< HOME  Friday, May 19, 2006

Fact or Fiction: Iran Proposes Badges for Jews and Christians

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."

Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

* * *

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has written to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, protesting the Iranian law and calling on the international community to bring pressure on Iran to drop the measure.

"The world should not ignore this," said Rabbi Hier. "The world ignored Hitler for many years -- he was dismissed as a demagogue, they said he'd never come to power -- and we were all wrong."

Mr. Farber said Canada and other nations should take action to isolate Mr. Ahmadinejad in light of the new law, which he called "chilling," and his previous string of anti-Semitic statements.

"There are some very frightening parallels here," he said. "It's time to start considering how we're going to deal with this person."

* * *

But independent reporter Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli Middle East expert who was born and raised in Tehran, says the report is false.

"It's absolutely factually incorrect," he told The New 940 Montreal.

"Nowhere in the law is there any talk of Jews and Christians having to wear different colours. I've checked it with sources both inside Iran and outside."

"The Iranian people would never stand for it. The Iranian government wouldn't be stupid enough to do it."

Fact? Or just another fiction to increase antipathy to Iran?

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Hat-tip to Gary at Covert History


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UPDATE: The jury's still 'out', but substantial evidence points to neo-con propaganda.

This Kos diarist bases his suspicions on a story by Amir Taheri A Color Code for Iran's 'infidels.' Upon googling Taheri, the diarist found him to be closely associated with a PR firm with clients like Richard Perle, James Woolsey and Michael Ledeen.

On my part, I skimmed a different piece by Taheri in which he has this to say about Iraq:
Is Iraq a quagmire, a disaster, a failure? Certainly not; none of the above. Of all the adjectives used by skeptics and critics to describe todays Iraq, the only one that has a ring of truth is messy. Yes, the situation in Iraq today is messy. Births always are. Since when is that a reason to declare a baby unworthy of life? [emphasis added]
It's messy, alright. What a psycho.

I think it's safe to assume that 'A Color Code for Infidels' is more a product of a rabid neo-con imagination than a true reflection of reality.

8 Comments:

At Friday, May 19, 2006, Blogger historymike said...

No answers for you yet, Gary, but I applaud your dedication to remain skeptical of the early reports.

I have been following this for most of the day, and few mainstream media outlets have picked up on this, beyond a small blurb by UPI noting the National Post story.

 
At Friday, May 19, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey you racist Zionist 'chubbs', the newest report indicates this as FALSE. IT is a smear campaign, and canada.com (National Post) REMOVED the SMEAR article from their website.

Stephan Harper, that racist zionist is indeed sleezy!!!

 
At Saturday, May 20, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just because the leader of Iran has stated in public that Israel should be WIPED off the map, the Holocaust is a myth and has been slavishly seeking nuclear technology from anyone anywhere across the globe, does not mean he has anything against either Jews or anyone who isn't either muslim or Iranian.
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, flies like a duck, smells like a duck and lays duck eggs, it sure as shooting isn't an elephant.
Sometimes a cigar, as Mr. Freud said, is actually a cigar.

 
At Saturday, May 20, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

Just because Israel has stated publicly that it would use its nukes to bomb Iran, would jail anyone who questions the Holocaust, has slavishly acquired nuclear technology from all over the globe, and insists on its own gentile-free homeland, does not mean they have anything against non-Israelis or anyone who isn't either Jewish or Israeli.

If it looks like a rogue, acts like a rogue, kills and murders like a rogue, it sure as shooting isn't peaceful.

A rogue is ALWAYS a rogue and must be treated accordingly.

Iran is NOT a threat to the world. It is a threat to Israel. BIG DIFFERENCE.

 
At Saturday, May 20, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

More info on this story hee, at the RI Discussion Board.

More neocon propaganda at work.

 
At Saturday, May 20, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

many thanks, byrne. this story sure sprung long legs, eh?

When they want something out there, they sure know how to do it.

 
At Sunday, May 21, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, their machine is breaking down, it seems. See here.

"Just because the leader of Iran has stated in public that Israel should be WIPED off the map..."

It turns out the english translation was probably false (see here. What Ahmadinejad actually said (if the story is correct) is that Israeli GOVERNMENT should be removed from the map... Now I think that's a big difference.
Oh, the company that translates these pages is from Israel and from what I read, a lot of the people are former mossad agents. Their website doesn't list any names, either. But it's all in the link. Have a nice read.

 
At Sunday, May 21, 2006, Blogger qrswave said...

great links!

thanks romunov!

:)

 

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