The Magistrates Court in Haifa issued an immediate restraining order, forbidding the auctioning of artifacts from the Holocaust, Walla reported on Wednesday.
Among the artifacts are original yellow stars and liberation certificates from the era of the Holocaust.
The Yad Ezer La-Haver association, which operates the Holocaust Museum in Haifa and manages a shelter that provides lodging and food for tens of Holocaust survivors, filed the petition against an Israeli auction house, Pa'amonim, that wanted to sell.
Previously, Yad Ezer La-Haver CEO Shimon Sabbag had succeeded in preventing the sale of Holocaust items put up for auction in Germany.
Judge Chava Klemperer-Martzki fully accepted the association’s arguments, presented by Sabbag, and determined that there was reason to believe that, if the items were sold to private buyers, they would likely disappear from public view, causing irreparable damage to Holocaust research and commemoration.
“I want to thank the judge for her true and purposeful judgment. It’s appropriate that these items be in the Holocaust museum in order for future generations to learn from them,” said Sabbag.
“It’s unbecoming to sell Holocaust artifacts; it’s simply outrageous and unbelievable.”
Auction house owner sees sale as a way to further the memory of the Holocaust
“I don’t understand what the problem is,” said Pa'amonim owner Daniel to Walla.
“We turned to Yad Ezer because we thought they would be interested in bidding, but they insisted on buying the items outside of auction, and the seller insisted on selling the items in an auction, so that wasn’t possible.”
“There are people who want to guard the Holocaust and to guard the artifacts that belonged to survivors. It’s important historically and, therefore, in my opinion, objects that should be sold. It’s a shame that things like these are being thrown away.
“[The items in question] belonged to a young couple that died without heirs, and the items were salvaged when their apartment was emptied out,” Daniel continued.
“A person who went through it took it and put it up for auction. Multiple Holocaust museums were interested, as were private individuals who also wanted to preserve the legacy. For example, somebody whose grandfather was a survivor and they didn’t have the yellow badge, and they want one in order to show their grandchildren, and anybody who wants to know.”