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rea Galei Tchelet is one of the trendiest streets in Israel. It stands on a rock in Herzliya in the north of Tel Aviv with an unobstructed view of the Mediterranean Sea. Millionaires and ambassadors reside here. When Israeli TV comedian Guy Hochman tried to film on the rock between the beach and the villas, security guards stopped him. The security forces ordered him not to continue filming here, because in the background is the residence of the US ambassador. By the way, the ambassador is currently in the pool.
Jochen stahnke
Political correspondent for Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan based in Tel Aviv.
It is true that the US representation moved from nearby Tel Aviv to Jerusalem two years ago with fanfare, as President Donald Trump never tires of emphasizing during the election campaign. Ambassador David Friedman had also campaigned vehemently. But Friedman continues to reside in Herzliya until a suitable Jerusalem residence has been remodeled and secured.
All of this will last until after the US presidential election next November. However, as it is now known, the US government has already sold the ambassador’s residence in Herzliya.
American diplomats still in Tel Aviv
Joe Biden has already announced that if he wins the election he will not move the embassy to Tel Aviv. But in Israel it is suspected that with the sale, Trump wanted to prevent a new ambassador from being appointed under a new president who would continue to live in Tel Aviv. Most American diplomats currently work primarily in the former embassy in Tel Aviv, which has been demoted to a consulate.
The US representation in Israel did not announce Tuesday night to whom the property was sold. The Israeli financial newspaper “Globes” revealed, however, that the buyer is American Sheldon Adelson. Adelson, who has become a billionaire in the hotel and casino sector, finances Trump’s election campaign, was a leading advocate for the embassy move, and at the same time pays for the free right-wing newspaper “Israel Hajom “which has now become the largest circulation newspaper in Israel. “Israel Hajom” is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s line and is published by Adelson with many millions of dollars lost annually.
American businessman Sheldon Adelson, who makes his living primarily from real estate in Las Vegas.
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Bild: AP
The US embassy only reported on the staff, without mentioning Adelson’s name: “The buyer was selected solely on the grounds that he made the highest and best offer.” Washington will vacate the property in spring 2021. Until then, Ambassador Friedman appears to have to pay rent to Adelson. Reports that Friedman will continue to rent the property beyond 2021, the embassy rejected. According to “Globes,” Adelson paid eighty-eight million dollars for the 1,000-square-meter residence. It is supposedly the highest price ever paid for private property in Israel. However, given the location and size of the property, it is considered to be in line with the market.
Disruptive factor nature reserve
Only the Herzliya municipal administration still has a small detail to clarify. Because almost half of the area sold has been designated as a nature reserve since the British mandate. When the United States received the property in 1962, Israeli authorities rededicated the green belt to construct the property as “private land for the American embassy.” If this purpose is no longer fulfilled, then the country must also return to the state, argues lawyer Shachar Ben Meir, whose request the newspaper “Haaretz” quoted on Wednesday. “As soon as the property no longer serves the American embassy, the special plan must also become obsolete and the land must return to its original purpose as public land.”
But Congress in Washington also threatens difficulties. He wants to verify if the sale could have violated legal requirements, as it became known Wednesday. So it could be that Adelson doesn’t have a chance after all, or that only the residence, but not the grass on the cliff around the pool, gets it. The 87-year-old may never have intended to bathe in it anyway. Because the question of the landscape does not change anything in the political purpose of the real estate business.
