 
group (called "The Palestine Emigration Society"), took his place. Other lodge 
members whose names have been preserved are John Sheville, C.E Tyrwhilt Drake,
George May Powell, Sam Bergheim, James Hilpern and Peter Bergheim. The lodge 
had a fitful existence. It initiated a number of Arab and Jewish members, but 
the group met with hard times, some died, others went back to the United
States, and the whole enterprise disintegrated among bitter mutual recrimina-
tions and accusations of financial irregularities. This situation naturally 
affected the lodge, which stopped reporting to the Grand Lodge of Canada and 
was eventually erased in 1907.
    The next Masonic lodge to be formed in Israel was officially established 
in Jaffa (The Royal Solomon Mother Lodge was supposed to meet "at the City of 
Jerusalem or adjacent places in Palestine," though there can be little doubt 
that its meeting place was in Jaffa). Around 1890,  a group of Arab and Jewish
Brethren petitioned the Misraim Rite,(5) based in Paris, and founded the Lodge
"Le Port du Temple de Salomon" (The Port of Solomon's Temple), working in
French. Not long after its creation, the Lodge received a large number of 
affiliate members, French engineers who had come to build the Jaffa-Jerusalem 
railway, the first in Palestine. One of the financial backers and promoters 
for this pioneering effort was Haim Amzalak,(6) father of Joseph. The influx 
of French engineers led some writers to conclude that they had founded the 
Jaffa Lodge, though this was not the case. Another colorful figure of the time 
was a Christian Arab called Iskander Awad, who Anglicized his name to 
Alexander Howard. Brother Howard was a rich man, owning hotels in Jaffa and 
Jerusalem. He was the local agent for Cook's, the British travel firm, and ran 
a stagecoach service. His own home in Jaffa served as a Masonic Temple, and 
the ornate marble entrance stands to this day (though the place is now a 
furniture store). There is a motto in Hebrew -Shalom Al Israel - engraved over 
the door. The legend is connected with the 18 degree of the Scottish Rite, 
Chevalier Rose-Croix. In fact, Howard called himself Le Chevalier Howard. He 
built some of the first houses outside the walls of Jaffa and gave his name 
to a street.
    In 1906, realizing that the Misraim Rite was irregular and unrecognized by
most Grand Lodges of the world, the Brethren of the Jaffa Lodge decided to
change its affiliation to the Grand Orient of France. They adopted a new name,
Barkai (Dawn), and eventually become integrated into the Grand Lodge of the
State of Israel. Lodge Barkai is the oldest in the country still in existence 
and, though it now works in Hebrew, its ritual preserves many features of the 
French Masonic tradition.
    Three other Lodges were constituted before World War I, when the country
became a British Mandate. Under British rule, a number of Lodges were char-
tered by several Grand Lodges, particularly those of Egypt and Scotland, and
the Grand Orient of France, which was extremely active in the entire Middle
East. Some of these Lodges are still in existence to this day, while others 
disappeared for diverse reasons.
    Special mention should be made of the five German-speaking lodges founded 
in Palestine in 1931 by the Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Ger-
many. With great vision, M.W. Bro. Otto Muffelmann realized that the rise
of Nazism in Germany sounded the death knell for Freemasonry in his country,
traveled to Palestine and, with the help of German Brethren who had emigrated
there escaping the Nazi's racist laws, founded Lodges in all the main cities:
Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Haifa. Soon after, Freemasonry was in effect banned
in Germany, the Lodges disbanded and many Brethren met their death in the
concentration  camps. The German lodges in Israel kept living the flame of
German Freemasonry during those dark days and, after the Allied victory, were
successful in reestablishing regular Freemasonry on German soil.(7)
    A partial union of Israeli Freemasonry was achieved on January 9, 1933, 
when the National Grand Lodge of Palestine was constituted, bringing together 
all the Lodges that had been working under Egyptian and French jurisdictions. 
The Scottish lodges, however, refused to join in, and only a few Grand Lodges 
recognized the new sovereign body. Finally, in 1953 Masonic unity was achieved 
and, in an impressive ceremony conducted in Jerusalem by Brother the Earl of 
Elgin and Kincardine, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the 
Grand Lodge of the State of Israel was consecrated. M.W. Bro. Shabetay Levy,
mayor of Maifa, was installed as the first Grand Master. All lodges then 
working in Israel turned in their charters and were admitted into the new 
Grand Lodge, which quickly established fraternal relations with regular Grand 
Lodges throughout the world.
    The number of Lodges working under the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel
