Irish Jewish Cabinet Minister Victim of Nazi Hoax

One or more anti-Semites sent a package of suspicious white powder and a photograph of Nazis to the home of Ireland’s Justice Minister Alan Shatter on Wednesday.

Security officials raised an emergency alert, and a bomb squad arrived to investigate. Officials concluded the powder was harmless baking powder.

The photograph showed Nazi soldiers at a rally with flags displaying swastikas, the Irish Independent reported.

The hoax probably was related to a vote of no confidence Shatter faces following several controversies in the Justice Department.

Enda Kenny, who heads the Irish government, described the hoax as a “new low” and said,  “The minister is in the house a long time. Members of the Jewish faith have been members of the Fianna Fail party, the Labor Party and the Fine Gael Party… It is not in order that anti-Semitic material is being received by the minister who just happens to be a member of a particular faith.”

Minister for Health James Reilly said this morning that the incident was "absolutely appalling” and that the implied threat in the package is being treated as criminal act.