Israeli antiquities ‘stranded’ at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort
A set of ancient artifacts sent to the United States for a Chanukah ceremony in 2019 has resurfaced at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a report.
Israeli officials have located the set of missing antiquities inside the former president’s Florida home, according to a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The antiquities, a set of ceramic lamps, are part of a national treasures collection administered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). They were originally sent to the United States for a Chanukah candle lighting ceremony during the holiday in December 2019.
The lamps were never displayed after concerns were raised that they may have been excavated in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. US officials were reportedly worried that exhibiting the artifacts could have violated international antiquities law.
Former IAA Director Israel Hasson told Haaretz that the lamps got ‘stuck’ in the US after the ceremony as the agency tried to secure safe passage of the items back to Israel. The process was delayed again when the covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
Hasson had asked major IAA donor Saul Fox, who helped coordinate the original White House ceremony, to keep track of the items until they could be returned.
It is unclear how the lamps ended up at Mar-a-Lago, or if former President Trump knows they are there.
Senior Israeli officials said the incident was a ‘misunderstanding.’
Eli Eskozido, the current director of the IAA, is currently trying to retrieve the lamps from Mar-a-Lago, but efforts coordinated with the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry have so far been unsuccessful.
Officials told Haaretz they were worried the lamps might be ‘eventually found in some bathroom there.’
Earlier this year, an indictment against the former president revealed that investigators found boxes of classified documents in odd places at Mar-a-Lago, including a bathroom, a shower, and onstage in a ballroom.
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