Jews in Ukraine told to identify themselves, Kerry says
Armed men wearing
military fatigues gather by Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) as they stand
guard outside the regional state building seized by pro-Russian separatists in
the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 16, 2014.
Armed men wearing military fatigues gather by Armoured
Personnel Carriers (APC) as they stand guard outside the regional state
building seized by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of
Slavyansk on April 16, 2014. Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty
Jews in Ukraine told to identify themselves, Kerry says
04/17/14 03:10 PM—UPDATED 04/17/14 04:58 PM
facebook twitter 1 save share group 112
By Erin Delmore
Jewish residents of one city in east Ukraine were issued a
flier instructing them to identify themselves, Secretary of State John Kerry
said Thursday, signaling that Russia’s growing military presence in the region
could spark a new wave of anti-Semitism in the former Soviet bloc.
“Just in the last couple of days, notices were sent to Jews
in one city, indicating that they had to identify themselves as Jews and
obviously the accompanying threat implied, is or threatened or suffer the
consequences, one way or the other,” Kerry said during a press conference in
Geneva, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and
Ukrainian and EU representatives.
THE REID REPORT, 4/17/14, 3:03 PM ET
John Kerry: Jews targeted in Ukraine
The leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic has denied any
connection with the flier, which bared his name as the signature, according to
a statement from the Anti-Defamation League.
“We are skeptical about the flier’s authenticity, but the
instructions clearly recall the Nazi era and have the effect of intimidating
the local Jewish community,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, in
the statement. The organization condemned “the anti-Semitic content, but also
all attempts to use anti-Semitism for political purposes.”
“It is clear that some of this is taking place, whether it
is leaflets or other items that are directed at Jews in Ukraine,” State
Department spokesperson Marie Harf said during Thursday’s briefing. “I think
we’re still trying to determine who’s behind it.”
Earlier Thursday, Israeli media reported that as people were
leaving a Synagogue on Passover they were given a leaflet instructing Jewish
residents over the age of 16 to bring identification, religious documents,
documents verifying property holdings, and a $50 registration fee to “the
Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration.”
They were told to “register” with the pro-Russian militants
who have seized the city “or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation
and see their assets confiscated.” According to the Israeli news site Ynet,
home to one of the country’s major newspapers, the leaflet said the Jewish
community was being targeted because its leaders “oppose the pro-Slavic
People’s Republic of Donetsk.”
Roughly six million jews were killed during the Holocaust
during World War II, including over one million children. In the aftermath of
the Holocaust, as Jewish families were displaced and unable to return to
Europe, anti-Semitism persisted in the Soviet Union, resulting in mass
immigration.
THE CYCLE, 4/17/14, 4:13 PM ET
US sending aid to Ukrainian government
Ukraine erupted into a civil conflict last winter after its
president passed on an economic partnership with the European Union in favor of
closer ties with Russia, setting pro-Russian and pro-European factions of the
former Soviet Republic at odds. Protests turned violent earlier this year, and
Russia fanned the flames by sending troops in unmarked uniforms to seize
Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which is home to a leased Russian naval base.
After residents voted to succeed from Ukraine, Russia annexed Crimea on March
21. Since then, pro-Russian militants have taken control of at least 10 eastern
Ukrainian cities, while 40,000 Russian troops are poised along the shared
border.
From Geneva, Kerry said that Ukrainian, Russian, and E.U.
representatives agreed on preliminary steps to de-escalate the tension in
Ukraine. If militants return seized buildings and abstain from violence, Kerry
said, Ukraine would offer amnesty to those who have not committed capital
crimes. The agreement does not require Russia to remove its troops
“All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or
provocative actions,” a statement from the four officials said. “The
participants strongly condemned and rejected all expressions of extremism,
racism and religious intolerance, including anti-Semitism.”
“None of us leave here with the sense that the job is done
because the words are on the paper,” Kerry said in Geneva. He warned of further
U.S. sanctions on Russia if it fails to deescalate the tension on the ground,
saying Russia has a “huge impact on all of those forces” in eastern Ukraine.
Obama issued a similar warning during a Wednesday interview with CBS News.
Earlier Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted
his right to “use the armed forces” to “help [Ukrainians] independently decide
their fate,” granted to him by the upper house of Russia’s Parliament.
President Obama responded to the Geneva agreement during a
Thursday press conference and said he hopes Russian officials will honor
agreements to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine – but he’s not very optimistic.
“My hope is that we actually do see follow through over the
next several days,” Obama said, “but I don’t think given past performance that
we can count on that.”
Obama said the U.S. is prepared to respond to Russian
interference, but will not be moving forward with further sanctions quite yet.
“During the last week, we put in place additional consequences that we can
impose on Russia if we don’t see an improving situation on the ground.”
The president spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
earlier, and planned to speak with British Prime Minister David Cameron later
in the day to coordinate on additional consequences should Russia renege on the
deal. Military options, however, are not on the table, Obama said.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat in New York, urged
Kerry in a statement “to do everything posisble to ensure that Jewish and other
minority communities throughout [Ukraine] are protected from any form of
prejudice,” saying the “highly alarming” report of Jews being told to register
in Donetsk “reeks of age-old Semitic policies.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler called the
reports “deeply disturbing.”
“While the details of who exactly authored and distributed
these flyers are still emerging, the world must not ignore these anti-Semitic
attacks,” Nadler said in a statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment