The Jewish community in Germany has been facing a wave of antisemitic threats in recent months, but an unusual incident in recent days has sparked particular concern. Last Thursday, the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria received a suspicious letter that, according to local police, contained threatening content and a handgun bullet.
The package was sent to a central Jewish institution in the city that houses both the community center of Munich and Upper Bavaria Jewry and the Ohel Jakob Synagogue. According to German media reports, the letter was first examined by the community’s internal security services and was then handed over to police, who were called to the scene. The case has been transferred to the Bavarian State Security criminal investigations unit.
Yehoshua Hamiel, deputy president of Munich’s Jewish community, told the German-Jewish newspaper Judische Allgemeine that the threatening letter arrived through regular mail. He said all incoming mail to the community is carefully screened. “In this case, it was immediately clear that it was a letter with problematic content,” he said, adding that police were notified in accordance with established procedures.
Hamiel described the incident as a further escalation in the threats directed at the community. “We receive a great many threats, but a letter containing a live bullet is something new,” he said. According to Hamiel, the letter included an explicit call to harm Jews, adding that while such messages are not unfamiliar, their severity has increased.
He also said community members feel abandoned by the authorities. “Society is suffering threats, insults and antisemitic statements of all kinds. There are speeches, but there are no real actions against antisemitism, and that does not help us,” he said.
Hamiel warned that the sender of the letter likely has access to ammunition and possibly to a weapon. At the same time, he stressed that cooperation with police remains close. “The authorities always do their best,” he said, describing police work as “excellent.”
A local police spokeswoman told the German news agency DPA that “based on the current state of the investigation, any real danger can already be ruled out.”