If this is true, then this situation is beginning to resemble that of Nazi Germany in the pre-World War II days more than I could ever have imagined, let alone predicted! I know that Putin might not be responsible for this, but my girlfriend, who is Polish and who, like many Eastern Europeans, holds a very deep skepticism of Russia and it's intentions, already thinks of Putin as the next Hitler. Some of this stuff really does feel like a repeat of the 1930's, doesn't it? Those who do not know history...
According to an article by Oren Dorell of the Sydney Morning Herald ("Ukraine crisis: Jews ordered to register in Donetsk", April 18, 2014 - see link below):
"Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered them to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated," reported Ynet News, Israel's largest news website."
According to the same article:
"Emanuel Shechter, in Israel, told Ynet his friends in Donetsk sent him a copy of the leaflet through social media. "They told me that masked men were waiting for Jewish people after the Passover eve prayer, handed them the flyer and told them to obey its instructions," he said.
"The leaflet begins, "Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality", and states that all people of Jewish descent over 16 years old must report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and "register".
"It says the reason is because the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, "and oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk", a name adopted by the militant leadership.
"The leaflet then described which documents Jews should provide: "ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles."
The world has taken notice of these anti-Semitic acts. Indeed, how could they not, given Europe's history of anti-Semitism, many episodes of which took place in eastern Europe?
Here, according an article in the Business Insider by Brett LoGiurato ("White House Denounces 'Chilling' Reports Of Jews Being Ordered To Register In Eastern Ukraine", April 17, 2014 - see link below):
"Reports of Jews being forced to register by pro-Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine are chilling, outrageous and must be universally condemned," Ben Rhodes, the White House's deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, wrote in a tweet.
According to Erin Delmore's article on this situation ("Jews in Ukraine told to identify themselves, Kerry says" by Erin Delmore of MSNBC, April 17, 2014 - see link below), US Secretary of State John Kerry has this to say:
“Just in the last couple of days, notices were sent to Jews in one city, indicating that they had to identify themselves as Jews and obviously the accompanying threat implied, is or threatened or suffer the consequences, one way or the other,” Kerry said during a press conference in Geneva, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian and EU representatives.
According to "Ukraine: Jewish registration leaflet is fake, but still 'grotesque'" by Matthew Lee of AP Diplomatic Writer, who wrote a piece ("Ukraine: Jewish registration leaflet is fake, but still 'grotesque'", April 17, 2014 - see link below), Kerry also said:
"In the year 2014, after all of the miles traveled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable; it's grotesque," Kerry told reporters. "It is beyond unacceptable. And any of the people who engage in these kinds of activities, from whatever party or whatever ideology or whatever place they crawl out of, there is no place for that. "
According to Delmore's article, the fliers do not appear to be authentic, or officially sanctioned, although that does not mean they are not a source of concern:
“We are skeptical about the flier’s authenticity, but the instructions clearly recall the Nazi era and have the effect of intimidating the local Jewish community,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, in the statement. The organization condemned “the anti-Semitic content, but also all attempts to use anti-Semitism for political purposes.”
The religious and ethnic groups tensions inside of the troubled eastern region of Ukraine have not been relegated to Jews, either. Here according to Matthew Lee's article:
"Kerry also denounced apparent threats to members of the Russian Orthodox Church from members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He noted that the agreement signed on Thursday "strongly condemned and rejected all expressions of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including anti-Semitism.""
As mentioned above, here are the articles that I used in writing this blog entry about disturbing anti-Semitic reports coming from the developing Ukrainian crisis:
"Jews in Ukraine told to identify themselves, Kerry says" by Erin Delmore of MSNBC, April 17, 2014:
http://www.msnbc.com/all/jews-ukraine-told-identify-themselves
"Ukraine crisis: Jews ordered to register in Donetsk" by Oren Dorell of the Sydney Morning Herald, April 18, 2014:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/ukraine-crisis-jews-ordered-to-register-in-donetsk-20140418-zqw7f.html
"Ukraine: Jewish registration leaflet is fake, but still 'grotesque'" by Matthew Lee, AP Diplomatic Writer / April 17, 2014:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0417/Ukraine-Jewish-registration-leaflet-is-fake-but-still-grotesque
"White House Denounces 'Chilling' Reports Of Jews Being Ordered To Register In Eastern Ukraine" by Brett LoGiurato of Business insider, April 17, 2014:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-denounces-chilling-reports-183108876.html;_ylt=AwrBEiHhsFBTCxwAFLvQtDMD
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