What to Do If You Are a Jew in Donetsk

According to U.S. government officials, fliers have been handed out by masked men in front the main synagogue in Donetsk, Ukraine, where pro-Russian protesters have declared a "People's Republic."  The fliers order Jews in the city to register with a government office.

"All citizens of Jewish nationality over age of 16, living on territories of Donetsk People's Republic, have to register with DPR commissioner of nationality before May 3rd, 2014 at the Donetsk Regional Administration, room 514, registration fee is $50," read a photographed copy of the leaflet translated by CNN. "Must have in person $50 cash, passport, all available IDs, and documentation of ownership of real estate and transportation."

Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that a respected Jewish leader in Ukraine showed him a photograph of one of the leaflets. He called the document "chilling."

This smells to me like a psy-ops campaign to discredit the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Indeed, according to CNN:

The Jewish community there dismissed it as a "provocation."... 

[A]Jewish community statement said it was not clear who was behind the fliers, and the self-proclaimed head of the "People's Republic," Denis Pushilin, denied any connection to them. Pushilin told CNN the handwriting on the flier wasn't his, and the title attached to his name was not one he uses..."Who is behind this is an open question," Rabbi Pinkhas Vishedski said in the statement. But he said the act was a provocation "and should be treated accordingly ... full stop and end of topic."

Even the Anti-Defamation League raised suspicions about the fliers and hinted at political motives:

Provocation or not, the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League condemned their distribution and what it called their "cynical and politically manipulative" exploitation of anti-Semitism.

"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," ADL Director Abraham Foxman said in a written statement.

Yet, despite the words of caution about the fliers from prominent Jews, the U.S. instigators expressed concern at high decibel levels and addressed the news as if the fliers were genuine.

 "It's almost inconceivable that this kind of thing could be happening in the 21st century," Pyatt said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the leaflets "grotesque" and "beyond unacceptable."

NyPo controlled by neocon Rupert Murdoch is playing it up the fliers on the front page of its web site, which I'm sure will please NyPo's CIA controls. The NyPo headline reads: Jews in east Ukraine forced to register with authorities. This pic is being run, though fliers have been only been passed out by a few men, no military or police forces of any kind were involved

What should you do if you a Jew in  Donetsk?

Probably nothing. From a distance, it does not appear a true threat. However, if you are in  Donetsk and do feel a real threat, do what Sigmund Freud and Ludwig von Mises did, when they felt threatened in Austria, get the hell out while you still can.