Ancient Israeli artifacts intended for an exhibition in Washington in 2019 are stuck at Mar-a-Lago, with Israel struggling to get them back

• Israel loaned ancient antiquities to the US in 2019 on the condition they be returned within weeks.
• But almost four years later, they're "stuck" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, per Haaretz.

In 2019, Israel sent some of its national treasures to an event at the White House on the condition that they would be returned within weeks.

But almost four years later, the ancient artifacts are still "stuck" at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and senior Israeli figures are scrambling to get them back, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The artifacts include ancient ceramic candles that were sent to the US from Israel for a Hanukkah event at the White House attended by President Trump, Haaretz said.

The newspaper reported that the candles were meant to be displayed briefly in Washington, DC, but failed to be exhibited because of an unspecified bureaucratic issue.

Instead of being returned to Israel, however, the artifacts remained in the US, according to Haaretz.

Israel Hasson, the director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority at the time, said he wanted to send an employee to pick up the items because they were too delicate to be sent by a regular courier.

"Then COVID broke out, and everything got stuck," he said, per Haaretz.

Officials then asked Saul Fox, a major Jewish-American donor to the Israeli Antiquities Authority, to keep hold of them for a short period until they could be returned to Israel, the newspaper said.

But the antiquities somehow ended up at Mar-a-Lago, where they remain today, according to Haaretz.

Insider contacted Fox to ask whether he knew how the items ended up at Mar-a-Lago, but did not immediately receive a response.

It's also unclear whether Trump knows they are being stored at his residence.

His post-presidency office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Eli Eskozido, has been in contact with the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Strategic Affairs Minister, and a former US Ambassador to Israel to help return the items, Haaretz reported.

However, their attempts to retrieve the treasures have been unsuccessful.

Mar-a-Lago has been in the news this year for being the site of a raid where FBI agents found boxes containing hundreds of classified documents, some of which the DOJ said had information about US nuclear programs.

Trump was charged with 37 criminal counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful retention of classified documents. The indictment said the former president was "personally involved" in taking classified documents from the White House.