Kate McHale

Staff Writer

@KateMcHale42

The Ukrainian government has been the talk of the world for the last couple of weeks. But today, the world thought Donetsk, a city in east Ukraine, was ordering its Jewish citizens to “register” with the government. The papers or leaflets that were being passed out to the Jews were signed by Denis Pushilin, who claims to be the chairman of “Donetsk temporary government.”

These papers were not only handed out at the synagogue, but also in various locations all over the city, reports have stated. Ynet reported Pushilin’s denial of any connection to the fliers when he was asked about them. Fliers were passed out to people leaving their synagogue on Passover Eve prayer, according to Emanuel Shechter.

Shechter lives in Israel, but received a picture of the flier via social media. This is what he had to say about the whole situation: “They told me that masked men were waiting for Jewish people after the Passover eve prayer, handed them the flier and told them to obey its instructions.”

Courtesy of USA Today

The paper begins with, “Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality,” then proceeds to tell the Jewish people anyone of Jewish decent over the age of 16 must “register,” along with showing “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.” Failure to follow these instructions results in a ridiculous punishment, “u will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property. A registration fee of $50 would be required.” This situation even caught the attention of Secretary of State John Kerry. He called it “grotesque.”

However, it seems like the papers are simply a hoax, “a provocation” according to the Donetsk Jewish community. The editor of Russian Global Affairs Fyodr Lukyanov shared his thoughts on the situation in Ukraine: “It’s an obvious provocation designed to get this exact response, going all the way up to Kerry.  I have no doubt that there is a sizeable community of anti-Semites on both sides of the barricades, but for one of them to do something this stupid—this is done to compromise the pro-Russian groups in the east.”

At this point, history is (thankfully) not repeating itself. However, an independent journalist from Russia feels this “registration” may actually end up happening.

“I think the fliers are fake, but the anti-Maidan crowd is a collection of the hardcore ‘alternative’ variety and criminals, so it’s possible some of them are capable of this.”

One can only hope that history does not repeat itself, because the world has come so far in terms of acceptance and trying to make everyone equal. Forcing anyone to “register” would be a giant step back. Now it’s the rest of the world’s turn to sit back and watch what happens in Ukraine and Russia.

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