The Baha’i community has proven its loyalty, but not to justice or human rights. By remaining silent in the face of brutal oppression, especially during the recent anti-war protests in Israel, they have shown where their true allegiance lies—with the oppressors. As activists, both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Israelis, gathered in front of their sacred shrines in Haifa to protest the violence of the war, they were met with savage repression. Protesters were beaten and arrested, their cries for peace drowned out by the heavy hand of Israeli authorities. Yet, the Baha’is—who claim to champion freedom and justice—stood in complete silence.
It is an unforgivable shame that those speaking out against oppression were violently silenced right at the doorstep of the Baha’i holy places. The very same places the Baha’is use to demand the world’s sympathy for their own suffering. When it’s their own community being persecuted, they scream and shout for help, but when others are massacred and beaten before their shrines, they remain passive, even complicit. This silence speaks volumes about the Baha’is’ true priorities—aligning themselves with the powers that oppress, rather than standing with the oppressed. It’s a betrayal of the very values they purport to uphold.