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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran Eyes Badges for Jews, Christians
2006-05-19
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.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

"There's no reason to believe they won't pass this," said Rabbi Hier. "It will certainly pass unless there's some sort of international outcry over this."

Bernie Farber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he was "stunned" by the measure. "We thought this had gone the way of the dodo bird, but clearly in Iran everything old and bad is new again," he said. "It's state-sponsored religious discrimination."

Ali Behroozian, an Iranian exile living in Toronto, said the law could come into force as early as next year.

It would make religious minorities immediately identifiable and allow Muslims to avoid contact with non-Muslims.

Mr. Behroozian said it will make life even more difficult for Iran's small pockets of Jewish, Christian and other religious minorities -- the country is overwhelmingly Shi'ite Muslim. "They have all been persecuted for a while, but these new dress rules are going to make things worse for them," he said.

The new law was drafted two years ago, but was stuck in the Iranian parliament until recently when it was revived at the behest of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa refused to comment on the measures. "This is nothing to do with anything here," said a press secretary who identified himself as Mr. Gharmani.

"We are not here to answer such questions."

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."

Mr. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly described the Holocaust as a myth and earlier this year announced Iran would host a conference to re-examine the history of the Nazis' "Final Solution."

He has caused international outrage by publicly calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons, but Tehran believed by Western nations to be developing its own nuclear military capability, in defiance of international protocols and peace treaties.

The United States, France and Israel accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear program to secretly build a weapon. Iran denies this, saying its program is confined to generating electricity.
Posted by:mcsegeek1

#21  perhaps a one-time Israeli contribution to the Lebanese WOT? mini-Arclight?
Posted by: Frank G   2006-05-19 19:59  

#20  
This looks like Iran's current POV!
Posted by: 3dc   2006-05-19 17:40  

#19  Islam has for many years had a hard time forming a unified opinion on the holocaust.

About half say it never happened.
About half say Hitler should be commended.
About half say Hitler didn't go far enough.

It adds to over 100% because most people have more than one opinion.
Posted by: mhw   2006-05-19 16:23  

#18  Never again! We must not let this history repeat itself at any cost.
Posted by: Captain America   2006-05-19 15:01  

#17  
"His first strike is gonna hurt."

Yep! But not nearly as bad as our response. We have a Fleet Ballistic Missle force and they do not.

Once Iran sets off one of their firecrackers, if/when they get them, then we have carte blanche to set off a few of our own.

I envision that one day there will be robotic oil pumping stations and terminals in the ME, and not much else. Well...besides the radiation that is, and the pretty glowing things at night.

Must not overlook the pretty glowing things.

-M
Posted by: Manolo   2006-05-19 14:27  

#16  prior to 1979 there were about 100,000 Jews in Iran. In the years following the revolution, about 75,000 left, mainly for Israel and the US (esp Los Angeles) There are still 25,000 Jews, largely older people who dont want to leave their homes and businesses. AFAIK they have largely been left in peace (unlike, say, the Bahais).
Posted by: liberalhawk   2006-05-19 14:13  

#15  There are Jews in Iran?!?!???

Posted by: Anon4021   2006-05-19 13:45  

#14  We need to, very publically and very thoroughly blow Ahmadinejad's head off in front of a large assembly. This sh!thead must be taken to task for his vile blathering in a way that sends a direct message to all who would emulate him. That message would be, "Emulate him, and we'll blow you to straight to hell too!"
Posted by: Zenster   2006-05-19 13:39  

#13  I'm sure Russia and China could explain this for them in a satisfactory manner. They'll sell them the fabric to do it, that'll make it O.K. with them.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2006-05-19 12:46  

#12  Take out Qom with an industrial accident in their nuke industry... a flash accident.. They happen. Like that big dump in the late 50's in the USSR.
Posted by: 3dc   2006-05-19 12:12  

#11  Gotta have a whole bunch of mysterious explosions at Iranian oil refineries and munitions plants.
Posted by: phil_b   2006-05-19 11:16  

#10  Never mind that! Who will be Paris Hilton's new Beau? What is Tom Cruise going to eat next? Is Jennifer Lopez Pregnant?

*These* are the important issues... Not what happens to a bunch of Jews and Christians. Besides these are muslims so it must be ok....

/Channelling the MSM.... or is it the German people of the 40's??? Hard to tell....
Posted by: CrazyFool   2006-05-19 11:13  

#9  I don't think laser tagging Ahmahandjob will be enough. He speaks for the ruling clique.
Posted by: SR-71   2006-05-19 10:49  

#8  When this jerk claims the holocaust did not happpen just might be meaning the holocaust of WWII is nothing to the holocaust he is planning for the Jews and the west. He is building his nuclear arsinal, has stated his intent to destroy us, and we sit wondering. His first strike is gonna hurt.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-05-19 10:46  

#7  I'd propose Ahdinnerjacket wear a red laser dot
Posted by: Frank G   2006-05-19 10:39  

#6  It's going to be hard to deny it, but deny it they will. Count on it.
Posted by: Fred   2006-05-19 10:05  

#5  Going to be hard to deny the coming Holocaust.
Hoping this is the wakeup call to some.
Posted by: plainslow   2006-05-19 09:56  

#4  WOW! I'm conviced we can trust Iran now! What a bunch of swell guys! /eurotrash
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-05-19 09:52  

#3  More good news thanks to Honest Ahmadinejad. Now for the trip to London to bask in the glow of Red Ken Livingstone.
Posted by: Perfessor   2006-05-19 09:48  

#2  Well, I'm no specialist of the Dhimmi Status(tm), but from what I've read, this is straight from the scriptures and the Sunna(tm), which requier dhimmis to wear special clothes so they can be identified by the faithful; the christian medieval pratice of having jews sport distinctive clothes or yellow rubbon was copied from the muslims. Also, if I recall, there were other clothing limitations for dhimmis, such as the jews in northern Africa (what's now Algeria) not being allowed to wear shoes outside of their ghettoes.

The taliban did the same, for buddhists and hinduist, as there are only an handful of jews in Afghanistan, and IIRC, that one one of the few occasions the West took a stance, because it played on its buttons (WWII, nazis,...).
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-05-19 09:42  

#1  The Nazi parallels are starting to pile up. Who will be the US equivalent of Neville Chamberlain caterwauling "Peace In our Time"? Harry Reid? Teddy? Just wondering.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-05-19 09:38  

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