History Repeats Itself: Jews Being Told To Register In Eastern Ukraine Or Be Deported

The below flyer is being reportedly being distributed to Jews in the city of Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian militias who are demanding that the Ukrainian government recognize their right to join Russia. Below is a photograph of the flyer as taken by interpretermag.com.

Russian Separatists in Donetsk Reportedly Order Jews to Register or Face Expulsion http://t.co/dmN2n0FAuppic.twitter.com/xWxcX1mltk

— The Interpreter (@Interpreter_Mag) April 17, 2014

Here’s a partial translation:

“Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality,” the flyer began, “due to the fact that the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta,” a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement which fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, “and oppose the pro-Slavic People’s Republic of Donetsk, (the interim government) has decided that all citizens of Jewish descent, over 16 years of age and residing within the republic’s territory are required to report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and register.”

They also indicate that Jews are to bring the following items in order to register:

• ID and passport
• Religious documents of family members
• Documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles
• There is a registration fee of $50

The flyers are written in Russian and bore the signature of Denis Pushilin, the Chairman of Donetsk’s temporary revolutionary government, a militia group which has taken over several Ukrainian government buildings and engaged in gunfire with the Ukrainian military. Pushilin initially denied that his group had anything to do with handing the flyers out at synagogues and to Jews on the streets of Donetsk but later had this to say. 

In a response to a request by a Ukrainian Jewish website, Pushilin, the interim government’s regional chairman, confirmed that the flyers were distributed by his organization, but denied any connection to the leaflet’s content.

It appears that the Dontesk pro-Russian militia has some neo-Nazi leanings which is ironic considering the entire argument against the Ukrainian ‘Maidan’ revolution was that Svoboda, a hyper-conservative and xenophobic Ukrainian political party, was supposedly a danger to Russians because of their racism. Russia claimed that the entire pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian influence revolution was a fascist movement. It wasn’t.