Rare antiquities that Israel sent to the US to be used in a White House ceremony have ended up in former US president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and efforts to have them returned have failed, the Haaretz daily reports.
According to the report, the clay candelabra were sent to be used in a 2019 Hanukkah ceremony, but were ultimately not used due to White House concerns that they were from the West Bank.
The Israel Antiquities Authority then planned to send a special courier to bring them back to Israel, but the plan was disrupted due to the outbreak of the COVID epidemic.
Officials asked Saul Fox, a major Jewish-American donor to the IAA, to temporarily safeguard the items.
However, Israeli officials recently learned that the items were now at Trump’s estate. The report says it is not clear how they came to be there or if Trump himself was aware of their presence.
Officials tell Haaretz that the items are now “stuck” at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to bring them home have failed.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
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