May 19, 2006:The Islamic Republic Majles, or Consultative Counsel, on Tuesday debated a law that would require Christians and Jews to wear a special badge, reminiscent of the yellow star Nazi Germany and Vichy France imposed on Jews during the 1930s and 1940s. "This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. Hier predicted that the law, which must move out of committee to the whole Majles, then be approved by the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians, "will certainly pass unless there's some sort of international outcry."
Many Jewish leaders privately fear that the Islamic Republic intends to take steps similar to those of Nazi Germany, first by publicly identifying Jews through distinctive dress or other means, then taking them hostage in the event of military strikes against Iran.
The Jerusalem Post today reminded its readers of Nazi Germany, when Jews were forced to wear yellow stars. [Photo: AP]
UPI reported from Tehran that the Majles passed the law this week."This law recalls the Holocaust immediately to mind when Jews were forced to wear distinctive yellow Stars of David on their clothes," said American Jewish Congress Executive Director Neil Goldstein.
The ADL issued a statement today calling reports that Iranian Jews will be forced to wear a yellow strip of cloth and that Christians will have to wear red badges, "unconfirmed." ADL noted, however, that "it is factual that the Iranian parliament is considering some kind of dress code" to distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims.
Sam Kermanian, of the Iranian Jewish Federation in Los Angeles, urged Jewish activists to caution in a mass email today. "So far the two reports we managed to obtain from our own independent sources from inside the country suggest that the original reports are false," he wrote. "Both Mr. Morris Motamed the Jewish member of the Iranian Parliament and Mr Parviz Yeshaya the former head of the community have strongly denied the reports."
Stay tuned....
Note: Mr. Kermanian has acknowledged to FDI that he currently does business in Tehran, but says that he has received a "waiver" from the Treasury Department to sanction his commercial activities.
His denials that such a law had been passed were backed up by Hormoz Ghahremani, a spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa, who sent an email to the National Post, calling the news "slanderous accusations:" that were "part of a smear campaign against Iran by vested interests, which needs to be denounced at every step.
Kenneth R. Timmerman is Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran.