Artifacts seized from U.S. billionaire returned to Israel
March 22, 2022 Karen Matthews and Ilan Ben Zion, Associated Press
Dr. Etan Klein, Deputy Director of the Theft Prevention Unit, of Israel's Antiquities Authority, looks over looted antiquities worth $5-million, seized from billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt, displayed in the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney, in New York, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The 39 items being returned to Israel include two gold masks dating from about 5000 B.C. that are valued at $500,000, and a set of three death masks that date from 6000 to 7000 B.C. and are worth a total of $650,000. AP Photo/Richard Drew
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Prosecutors in New York announced the repatriation Tuesday of $5 million worth of looted antiquities seized from billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt to Israel, where Steinhardt is well known as a patron of cultural institutions.
The 39 items being returned to Israel include two gold masks dating from about 5000 B.C. that are valued at $500,000 and a set of three death masks that date from 6000 to 7000 B.C. and are worth a total of $650,000, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
“These rare and beautiful artifacts, which are thousands of years old, have been kept from the public because of illegal looting and trafficking,” Bragg said. “My office is proud to once again return historic antiquities to where they rightfully belong.”