NEW YORK — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced that on Oct. 4, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres confirmed the voluntary forfeiture to the United States of the Chamisa Humshe Torrah (Five Books of Moses) and Haftarot.
This announcement follows an investigation by HSI New York’s Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Group in coordination with the Southern District of New York. The United States anticipates the future repatriation of the Chamisa Humshe Torrah text.
According to HSI New York’s investigation, the stipulated facts in the voluntary forfeiture order, statements made in court filings, and relevant online publications, Giovanni di Gara was a Venetian printer of Hebrew books in the 16th century. The Di Gara text is comprised of two works from the Jewish faith: the Chamisa Humshe Torrah (Five Books of Moses), or the Jewish Torrah in book form, and the Haftarot, a series of selections from the Hebrew Bible.
Lelio Della Torre was an Italian Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived from approximately 1805 to 1871. At some point during his life, the Di Gara Text came into Della Torre’s personal collection. Works in the Della Torre Collection were stamped to indicate that they belonged to the collection.
In or about 1877, after Della Torre’s death, the collection was sold to the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary. The collection catalogue, which was published in or about 1872, is in the custody of the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary. The Di Gara Text is listed in the catalogue of the Della Torre Collection as “(Homasc) Pentateuc. sine accentis et punctis vocal., Venetiis, 5348, vol. 1, in-3.” The Jewish year 5348 equates to 1588 and the place of publication, Venetiis, is the Latin translation of Venice, Italy.
In 1944, in the midst of World War II and the Jewish Holocaust, Nazi forces invaded Budapest and seized and occupied the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary, looting its holdings. The Di Gara Text is believed to have disappeared during this period. At no point did the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary deaccession — that is, formally remove from its collection — the Di Gara Text.
In March 2023, Hungarian officials notified the Department of Homeland Security that a volume that appeared to be the Di Gara Text was for sale for $19,000 on the AbeBooks website. AbeBooks is an online marketplace used by independent vendors to sell, among other things, rare books. The vendor, who was based in Manhattan, specialized in selling Judaica in various languages. The description of the volume on the vendor’s AbeBooks page was consistent with the description of the Di Gara Text in the catalogue of the Della Torre Collection. Furthermore, an image of a stamp in the volume was consistent with the stamp used by Della Torre.
In late March 2023, HSI special agents met with the vendor in Manhattan. He admitted that he possessed the Di Gara Text, having acquired it during the 1980s without knowledge of its provenance, and said he was willing to give the book to HSI if served with valid legal process. In early April 2023, special agents with HSI served the vendor with a seizure warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses and took custody of the Di Gara Text. On Oct. 4, Torres issued an order confirming the vendor’s voluntary forfeiture of the Di Gara Text.
Walker thanked the Hungarian Inspectorate of Cultural Goods for notifying the Government of the Di Gara Text’s presence in New York and providing helpful information to effectuate its seizure and forfeiture.
HSI New York special agents within the Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Group work closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations to pursue and combat transnational organized crime related to the illicit trafficking of cultural artifacts by targeting high priority organizations and strengthening international law enforcement partnerships.
Since 2009, HSI has repatriated over 20,000 objects to more than 40 countries worldwide. In addition to its work facilitating repatriations, HSI CPAA continues to execute its mission to investigate leads, work alongside partners and pursue individuals and networks engaged in the trafficking of cultural property, art and antiquities.
Members of the public who have information about the illicit distribution of cultural property or illegal artwork trafficking should call the toll-free HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.