grew during the years, reaching some 70 active lodges at this time. The last 
to raise its columns was the French-speaking Lodge "France" No. 77 in 
Jerusalem, consecrated in January 1993, in the presence of the Grand Master 
and Grand Office-Bearers of the (regular) National Grand Lodge of France.
    Israel is a country of immigrants, similar in that respect to the United 
States. The heterogeneous composition of its population is also reflected in 
the large number of lodges operating in foreign languages. The two official 
languages in Israel are Hebrew and Arabic. Apart from these two, however, 
there are lodges working in six other languages: English, French, Spanish, 
German, Romanian and Turkish.
    Not only in the languages they use, but in their rituals as well, 
diversity characterizes Israel Freemasonry. Hebrew and Arabic-speaking lodges 
mostly work according to standard rituals approved by the Grand Lodge, based 
on the ritual of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Foreign-language lodges 
generally use the rituals habitual in their countries of origin. Lodge 
Raanana, for instance, which was founded by immigrants from South-Africa and 
Rhodesia, uses the Netherlands ritual. Spanish-speaking lodges use the
A.A.S.R. ritual, widely used in Latin America and Spain.
    Freemasonry plays an important role in the successful absorption of new 
immigrants and their integration in Israel society. What is more important, 
perhaps, is that Freemasonry is one of the few institutions that actively 
promotes better understanding between the different ethnic and cultural 
segments of Israel society, particularly between Jewish and Arab Brethren, and 
this owing to our wise tradition of avoiding religious and political 
controversies within the lodges.
    In Grand assemblies, three Volumes of the Sacred Law are opened side by 
side upon the altar: the Hebrew Bible (Tanach), The Christian Bible and the
Koran. Furthermore, there are three Grand Officers to bear these books. The
official seal of the Grand Lodge encloses the symbols of the three great 
monotheistic religions within the square and compass. No statistics exist 
about the distribution of Israel Freemasons according to their religious 
affiliation, for the simple reason that no such question is asked when they 
join. A rough estimate would be about 80% Jewish, 15% Christian and 5% Muslim. 
Some lodges are composed mostly of Arab Brethren, though Arabic-speaking 
Jewish Brethren are welcome. Frequent joint meetings are held between lodges 
and, recently, a project was launched by W. Bro. Juan Goldwasser, of La 
Fraternidad Lodge in Tel-Aviv, to encourage mixed social meetings in the 
homes of Brethren, to foster better knowledge and understanding between the 
different communities.
    Individual lodges and Grand Lodge itself perform numerous charitable 
activities, including donations of expensive medical equipment to hospitals, 
help to the blind, and food for the needy. The Order maintains a parents' home 
in Naharhya, a resort town near the Lebanese border.
    This year, the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, under the leadership of 
M.W. Bro. Itzhak Barzilay, celebrates its 40th anniversary. A gala function 
will be held in Jerusalem on 26 October. When you read these lines, the event 
will be history. However, our doors are always open to Brethren from any 
recognized Grand Lodge who visit Israel individually or in a group. Once a 
year, A Mark Master degree in English is held in King Solomon's Quarries and, 
except for the Summer months (July-August), at least one Lodge is working 
every day.
    Forty years is not a very long time, but is enough to look back, measure 
the strides we have made, and undertake with renewed determination and confi-
dence the great work that lays ahead. We must bring, to a region with a long 
history of strife and hatred, our message of enlightenment, toleration and 
fraternal love.

Footnotes

(1) Rob Morris is best remembered for his co-authorship of the Order of the
 Eastern Star, a Masonic order for women, created at a time when women were 
 not even allowed to vote. See 'Rob Morris, Founder of Eastern Star' by David 
 B. Dibdrell, The Scottish Rite Journal, November 1992, pp. 12.12-15.

(2) Which resulted in his book Freemasonry in the Holy Land, New York, 1872.
(3) See Bro. George H.T. French, FPS, 'Sir Charles Warren', The Philalethes,
 Vol. 39, February 1986, No. 1, p. 10.
(4) Their story served as the basis for a film written and directed by Dr. 
 Yael Katzir, of Tel-Aviv: To Brave a Dream (1992).
(5) The records of the time appear to have been destroyed. My inquiries at
 the  present headquarters  of the Misraim Rite have produced no information 
 on this matter.
(6) Sraya Shapiro, "Visionary who made Jerusalem habitable for modern man", 
 The Jerusalem Post, 29 August 1993, p. 7                 
(7) A similar role was played by some German-speaking Lodges in Chile.

