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Kerry: Pro-Russian mobs forcing Ukrainian Jews to ‘register’ with authorities

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Jewish citizens in an eastern Ukrainian city have reportedly been ordered to “register” themselves with pro-Russian militants, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

“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,” Kerry said, according to CNN. “It is beyond unacceptable. 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.”

According to USA Today, local Jews received leaflets demanding, among other things, that they provide a list of any property they own.

“Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality,” the flyer read, according to Israel’s Ynet News, “due to the fact that the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, 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.”

Bendery Junta refers to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement which fought for independence at the end of the World War II, according to Israel’s Ynet news.

The leaflet further explained that Jews will need to provide officials with “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.”

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