Ancient Israeli artifacts intended for an exhibition in Washington in 2019 are stuck at Mar-a-Lago, with Israel struggling to get them back
Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- Israel loaned ancient antiquities to the US in 2019, on the condition they be returned within weeks.
- But almost four years later, they're "stuck" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, per Haaretz.
- Senior Israeli figures have tried but failed to get the antiquities back, the newspaper reported.
In 2019, Israel sent some of its national treasures for an event at the White House, on the condition that they be returned within weeks.
But almost four years later, the ancient artifacts are "stuck" at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with senior Israeli figures scrambling to get them back, per the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The artifacts include ancient ceramic candles, which were sent from Israel to the US for a Hanukkah event at the White House attended by Trump, who was then president, Haaretz said.
The candles were meant to be displayed briefly in Washington, DC, but failed to be exhibited due to an unspecified bureaucratic issue, the newspaper reported.
Instead of being returned to Israel, however, they remained in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Haaretz.
Israel Hasson, who was the director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, said they wanted one of their employees to go and pick up the items because they were too delicate to be sent by a regular courier.
"Then COVID broke out, and everything got stuck," he said, per Haaretz.
Officials then asked Saul Fox, a major Jewish-American donor to the Israeli Antiquities Authority, to keep hold of them for a short period until they could be returned to Israel, the newspaper said.
But somehow the antiquities ended up at Mar-a-Lago, where they remain to this day, according to Haaretz.
Insider contacted Fox to ask if he knew how the items ended up at Mar-a-Lago, but did not immediately receive a response.
It's also unclear if Trump knows they are being stored at his residence.
His post-presidency office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The current director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, has been in contact with the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Strategic Affairs Minister, and a former US Ambassador to Israel to help in returning the items, Haaretz reported.
However, their attempts to retrieve the treasures have so far been unsuccessful.
Mar-a-Lago has been in the news this year for being the site of an FBI raid that found boxes containing hundreds of classified documents, some of which the DOJ said had information about US nuclear programs.
Trump was charged with 37 criminal counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful retention of classified documents, with the indictment saying he was "personally involved" in taking classified documents from the White House.
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