Special Branch detectives have warned the Israeli Embassy staff here to be on the alert for a new wave of letter bombs and booby-trapped parcels during the coming Christmas-New Year holiday season. They have also issued a warning against a new type of lethal mail that contains powder which turns into deadly cyanide gas when exposed to the air. Inhalation of the gas can be instantly fatal.
The Special Branch detectives said letter bombs and parcels would be addressed to Embassy staff members and to Jewish men and women prominent in the business and commercial world. Security men issued a special alert for gift wrapped New Year’s parcels addressed to diplomats “from Friends” and said the letter bombs could also come in the form of holiday greeting cards.
It was disclosed today that investigation of earlier letter bombs revealed that every diplomat who received one figures in the publication “The Zionist Year Book.” The terrorists are believed to be working through the publication alphabetically and security men have been able to predict who the next recipients will be and warn them.
Meanwhile, scientists are investigating the cyanide letters. One was reportedly received recently by the Israeli Embassy in Bonn but news of it was withheld pending investigations. Interpol headquarters in West Germany has warned all countries with Israeli diplomatic missions to be on the alert.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
