"The Neighbors' Room": Collector Who Hid Thousands of Antiquities in His Home Convicted in Court

Zvi Har-Niv was convicted of trading in antiquities without a license after hiding thousands of items in his home in Ramat Hasharon and reporting only 167. In a locked room he initially claimed belonged to neighbors, at least 1,185 antiquities were seized. A rare Bar Kokhba coin was put up for sale under a pseudonym.

Zvi Har-Niv, an antiquities collector from Ramat Hasharon, was convicted of trading in antiquities without a license, failing to notify the Israel Antiquities Authority, and transferring antiquities in violation of the law. Har-Niv reported only 167 items to the authority, but during a search of his home, at least 1,185 antiquities were seized, most of them in a locked room he initially claimed belonged to neighbors. The affair began in 2011, and in subsequent years he purchased antiquities worth about 930,000 shekels from dealers in Israel and auction houses in England, without reporting changes to the collection. In 2015, he sold hundreds of items through the auction house of antiquities dealer Robert Deutsch for about 600,000 shekels. In 2023, he attempted to sell a rare silver coin of the "Bar Kokhba Year 2" type under the name "Landman" to conceal his identity, for $22,000. Judge Avital Amselem Gilboa rejected the defense's arguments but ruled that merely holding a large collection does not prove ongoing commercial activity, and his conviction for trading was based only on the transactions that were proven.