Antisemitic Flyer 'by Donetsk People's Republic' in Ukraine a Hoax
City's chief rabbi states pamphlet is fake,
claiming it is meant to discredit pro-Russian
protesters or Jewish community
By Alec Luhn in Donetsk
April 18, 2014 "ICH"
- "The
Guardian" -
The barricades that mark the entrance to the
"Donetsk People's Republic" are plastered with
anti-fascist posters, including an American flag
with a swastika in place of the stars. The
pro-Russian protestors who have set up their own
government in the occupied administration
building see the new Kiev regime as dominated by
intolerant Ukrainian nationalists, which is why
it was more than a little ironic when an
antisemitic flyer appeared on Wednesday ordering
Jews to register with these new authorities.
US
secretary of state John Kerry soon waded into
the media storm over the piece of paper,
describing it as "grotesque" and "beyond
unacceptable". But on Friday the chairman of the
Donetsk People's Republic and the city's chief
rabbi both stated that the flyer was a fake
meant to discredit the so-called republic or the
Jewish community.
The
hoax has nonetheless contributed to the tense,
divisive atmosphere in eastern
Ukraine, where pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian
protests have ended in violence in recent weeks.
A vicious information war has raged around the
military operation Kiev is staging to try to
take back buildings from pro-Russian
demonstrators and militia, with Ukrainian media
vilifying the protestors as "terrorists" and
Russian media regularly calling the Kiev
government a "fascist junta".
City's chief rabbi states pamphlet is fake,
claiming it is meant to discredit pro-Russian
protesters or Jewish community
By Alec Luhn in Donetsk
April 18, 2014 "ICH"
- "The
Guardian" -
The barricades that mark the entrance to the
"Donetsk People's Republic" are plastered with
anti-fascist posters, including an American flag
with a swastika in place of the stars. The
pro-Russian protestors who have set up their own
government in the occupied administration
building see the new Kiev regime as dominated by
intolerant Ukrainian nationalists, which is why
it was more than a little ironic when an
antisemitic flyer appeared on Wednesday ordering
Jews to register with these new authorities.
US
secretary of state John Kerry soon waded into
the media storm over the piece of paper,
describing it as "grotesque" and "beyond
unacceptable". But on Friday the chairman of the
Donetsk People's Republic and the city's chief
rabbi both stated that the flyer was a fake
meant to discredit the so-called republic or the
Jewish community.
The
hoax has nonetheless contributed to the tense,
divisive atmosphere in eastern
Ukraine, where pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian
protests have ended in violence in recent weeks.
A vicious information war has raged around the
military operation Kiev is staging to try to
take back buildings from pro-Russian
demonstrators and militia, with Ukrainian media
vilifying the protestors as "terrorists" and
Russian media regularly calling the Kiev
government a "fascist junta".
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