Donald Trump Agrees to Return Israeli Antiquities from Mar-a-Lago Club

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Former US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Drake

Former President Donald Trump has agreed to return a collection of Israeli antiquities after the Israel Antiquities Authority protested their presence at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the treasures, which include ceramic oil lamps and coins, are intended to be presented to Trump at the White House during Hanukkah in 2019, put on temporary display, and then returned to Israel after a few weeks. But a State Department inspection delay and the Covid-19 pandemic meant the collection ended up at the California home of private-equity executive Saul Fox, who then presented them to Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2021 after he left office.

Fox said he continued to show the collection to Trump despite an email from Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Eskozido demanding their return.

A spokeswoman for Trump told the WSJ on Wednesday that they did not mishandle the artifacts.

These historical objects were presented by a representative of Israel’s antiquities authority with the full support of the organization, the spokesperson said. Since the items are presented as originally intended, the office will expedite their return to the representative organizations.

The antiquities saga comes as the former president faces 37 federal felony charges related to his keeping hundreds of classified documents in cardboard boxes at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office. Photos included in the indictment showed boxes of classified documents stored in the clubs’ ballrooms, bathrooms, and a series of storage rooms. Trump has pleaded not guilty, and the federal district judge in the case is currently considering a request by Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.

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