Part of the notice as distributed on Twitter.
Ynet has reported that that these documents carried the signature of Denis Pushilin, chairman of Donetsk's interim pro-Russian government. Pushilin, as reported in The Times of Israel, has denied any connection to the leaflet's content, labeling them as a forgery and provocation designed to discredit the protest movement.
The region has defied the central Ukrainian government and has been declared by pro-Russian activists as a "people's republic" disregarding an ultimatum from Kiev to surrender. Donetsk is a Ukraine province of about 4.3 million people and holds close to 10 percent of Ukraine's population. Roughly 17,000 Jews live in this province and it is home to much of the country's heavy industry. This makes it one of the most important prizes in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian activists have captured a number of government buildings over the past week.
Photographs of the leaflets have been circulated by a number of media outlets, but it remains unclear as to who is behind them. Fox News reported that an Israeli official told them that masked men distributed the leaflets.
As it remains unclear as to who is behind these leaflets, it must be noted that Svoboda, one of the main groups behind the violent Western backed revolt that displaced the elected Ukrainian government, has been accused of having close ties with neo-Nazi groups.
The EU parliament in December of 2012 expressed concern about the groups growing support stating, "that racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views go against the EU's fundamental values and principles," and appealed "to pro-democratic parties in the Ukrainian parliament not to associate with, endorse or form coalitions with" Svoboda.
The State Department has weighed in with spokeswoman Marie Harf saying U.S. officials are attempting to gather more information, while Secretary of State John Kerry reacted during a press conference Thursday in Geneva, where he and diplomats are holding meetings on Ukraine.
"Just in the last couple of days, notices were sent to Jews in one city indicating that they have to identify themselves as Jews," he said. "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. It is beyond unacceptable" going on to say "there is no place for that" for anyone to be engaged in these types of activities on either side.
While possible that the pro-Russian forces are behind these leaflets, it cannot be ruled out that this could be some type of psychological operation (PsyOp) that is being utilized to sway world opinion by painting the pro-Russian forces as anti-Semitic in hopes of stirring memories of the Holocaust.
We will keep you posted as this story develops.
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