The United States sold the ambassador’s residence in Israel for more than $ 67 million in July, according to Israel’s official record of the sale, which the State Department confirmed only several weeks later without giving details on the implications for American taxpayers.
The State Department confirmed the sale in September but refused to identify the buyer or the sale price of the sprawling beachfront in the suburb of Tel Aviv superstructure in Herzliya. He has also declined to say how much the U.S. government is now paying to rent the property.
The residence of the U.S. ambassador in Herzliya was sold earlier this year
(Photo: AP)
Israeli businessman Globes newspaper has identified the buyer as U.S. casino spokeswoman Sheldon Adelson, who strongly supports both Presidents Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Adelson’s representative said the billionaire had no idea.
At more than $ 67 million, it is arguably the most expensive single home ever sold in Israel.
Magna casino SA SA Sheldon Adelson
(Photo: yoav dudkevitch)
The sale helped solidify Trump’s controversial decision to move the U.S. Ambassador from Tel Aviv to counter Jerusalem in 2018 and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Selling the residence would make it more difficult for future presidents to reverse the decision to move the embassy. President Joe Biden has criticized the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem but says he will not return it.
Israel captured eastern Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967 and plunged it into an internationally unknown movement. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the future capital of their state. Almost all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv because of the controversy over east Jerusalem.
Records posted by the Israeli tax authority on Monday show that the sale of the official residence was visited on July 31, several weeks before the State Department recognized it. They list the sale price as 230,353,536 Israeli shekels. That’s $ 67,592,000 according to the official exchange rate of that day.
Celebrating the fourth of July at the residence of Herzliya U.S. ambassador
(Photo: US Ambassador )
In Israel, the sale price listed by the tax authority almost always corresponds to the sale price itself, except in individual cases – for example, when a property is donated for someone – the two can be different.
On August 31, a month after the sale, the U.S. Ambassador said in a statement that it “made sense” to sell the residence and said they expected the sale to “move forward in the in the coming months. “
Just over a week later, the U.S. Ambassador said “the buyer was selected solely because he submitted the highest and best offer.” He declined to say how many claims had been made or to identify any potential buyers.
Under the deal, Ambassador David Friedman, a driving force in the embassy movement, will continue to remain at the estate until spring 2021, with the U.S. government leasing the building.
Congressional supporters told the Associated Press in September that lawyers in the House and Senate were checking to see if the sale of the residence complied with regulations.
U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem
(Photo: US Ambassador)
The State Department has not said what level of rent is levied on U.S. taxpayers. When asked about the new record of the sale, the U.S. Ambassador commented on past statements and did not comment further.
The Israeli real estate office that violated the agreement took all questions to the U.S. Embassy.