Jewish life in Germany: Hate mail with powder forces Giessen synagogue to be evicted

dpa/kna | The discovery of a suspicious letter with anti-Semitic and threatening content triggered the evacuation of the Giessen synagogue and a major police operation on Thursday. When the letter was opened at midday, a previously unknown powder was released, the police said. They lifted the wide-area closures in the late afternoon, but the synagogue itself initially remained closed, according to a police spokeswoman.

On Friday it became clear: According to investigators, the powder from the threatening letter was neither dangerous nor poisonous. The substance is freely available in stores, said the Hessian State Criminal Police Office and the Giessen public prosecutor's office.

However, for tactical reasons, the authorities did not want to provide any further information about the substance and content of the handwritten anti-Semitic threatening letter.

There were 26 people in the synagogue at the time of the incident. They were taken outside as a precaution. Four people were in the immediate vicinity when the letter was opened. Rescue workers examined her on site and no medical treatment was necessary.

“Further investigations will be carried out intensively in order to identify the previously unknown perpetrator or perpetrators and to fully clarify the background to what happened,” it said.

For the Hessian Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU), the case is another frightening example of the attacks on Jewish life. “It’s a shame,” Poseck said. “We will continue to do everything we can to effectively protect Jewish life here.”

The police said there was no danger to the general public. In addition to the Central Hesse police headquarters, members of the professional fire brigade and the rescue service were also on site.

Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) called the threat to the Jewish community and its synagogue “unbearable”. "Anyone who hates and threatens Jews in our country will be punished with full severity. It's good that our police reacted quickly."

Giessen's mayor Frank-Tilo Becher (SPD) spoke of a vile act of threat: "We condemn this monstrous anti-Semitic act in the strongest possible terms. We stand with the community in full solidarity." It is a matter of pure anti-Semitic hatred that the city is fighting against with all its might.

The Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) had previously reported on the topic. The area around the synagogue in Giessen city center was temporarily cordoned off. “The security precautions in this context are already very high,” said a police spokesman. “We take such incidents very seriously.”

According to the public broadcaster, an HR studio in the immediate area also had to be evacuated. As HR reported, the fire brigade set up a tent for decontamination, among other things. Emergency services who come into contact with hazardous substances can then be cleaned there.

According to information from the Jewish Community of Giessen on its homepage, the Giessen synagogue and community center were reopened in 1995. The community itself has existed since 1978. The synagogue is the Jewish place of worship and at the same time a religious and cultural center.

There was a possibly similar case in Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate in mid-October. The Jewish community received a threatening letter in the mail. The author threatened to blow up the synagogue. The letter contained a powder that experts from the State Criminal Police Office classified as harmless after an investigation. The criminal police began investigations, but the perpetrator or perpetrators have not yet been found.

The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Gordon Schnieder (CDU), among others, strongly condemned the threat at the time. "The incident at the synagogue in Speyer shocks me. Anyone who threatens a Jewish community with hate messages and attempts at intimidation is attacking Jewish life throughout our country," he said in October.