ABSTRACT
Although Jehovah’s Witnesses do not acknowledge special pilgrimage sites, the Middle East is the area in which the events described in the Bible took place, and Israel is acknowledged as the promised land given by God to the Jews. However, as with every other part of the globe, the Middle East is territory to be evangelised, and the chapter traces the history of the Watch Tower Society’s presence in Palestine and the surrounding territory. The chapter also discusses the role of Zionism in Watch Tower teachings and how it has changed over the years. Additionally, discussion is given to Charles Taze Russell’s interest in Egypt’s Great Pyramid, and how attention to the Pyramid and Zionist ideology – interests which have now been abandoned – both helped to shape Jehovah’s Witnesses thinking on the fulfilment of biblical prophecy, for which the Middle East continues to have an important role.
