Israel Returned 22 Illegally Removed Antiquities to Greece, the First Such Repatriation Between the Two Countries

Israel has returned 22 illegally removed antiquities to Greece in what The Jerusalem Post, citing officials, calls the first repatriation of its kind between the two countries. The handover took place on 13 October 2026 at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The details below come from the Jerusalem Post report of 14 October 2026, which relies on statements from Greek and Israeli officials. I found no separate release from the Israel Antiquities Authority or the Greek Culture Ministry.

What came back

The report lists 15 ancient Attic vessels, 6 vases from Corinthian workshops and 1 bronze statuette of a female figure. It dates the items to between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE and gives no dating method. The article says the statuette’s authenticity requires further investigation. It also lists one vessel as “ambergris”, which is probably an error, so this post does not repeat that entry.

Where the items came from

The objects came from Greece, but the article does not say where in Greece or when they left. Israeli authorities seized them in 2020 during raids on a gallery, warehouses and apartments in the Gush Dan area. The report says those sites held thousands of illegally acquired items from Israel and elsewhere. The Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit ran the operation with Israel Police and the Israel Tax Authority, and the Greek Antiquities Police cooperated. No excavation or find site is mentioned.

What officials said

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, Israeli Ambassador Pninat Yanay and the head of the IAA unit, Amir Ganor, attended the ceremony. Ganor said the illegal trade in antiquities “knows no borders”. He also said it can finance terrorism and organized crime and facilitate money laundering, which is his stated view and not a finding in the article. Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said the return expresses Israel’s commitment to protect cultural heritage. The two countries’ enforcement units held a joint workshop last month on information sharing and tracing trade routes. The report says a heritage memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed, but it is not confirmed as signed.

Source: Miriam Sela-Eitam, The Jerusalem Post, 14 October 2026. Image credit: Greek Culture Ministry.