Israel’s new government is challenging the transfer by American authorities of a rare artifact from ancient Israel to the Palestinian Authority, after the item was seized from the collection of a prominent American Jewish philanthropist, Arutz Sheva reports.

In 2017, a multinational investigation was launched into the collection of billionaire hedge funder and Birthright Israel cofounder Michael Steinhardt, amid allegations he had illegally acquired numerous artifacts and works of art. Authorities in New York began seizing items from Steinhardt’s collection in January, 2018. In December 2021, Steinhardt reached an agreement with prosecutors to relinquish control of 187 artifacts out of his collection of over 1,000 items.

The artifacts, which Steinhardt is said to have acquired illegally – including from sites in Israel – were returned to their respective countries of origin. One item’s return, however, has sparked a dispute between American officials and the new Netanyahu government.

An ivory spoon from Steinhardt’s collection, dating back to between 800 and 700 BCE, during the First Bais Hamikdosh period, was transferred to the Palestinian Authority on January 5th, “the first event of such repatriation,” the United States State Department said. Arutz Sheva wrote about it here.

George Noll, who heads the State Departments’ Office of Palestinian Affairs, said in January that the US “is proud to facilitate the return of this rare antiquity, an example of Palestinian cultural patrimony.” Read more.