This is so very disturbing...

Leaflet tells Jews to register in East Ukraine

World leaders and Jewish groups condemned a leaflet handed out in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in which Jews were told to "register" with the pro-Russian militants who have taken over a government office in an attempt to make Ukraine part of Russia, according to Ukrainian and Israeli media.

Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews 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, and Ukraine's Donbass news agency.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the language of the leaflets "is beyond unacceptable" and condemned whomever is responsible.

"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," he said. "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."

It's scary that here at the time of Passover (Pesach), anti-Semites are rearing their ugly heads by trying to bully Jews in the Ukraine in a move reminiscent of 1930s Germany. Although the leader of the pro-Russian faction in Donetsk did say they were distributed under his organisation's name, he denied responsibility for them. But even if they were meant to scare the Jewish community and were not backed up with force, it is still disturbing. And if it is ever made policy, we could have a very serious situation on our hands. Anyone with an ounce of understanding of history should be concerned. As the anti-Semitic shootings in Kansas recently show, hatred for Jews is still quite alive and well here in the United States in 2014. For Eastern Europe, the history of anti-Semitism and pogroms is far longer. I hope nothing comes of the Ukrainian story, but I fear there will be more like this if the region destabilises. And may there be justice in the case in Kansas.

Thanks to my friend Jody for posting the Ukrainian story on Facebook.