Israel - Diamonds worth $200,000 found on street and returned to owner

An unusual story is making waves in the Israeli diamonds industry: a bag containing some $200,000 worth of diamonds was found on the street – and returned to its owners.

The gems went missing last Thursday, when a veteran dealer evidently dropped them in the street next to the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan. 

The bag was found by a young ultra-Orthodox resident of Bnei Brak – also a diamond dealer – who handed it over to the diamond exchange. Earlier this week, the lost property was returned to its owner.

“My father lost the diamonds when he was on the way to the polisher," said G., the son of the veteran dealer, who is also a dealer on the exchange. "We tried searching all over the area, we checked the security cameras, but this area was not filmed.

"They weren’t our diamonds and we weren’t insured. We would have had to take out a large loan in order to return the money if it hadn’t been returned.”

THe finder, A., said it was clear to him from the start that he would not keep the loot.

“I wasn’t tempted for a moment to take it. I was brought up to believe that we don’t touch anything that isn’t ours,” he said. “Moreover, the rules of the Diamond Exchange require us to behave with integrity and to return a lost item.”

At the beginning of the week, when G. reported the loss to the exchange, he was informed that the bag had been found and that he could get it by describing its identifying features.

“I didn’t believe that I would see the diamonds again,” said G. “The man who returned it is a real tzaddik (a righteous man). 

I can’t believe that there are people like that. I was pleasantly surprised." G. added that he gave A. a sum of money to show his gratitude.