Ukraine crisis: Anti-semitic leaflets distributed in Donetsk call on Jews to register …

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, told a crisis meeting in Geneva attended by Russian, Ukrainian and EU counterparts that the distribution of leaflets which appeared to call on Jews to register with separatist, pro-Russian authorities were “not just intolerable; [it is] grotesque, [and] beyond unacceptable.”

Ukraine has seen a rise in attacks on Jews and on synagogues since unrest began five months ago.

Some Ukrainian nationalist groups which took part in the uprising in Kyiv have been blamed for fanning anti-Semitic sentiment. Anti-Semitism is also apparent among some Russian nationalists.

Though the purported authors of the flier described it as a crude attempt to discredit them, Mr Kerry said: “Notices were sent to Jews in one city indicating that they had to identify themselves as Jews … or suffer the consequences.

“In the year 2014, after all of the miles travelled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable; it’s grotesque. It is beyond unacceptable,” he said as members met to draw up a four-way agreement to work to defuse the crisis in eastern Ukraine.  

Mr Kerry said Russian Orthodox Church members in Ukraine had also received threats “that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was somehow going to attack them in the course of the next days.”

“That kind of behaviour, that kind of threat, has no place,” he said.

The Israeli news site YNetNews first published an article claiming the leaflets called for all Jewish residents aged 16 and older should supply a “detailed list of all the property they own, or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated”.

It is not yet clear exactly who is behind the leaflets, which are written in Russian and bear Russia’s national symbol alongside the symbol of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The leaflets have been dismissed as a “provocation” by the Jewish community, who issued a statement stressing the relationship between the Jews of Donetsk and their neighbours is amicable.

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

The proclaimed head of the “People’s Republic,” Denis Pushilin, denied any connection to the fliers.

Kirill Rudenko, a spokesman for the People’s Republic of Donbass, also said they have no affiliation with the leaflets.

“We made no such demands on Jews,” he said. “We have nothing against Jews.

“This is just another attempt to tarnish our image … It is a crude forgery.”

The US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in Washington that the United States was still trying to determine who was behind the leaflets and added: “We take any anti-Semitism very seriously.”

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