Anatomy of the Iran/Jewish Arm Badge Story

Posted on May 25, 2006

Want to know the genesis of that bogus story about Iran requiring Jews to wear arm badges? Apparently a public relations firm specializing in promoting neocons was instrumental in placing the story in the National Post. Check out the full account here.

And then some credulous blog editors—like yours truly—linked to the story before realizing how shoddily sourced it was. Mea Culpa big-time

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The Jewish Week:

The e-mail to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, was urgent and pointed. The topic: explosive allegations that Iran “already seen as part of an “axis of evil” for its leaders” threats to Israel, denial of the Holocaust, and alleged drive for nuclear weapons “was replaying an infamous anti-Semitic theme from Nazi Germany.

“As per our conversation, I’m looking at running this,” wrote the newspaper editor of the article he’d just received, “but I have not been able to confirm its veracity. Particularly, I want to make sure that part saying Jews will have to wear a yellow stripe and Christians a red stripe is, in fact, true.”

Rabbi Cooper’s reply, e-mailed back last Thursday, one hour and 14 minutes later, was unequivocal and succinct:

“Dear John,” he wrote, “The story is absolutely true.”

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