Posted on 05/19/2006 4:23:47 PM PDT by TVenn
Experts say report of badges for Jews in Iran is untrue
Several experts are casting doubt on reports that Iran had passed a law requiring the countrys Jews and other religious minorities to wear coloured badges identifying them as non-Muslims.
The Iranian embassy in Otttawa also denied the Iranian government had passed such a law.
A news story and column by Iranian-born analyst Amir Taheri in yesterdays National Post reported that the Iranian parliament had passed a sweeping new law this week outlining proper dress for Irans majority Muslims, including an order for Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians to wear special strips of cloth.
According to the reports, Jews were to wear yellow cloth strips, called zonnar, while Christians were to wear red and Zoroastrians blue.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre and Iranian expatriates living in Canada had confirmed that the order had been passed, although it still had to be approved by Irans Supreme Guide Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect.
Hormoz Ghahremani, a spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa, said in an e-mail to the Post yesterday that, We wish to categorically reject the news item.
These kinds of slanderous accusations are part of a smear campaign against Iran by vested interests, which needs to be denounced at every step.
Sam Kermanian, of the U.S.-based Iranian-American Jewish Federation, said in an interview from Los Angeles that he had contacted members of the Jewish community in Iran including the lone Jewish member of the Iranian parliament and they denied any such measure was in place.
Mr. Kermanian said the subject of what to do with religious minorities came up during debates leading up to the passing of the dress code law.
It is possible that some ideas might have been thrown around, he said. But to the best of my knowledge the final version of the law does not demand any identifying marks by the religious minority groups.
Ali Reza Nourizadeh, an Iranian commentator on political affairs in London, suggested that the requirements for badges or insignia for religious minorities was part of a secondary motion introduced in parliament, addressing the changes specific to the attire of people of various religious backgrounds.
Mr. Nourizadeh said that motion was very minor and was far from being passed into law.
That account could not be confirmed.
Meir Javdanfar, an Israeli expert on Iran and the Middle East who was born and raised in Tehran, said yesterday that he was unable to find any evidence that such a law had been passed.
None of my sources in Iran have heard of this, he said. I dont know where this comes from.
Mr. Javdanfar said that not all clauses of the law had been passed through the parliament and said the requirement that Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians wear special insignia might be part of an older version of the Islamic dress law, which was first written two years ago.
In any case, there is no way that they could have forced Iranian Jews to wear this, he added. The Iranian people would never stand for it.
However, Mr. Kermanian added that Jews in Iran still face widespread, systematic discrimination. For example if they sell food they have to identify themselves and their shops as non-Muslim, he said.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, acknowledged that he did not have independent confirmation of the requirement for Jews to wear badges, but said he still believes it was passed.
We know that the national uniform law was passed and that certain colours were selected for Jews and other minorities, he said. [But] if the Iranian government is going to pass such a law then they are not likely to be forthcoming about what they are doing.
Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, said yesterday that Iran is very capable of enacting such a law but could not confirm reports that members of religious minorities must wear identifiable markers on their clothing.
Unfortunately weve seen enough already from the Iranian regime to suggest that it is very capable of this kind of action, Mr. Harper said. It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the earth would want to do anything that would remind people of Nazi Germany.
National Post, with files from Allan Woods, CanWest News Service © National Post 2006
I am not sure the law will be very effective if no one knows about it.
How will people know what color to wear if they keep it a secret?
I'm betting it's because any known Jews are already dead. Heck, it's worse than wearing a Broncos jersey to Raiders home game.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1634857/posts
Iran eyes badges for Jews
National Post ^ | May 19, 2006 | Chris Wattie
Posted on 05/19/2006 2:55:11 AM PDT by Squawk 8888
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.
Should we ignore it if it was a hoax, or does that matter?
Turns out it is a Hugo chavez plot to show his colors.
It wasn't a hoax.
If you read the article, you will see the badges for Jews and Christians was debated and they are only denying that the provision was passed into law.
You should read the full text of the articles you post before you come to the defense of the Ayotollahs.
I'd really not care to see a continuing stream of posters' knee-jerk reaction to the Breaking News headline. I had really hoped this was a real story as it would serve to raise world awareness of that corrupt regime; and maybe trigger some real action.
The story has been denied only by a low level staffer in the Iranian embassy in Canada and an Jewish Iranian MP who is Iran's equivalent of Iraq's Tariq Aziz. The Iranians are in spin control over the story and it's sad to see there are people on FR who is coming to the defense of the ayotollahs.
He really wanted to say "Jews"
Baghdad Bob lives!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060519.wdressco0519/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home
"It's a sheer lie. The rumours about this are worthless."
Such a plan has never been proposed or discussed in Parliament. Such news, which appeared abroad, is an insult to religious minorities here.
We reject that. It is not true. The minorities in Iran are completely free and are represented in the Iranian parliament.
Is there anything else you are hoping Iran does to Jews?
ON THE NET...
http://www.memri.org/iran.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
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UPDATE...
http://hotair.com/archives/the-blog/2006/05/19/is-the-iranian-yellow-badges-story-true/
"Is the Iranian yellow badges story true? (bumped)"
posted at 6:21 pm on May 19, 2006 by Allahpundit
"We are not here to answer such questions."
If this story is correct, then what is to be made of this quote from the first article?
Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
The problem isn't that the world is unaware, the problem is that most of the world doesn't care.
they've got their method down (lie, lie, lie until it becomes truth). they just need a few sKerry or gore advisors to help em clean it up. ahmadinejad's desperate plea for out of work DNC advisors...
Nazis are back!
Don't really care if it's true or not. The real truth is that the sooner we drop this sick freak and his pals in a blender and hit "Frappe" the better for all humanity.
So it looks like the badges for Jews and Christians was part of a secondary bill that is still under debate hadn't hasn't formally passed yet.
Funny how the pro-ayatollah lobby is spinning that it's not a bad thing for Iranian legislators to be trying to pass a law that mandates badges for Jews and Christians.
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