A 14th-century Hebrew manuscript is the topic of a lawsuit filed this week in opposition to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The establishment has denied claims by heirs of a German-Jewish lawmaker that the museum has “unlawful possession” of the non secular e-book, which has been in its assortment for practically seventy years.
That is the primary lawsuit in opposition to a museum in Israel to get better property misplaced within the Holocaust.
4 heirs of Ludwig Marum, a Jewish-German politician and public opponent of the Third Reich, introduced forth the declare in a New York state courtroom. In courtroom paperwork reviewed by ARTnews, the legal professional representing the heirs stated the go well with was filed in New York as a result of the museum conducts enterprise by way of the Manhattan nonprofit American Mates of the Israel Museum.
The medieval manuscript dubbed Fowl’s Head Haggadah is believed to have been produced in southern Germany across the 12 months 1300. It is called the oldest surviving Ashkenazi Passover Haggadah, a quantity containing ritual textual content that’s used for non secular commentary. The lawsuit claims the e-book is price an estimated $10 million.
Marum was killed in 1934 below official Nazi orders. Marum initially obtained the script as a marriage current, the go well with says.
The go well with additional alleges that the museum initially bought the Haggadah tome in 1946 for $600, at present’s equal of $9,000 “in a backroom deal with out acquiring any proof of possession,” from a person who allegedly, “dealt in valuables of doubtful origin,” Its whereabouts between then and when Marum was killed, are unknown.
The dispute across the museum’s possession of the artifact was first raised publicly in 2016 when Marum’s heirs started to hunt compensation from the museum for what they described as “unlawful possession” of the e-book.
The go well with claims that the museum later “eliminated and destroyed” a doc exhibiting that the Haggadah had been within the household’s possession for over seven a long time. The submitting additionally accuses the establishment of failing to correctly examine the merchandise’s possession document, describing it as “stolen.”
The museum refutes this declare, arguing that, in 1984, Elizabeth — Marum’s daughter — penned a letter on behalf of the household saying the Haggadah ought to proceed to stay within the Museum’s assortment “for the advantage of the general public.”
Marum’s heirs say that Elizabeth, grandmother to one of many plaintiffs, tried to get better the manuscript at the moment however that the museum “thwarted” her efforts. The grievance alleges the museum “unlawfully refused to acknowledge the official possession claims issued by Dr. Marum’s daughter Elisabeth.”
“She was repeatedly thwarted by the Museum,” the declare reads.
In a press release, a spokesperson for the museum described the the heirs’ choice to sue as “unlucky,” saying that the motion is “an try and undo her needs.”
The legal professional representing the heirs, Meir Heller, stated in a press release that the case has broader implications for bringing different restitution claims, “regarding a whole bunch of Nazi looted artwork and judaica items,” on the museum.
“There is no such thing as a different governmental resolution like an advisory committee to do justice with Holocaust victims and heirs,” he added.
The present case “will make clear {that a} authorized motion will be introduced in opposition to the Israel Museum in the US below the HEAR act,” he added, referring to a 2016 legislation suspending time-based authorized defenses to claims for artwork misplaced below the Nazi persecution.