Synagogue evacuated over bomb scare

Police secured a suspect package at a synagogue in the northern German city of Luebeck yesterday and evacuated the building.

Police secured a suspect package at a synagogue in the northern German city of Luebeck yesterday and evacuated the building.

Jewish community leaders canceled yesterday's prayers after consultation with police, and about 15 people were evacuated from the building as a precaution after the package was found on the premises. Police gave no details as to its contents, which were being examined by experts in nearby Kiel.

Luebeck police officials would not confirm reports of a telephone bomb threat against the synagogue, but said the incident was being treated as a threat. It was unclear who was behind it.

In March 1994, Luebeck became the site of the first attack on a Jewish place of worship in postwar Germany when young neo-Nazis firebombed the synagogue. That was followed by a May 1995 arson fire that began in the synagogue's storeroom.

Germany has seen a steep rise in far-right attacks in the past year on targets including immigrants, Holocaust memorials and Jewish cemeteries. That has prompted a raft of measures from public awareness campaigns to a government drive to outlaw a far-right political party.