(A7) Israel is attempting to reclaim artifacts taken by former US President Donald Trump to his Mar-a-Lago resort, Haaretz reported. The artifacts include a set of ancient clay lamps
According to the report, the Israeli government lent the antiquities to the White House in 2019 for a Hanukkah party. Israel Hasson, the director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority at the time, said that the artifacts were only meant to be at the White House for a short time, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed their return to Israel.
Three years later, the Israeli Antiquities Authority learned that the clay lamps were among the objects found at Mar-a-Lago during the investigation into classified documents kept at the resort. The authority has been attempting to retrieve the artifacts from Mar-a-Lago and return them to Israel
Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and former Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer have been contacted to enlist their aid in securing the antiquities’ return.
It is unknown if the former president realized that the Israeli antiquities were among the many objects that he took with him upon leaving office in January 2021.
