Israel is trying to recover 'national treasures' held at Trump's Florida home

The antiquities were neither displayed nor returned. Four years later, Israeli sources told Haaretz that they believed them to be stranded. Israel Hasson, the director of the government body at the time, told Haaretz: “We wanted our man to go and bring it back, but then COVID broke out, and everything got stuck”. 

Saul Fox, who, according to Hasson, was meant to keep the candles in his possession, is a long-time donor to the Israeli Antiquities authority. He helped establish a national centre for antique coins, as well as an archaeological garden at the Knesset.

Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate and private members club has previously hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro among other foreign leaders.

It also housed a large volume of presidential records, which Trump moved from the White House after his departure from the presidency. In 2022, FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago as part of an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

A source told Haaretz they wouldn’t be surprised if “the items Israel seeks are also eventually found in some bathroom there”.