Dozens of rare historical artifacts belonging to the Jerusalem municipal archive have been recovered after a city official spotted them being offered for sale on social media, prompting a police investigation.
The Jerusalem Municipal Archive, established in 1963, is considered one of Israel’s richest municipal archives. Its collections include more than 100,000 photographs, about 40,000 posters and notices, as well as medals, ceremonial gifts and memorabilia presented to Jerusalem mayors over the years during visits by dignitaries and public figures.
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Rare historical artifacts from the Jerusalem municipal archive stolen and put up for sale online
(Photo: from social media)
The case began last month when Deputy Mayor Adir Schwartz noticed a Facebook post in which a collector was offering dozens of unusual items for sale.
Among the items were medals that had been presented to longtime Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek. One medal bore the inscription, “Teddy Kollek, we are with you for peace,” while another carried the phrase, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem.” Also listed was a ceremonial key to the city of Miami, a type of honor often presented to visiting officials and dignitaries.
Photos accompanying the online listing showed the artifacts with small inventory stickers bearing serial numbers. The labels raised Schwartz’s suspicions that the items originated from the city archive. Schwartz alerted police, who opened an investigation.
According to city officials, the suspect attempted to sell the collection for tens of thousands of shekels. Investigators posed as potential buyers and arranged a meeting, but the suspect arrived without the artifacts. During subsequent questioning, however, he revealed their location, enabling authorities to recover the items and return them to the archive.
It remains unclear how the rare artifacts came into the suspect’s possession. He has claimed that he purchased them himself.
The recovery comes after the municipal archive, which houses thousands of containers filled with historical documents and artifacts, was relocated within Jerusalem’s municipal complex in recent years as part of a reorganization effort.
After the items were returned, Schwartz said he acted immediately once he suspected they had been removed from the archive.
“The moment I suspected these were original items that had been stolen or taken from the archive, I mobilized everyone involved to return the treasures to their rightful place,” he said. “I am proud of this operation and happy that we succeeded in saving items of extraordinary historical value.”