Iran: Yellow Badges for Jews; Red Badges for Christians

By: Lowell
Published On: 5/19/2006 7:41:20 AM

We now have the latest proof that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't kidding when he denies the Holocaust, threatens to wipe Israel off the map, and tells the international community to screw itself while Iran builds nuclear weapons.  The latest outrage?  Iran will now apparently force Jews to wear yellow badges, and Christians to wear red badges, so that Muslims need not sully themselves by contact with the infidel dogs.  The law, passed by Iran's parliament (the Majlis), also reportedly will force Jews and Christians to wear "standard Islamic garments."

To quote Rabbi Martin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles:

This is reminiscent of the Holocaust. Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis...The world should not ignore this. 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.

So how much longer is the world - mainly our "friends" in China and Russia - going to ignore what Iran is up to?  That is, building nuclear weapons while persecuting Jews and Christians. And why the hell are we bogged down in Iraq, a country that was NOT developing nuclear weapons, while we're doing nothing about Iran, a country that IS developing them?  Did Bush mix up the letters "n" and "q" when he decided back in 2001 which Middle East country to invade?  Duh...


Comments



One point to make (Rob - 5/19/2006 9:49:00 AM)
Lowell - see here for Prof. Cole's explanation as to why Ahmadinejad didn't really say the "wipe off the map" quote everyone thinks he said:

The precise reason for Hitchens' theft and publication of my private mail is that I object to the characterization of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as having "threatened to wipe Israel off the map." I object to this translation of what he said on two grounds. First, it gives the impression that he wants to play Hitler to Israel's Poland, mobilizing an armored corps to move in and kill people.

But the actual quote, which comes from an old speech of Khomeini, does not imply military action, or killing anyone at all. The second reason is that it is just an inexact translation. The phrase is almost metaphysical. He quoted Khomeini that "the occupation regime over Jerusalem should vanish from the page of time." It is in fact probably a reference to some phrase in a medieval Persian poem. It is not about tanks.

He's still crazy, but he's not suicidal and likely not a real threat outside his borders.  This is important to note, given that the previous crazy but non-threatening Mid East ruler of the hour (one with a lot more power over the country's military) was Saddam Hussien.



I saw that before... (Lowell - 5/19/2006 9:53:56 AM)
and think that, like much of what Juan Cole writes, it's absurd and tainted by his strong, almost rabid anti-Israel bias.  No, I am NOT a Juan Cole fan.


Lowell, This Has Been Proven False (Luna - 5/20/2006 10:58:58 AM)
Read more here and here.

There's no basis in fact to this story.