I'm speechless

There are no words. The article and all that it implies speaks for itself.

Then again, maybe there is a silver lining in all of this. The article indicates that Muslims would also have to wear certain clothing. It's one thing to force women to cover their hair, but perhaps it will be the last straw for Iranian society as a whole when even men are forced to wear distinctive clothing? Anger and anti-regime sentiment has been simmering for a long time. C'mon Iranian people, free yourselves before it is too late! The way things are going, it's not a matter of if the U.S. or Israel attacks, but when.

New Iranian law to require Jews to wear yellow band
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST
May. 19, 2006

A new dress-code law reportedly passed in Iran this past week mandates the government to make sure that religious minorities - Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians - will have to adopt distinct colour schemes to make them identifiable in public, the Canadian National Post reported on Friday.

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Under the new law, which still awaits final approval from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Jews will have to wear a yellow band on their exterior in public, while Christians will be required to don red ones.

If the law is approved, it is scheduled to go into effect at the beginning of next year.
Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter responded to the new law Friday night, saying, "Whoever makes Jews anywhere wear the yellow star again, will find themselves in a coffin draped in black."

Furthermore, according to the law, the Iranian government has envisioned that all Iranians wear "standard Islamic garments" designed to remove ethnic and class distinctions.

The purpose for the law was to prevent Muslims from becoming najis "unclean" by accidentally shaking the hands of non-Muslims in public.

Ophir Paz-Pines, minister-without-portfolio responsible for culture, sports, science and technology, who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset, called on the government's secretary to ensure the issue be immediately addressed during the next Cabinet meeting.

"The State of Israel was created after the Holocaust in order to ensure it would not be repeated. The yellow star is a bright red warning sign that obligates us to muster the entire world in the face of events there [Iran]."

Paz-Pines also called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to make the issue his top priority when he visits Washington D.C. next week to meet US President George W. Bush.

Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin said, "Israel could no longer be satisfied with warnings, and that the moment Jews are forced to wear the yellow band, Israel must act to evacuate all Jews from Iran." He added that, "Israel must stand at the forefront of efforts to separate Iran's crazy and Hitlerite regime from government control."

"The new law resembles the Holocaust," said head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, Rabbi Marvin Heir, and warned that, "Iran was nearing Nazi Ideology."

According to Army Radio, Wiesenthal Center officials sent a letter to United Nations Director General Kofi Annan urging him "not to ignore" the new law, and reminded him that, "The world ignored Hitler for many years."

The new law was drafted during the presidency of Muhammad Khatami in 2004, but was blocked. That blockage, however, has been removed under pressure from current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

According to Ahmadinejad, reported the National Post, the new Islamic uniforms will establish "visual equality" for Iranians as they prepare for the return of the Hidden Imam.

The final shape of the uniforms is yet to be established but there is consensus on a number of points.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations released a statement saying, "We have been seeking to clarify these reports but do not yet have confirmation. There are clear indications that various Iranian government agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, are working on new uniforms to be introduced in the fall.

"While such legislation would be reminiscent of dark periods in the past, like the Nazi era when Jews and others had to wear identifying badges, it is also consistent with the racist and extremist ideology propagated by President Ahmadinejad.

We are monitoring the situation and seeking to ascertain the facts in order to determine the appropriate response."

Update:

It appears that the law passed does not require religious minorities to wear identifying patches, however it does recommend that Iranian women dress more chaste (as if they don't already, although in the last few years things have relaxed a little) and that Muslims should dress in some Islamic-Iranian style, whatever the heck that means. It was, however, proposed in a different law that religiouis minorities wear identifying gear. I am confused, frankly, as to what is going on exactly.