The NSA asks we:

• Hold your own prayer gatherings for the safety of the Friends in Iran.

• Organize prayer gatherings in your community, in consultation with your Local Spiritual Assembly, as soon as possible for the safety of the Iranian Bahá’í leaders and for the amelioration of the deplorable situation of religious freedom in Iran. These gatherings should be open to the public and the members of your local media should be invited. Reach out to your Christian, Jewish and Muslim friends, and to your interfaith groups, as well as to all those concerned about religious freedom in Iran. The main purpose of such
gatherings is for prayer, and it is essential that they should uphold and exemplify the Bahá’í standard of non-involvement in partisan politics. Discussion on matters outside the scope of religious freedom and human rights should be strictly avoided.

• Contact your federal Congressional Representatives from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, by telephone or email, or in person at their district offices. Express to them or their staff your deep concern for the Iranian Bahá’í leaders whose lives are in danger. Most of the members of Congress will be in their home districts the week of February 15, as there is a Congressional recess at that time.

I want to start by saying that we should pray for the safety of these seven Bahai’s. I also want to point out that this is a clear example of what I wrote about a few weeks ago concerning Bahai’s and the Bahai Administration usually speaking up and urging action only when Bahai’s are the victims. There was not one official word (that I’m aware of) from the UHJ or any NSA concerning Israel’s attacks on Gaza. It is interesting that the NSA thinks it is possible for Bahai’s to protest the treatment of other Bahai’s by a foreign government without it being involvement in partisan politics. But when it comes to protesting the military attacks launched by the country which is home to the world center of the Bahai Faith, all is quiet. And not only are Bahai’s now supposed to speak up, we’re to contact the media and invite them to our prayer gatherings. And we’re to invite our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim friends too. So is it okay for us to join our Jewish friends when they ask us to pray and protest the bombing of Israel by Hamas? Or how about our Muslim and Christian friends who want us to pray and protest with them when Israel bombs Gaza? Or is it not an issue of “human rights” when people are killed in warfare?

The NSA asks we:

• Hold your own prayer gatherings for the safety of the Friends in Iran.

• Organize prayer gatherings in your community, in consultation with your Local Spiritual Assembly, as soon as possible for the safety of the Iranian Bahá’í leaders and for the amelioration of the deplorable situation of religious freedom in Iran. These gatherings should be open to the public and the members of your local media should be invited. Reach out to your Christian, Jewish and Muslim friends, and to your interfaith groups, as well as to all those concerned about religious freedom in Iran. The main purpose of such
gatherings is for prayer, and it is essential that they should uphold and exemplify the Bahá’í standard of non-involvement in partisan politics. Discussion on matters outside the scope of religious freedom and human rights should be strictly avoided.

• Contact your federal Congressional Representatives from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, by telephone or email, or in person at their district offices. Express to them or their staff your deep concern for the Iranian Bahá’í leaders whose lives are in danger. Most of the members of Congress will be in their home districts the week of February 15, as there is a Congressional recess at that time.

I want to start by saying that we should pray for the safety of these seven Bahai’s. I also want to point out that this is a clear example of what I wrote about a few weeks ago concerning Bahai’s and the Bahai Administration usually speaking up and urging action only when Bahai’s are the victims. There was not one official word (that I’m aware of) from the UHJ or any NSA concerning Israel’s attacks on Gaza. It is interesting that the NSA thinks it is possible for Bahai’s to protest the treatment of other Bahai’s by a foreign government without it being involvement in partisan politics. But when it comes to protesting the military attacks launched by the country which is home to the world center of the Bahai Faith, all is quiet. And not only are Bahai’s now supposed to speak up, we’re to contact the media and invite them to our prayer gatherings. And we’re to invite our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim friends too. So is it okay for us to join our Jewish friends when they ask us to pray and protest the bombing of Israel by Hamas? Or how about our Muslim and Christian friends who want us to pray and protest with them when Israel bombs Gaza? Or is it not an issue of “human rights” when people are killed in warfare?

25. United Jewish Communities is an organizational member of the Save Darfur Coalition, and a member of IsraAID — which was founded in 2001 and describes itself as a “coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish NGOs (non governmental organizations) and other interested parties based in Israel that are active in development and relief work and concerned about global issues (‘Tikkun Olam’).” In 2002, Henry Elkaslasi, the head of The Humanitarian Fund of the Kibbutz Movement, became chair of IsraAID. Elkaslasi presently also serves as the co-chair of the Israeli Coalition for the Refugees of Darfur and Sudan (also known as Israel for Darfur). Israel for Darfur is listed as a campaign of the blogging group, Darfur Awareness, which in turn is a project of a group called Mideast Youth. This latter group was founded by Esra’a Al Shafei — who also cofounded the Middle East Interfaith Blogger Network — and in June 2007, she received an award from free-market Atlas Economic Research Foundation for her Mideast Youth project. (back)