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2 more Egon Schiele works returned as Manhattan DA’s office turns its attention to works seized by Nazis
(JTA) — For decades, the heirs of Viennese Jewish cabaret performer Fritz Grünbaum have sought the restitution of his extensive art collection, which was pilfered by the Nazis.
This year, they have seen a spate of success. The return of two portraits by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele was announced on Wednesday, two weeks after Grünbaum’s heirs repossessed seven other Schiele works from a number of prominent museums and collections in New York City.
The heirs credit this accomplishment to Matthew Bogdanos, who founded and leads the antiquities trafficking unit in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In addition to working on Holocaust-era art restitution, Bogdanos, an assistant district attorney, has repatriated more than 1,000 antiquities since he founded the unit in 2017.
“It takes courage to take on important American institutions,” Ray Dowd, the attorney for Grünbaum’s heirs, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “And a prosecutor who’s willing to do that is exceedingly rare.”
The two paintings whose return was announced this week — “Girl With Black Hair” and “Portrait of a Man” — were housed at Oberlin College and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, respectively. In September, the group of seven Schiele paintings and drawings were returned in an emotional ceremony at Bragg’s office. Another two pieces were returned to the family in 2018 via a civil ruling in the New York Court of Appeals and were put up for a charity auction through Christie’s in 2022.
“I am pleased these two pieces are being returned to the family of Fritz Grünbaum following a criminal investigation by my Office,” Bragg said in a statement this week. “The evidence makes clear the two drawings were stolen by the Nazis and subsequently transported into Manhattan, before landing in these museums. We are proud to have now returned nine Egon Schiele drawings to Mr. Grünbaum’s relatives and continue to reflect on his indelible legacy.”
Grünbaum and his wife Elisabeth were killed in the Holocaust, and the restitution of his art collection, which contained a total of 81 Schiele works, has been a decades-long process. Once the provenance of the works has been established — which is itself a challenge — lawyers must compel the institutions that hold the pieces to return them.
The co-executors of Grünbaum’s estate, Timothy Reif and David Frankel, are the second generation of heirs involved in the restitution of Grünbaum’s art collection. Reif’s mother, Rita Reif, who died in June, was a New York Times columnist on antiques and auctions, and she later took on the mission of reacquiring the artworks that were looted from Grünbaum. Her husband Paul Reif, who died in 1978, was a composer from Vienna who was Grünbaum’s cousin and co-wrote operettas with him.
At first, the restitution effort focused on civil litigation, but the recent string of success has come after a turn to criminal proceedings. Twenty-five years ago, the heirs had also found some success in criminal court, when the D.A.’s office issued a subpoena preventing the transfer of two Schiele works from the Museum of Modern Art to a museum in Austria. The office began a criminal investigation into the pieces’ provenance and they were both seized, but neither went back immediately to the Grünbaum heirs. One of the two was eventually returned in 2019.
Working on behalf of the family since 2005, Dowd said that the shift from civil to criminal cases has moved the restitution process along much quicker. But the judge’s order from the 2018 civil case also helped move the criminal investigation along.
Following the 2018 ruling, the D.A.’s office began investigating, “and then they dug deeper than we ever did,” Dowd said. “There’s only so much civil lawyers can do. So it’s not like I handed them a case tied up in a bow.”
At the head of that investigation was Bogdanos, a homicide prosecutor and retired Marine colonel whose office has recovered more than 4,500 items stolen from more than 30 countries, valued at over $410 million, according to the D.A. What started as a unit of one employee has since grown to a team of 18.
When it comes to the Schiele works, too, he has reached beyond Manhattan. While the seven pieces returned to Grünbaum’s heirs last month were all on display or held in New York City-based museums or galleries, the two drawings returned Wednesday came from institutions outside of the five boroughs. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office can still claim jurisdiction.
“If it passes through New York, we have jurisdiction no matter where it is now,” Bogdanos told CBS News in March. “If the wire transfer was made in New York, we have jurisdiction, no matter where it is now; if it was offered for sale, if it was shown at an auction. So, sure, my jurisdiction is limited to New York City. But to update a phrase, all roads lead to New York.”
Dowd attributed Bogdanos’ record to his military background, interest in history and the classics, and his nonfiction book, “Thieves of Baghdad” — an account of his own experience recovering thousands of artifacts stolen from the Iraqi National Museum after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
“It’s not just some lightweight chasing down pretty pictures because he likes to look at artworks,” Dowd added. “There’s a real unique and deep dedication that goes into this.”
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.