📌 22 Ancient Greek Artifacts Returned to Greece from Israel 🇬🇷🇮🇱
Greece has welcomed the return of 22 ancient artifacts that were illegally removed from the country and are now being repatriated by the State of Israel.
Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni formally received the artifacts from Israel’s Ambassador to Greece, Pnina Yanay, during a handover ceremony held in the Altar Hall of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The ceremony was attended by Amir Ganor, Head of the Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
🗣️ Lina Mendoni, Greece’s Minister of Culture, said:
“The return of these 22 antiquities from Israel to Greece today holds special significance. This is the first time Israel has returned antiquities to Greece, marking the beginning of closer cooperation between our two countries in protecting cultural heritage.
This return confirms that cooperation between states can make a meaningful contribution to the fight against antiquities trafficking.
Every cultural object returned to its place of origin carries a broader symbolic and moral significance. It reminds us that protecting our cultural heritage is a shared responsibility. I am confident that cooperation between Greece and Israel will continue to deliver meaningful results in safeguarding our cultural heritage.”
🗣️ Pnina Yanay, Ambassador of Israel to Greece, reflected on the deeper meaning of the return:
“Let us try to imagine a child looking at one of these ancient vessels today and feeling a spark of wonder. That child sees something that another child may have seen and felt 2,000 years ago, becoming another link in a chain of generations that had been broken.
For me, there is also something deeply moving in the thought that, as Israel’s Ambassador, I have the privilege of placing this ancient object back into your worthy hands, and that my country has had the honour of contributing to this important moment and mission.”