Haifa court halts auction of Holocaust-era artifacts

Haifa Magistrate’s Court issued an urgent temporary injunction blocking the auction house Pemonim from selling Holocaust-era items in its possession, after a petition by the nonprofit Yad Ezer Lechaver. The items include an original yellow Star of David badge and release documents belonging to Holocaust survivors.

Judge Hava Klampfer-Meretzki accepted the arguments presented by the group’s CEO, Shimon Sabbag, and found a real risk that if the artifacts are sold to private buyers, they could disappear from public view and cause irreversible harm to Holocaust research and remembrance. The ruling stops the sale for now.

Sabbag said he was grateful for what he called a correct and important decision. He argued that the items should be placed in a Holocaust museum so future generations can see and learn from them, adding that trading in Holocaust artifacts is “simply outrageous and unbelievable.”

Sabbag previously blocked a similar sale of Holocaust items in Germany. Yad Ezer Lechaver operates the Holocaust Museum in Haifa and also runs a shelter and assistance center for dozens of Holocaust survivors.