By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – Amidst political tensions in Ukraine, distributed fliers by an unknown group in Donetsk called for the registration of Jewish citizens. Donetsk’s Jewish community largely dismissed the move as “provocation.”

In February 2014, a popular revolt in Kyiv ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

On 15 April 2014, masked men handed out leaflets in front of the main Donetsk synagogue, during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The fliers demanded that Jewish citizens register and document their property or face deportation because Jewish leaders had supported the “nationalists and bandits” in Kiev. Jewish leaders in Donetsk have said that Russian protesters have declared the synagogue a “People’s Republic.”

CNN translated a photographed copy of the leaflet: “All citizens of Jewish nationality over age of 16, living on territories of Donetsk People’s Republic, have to register with DPR commissioner of nationality before May 3rd, 2014 at the Donetsk Regional Administration, room 514, registration fee is $50. Must have in person $50 cash, passport, all available IDs, and documentation of ownership of real estate and transportation.”

Denis Pushilin, self-proclaimed head of “People’s Republic,” denied any connection with the fliers. Pushilin stated that his handwriting was not the same as that found on the leaflet, and the title attached to his name was not one he has used.

On 17 April 2014, United States officials denounced what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the “grotesque” and “beyond unacceptable” leaflet.

The Jewish community in Donetsk dismissed the leaflet as a “provocation,” and stated that relations between the Jewish community and their neighbors in Donetsk were amicable. Also, it remains unclear who distributed the fliers. “Who is behind this is an open question,” Rabbi Pinkhas Vishedski said in the statement. He also said that the act was a provocation “and should be treated accordingly … full stop and end of topic.”

Still, the chief rabbi of nearby Dnipropetrovsk said, “Everything must be done to catch them.”

“It’s important for everyone to know it’s not true,” the rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki said. “The Jews of Donetsk will not do what the letter says.”

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt stated that radical groups could be trying to stir up historic fears or create provocation to justify continued violence. The fliers came amidst Ukraine’s struggle to contain uprisings by pro-Russian political movements in several eastern cities. Both the pro-West and pro-Russian sides have invoked the historical horror of Nazism in disputes. Pyatt said that in Kiev, where the Jewish community is a vital part of political life, there is “no sympathy for this approach. It’s almost inconceivable that this kind of thing could be happening in the 21st century.”

“It’s chilling. I was disgusted by these leaflets,” Pyatt said. “Especially in Ukraine, a country that suffered so terribly under the Nazis, that was one of the sites of the worst violence of the Holocaust. To drag up this kind of rhetoric is almost beyond belief.”

For further information, please see:

Reuters India – Kerry Condemns Anti-Semitic Leaflet in Eastern Ukraine – April 18, 2014

BBC News – Tension Remains in Eastern Ukraine after Geneva Talks – April 17, 2014

CNN International – Anti-Semitic Fliers in Eastern Ukraine Denounced – April 17, 2014

USA Today – Leaflet Tells Jews to Register in East Ukraine – April 17, 2014