Herzog Will Return Western Wall Stone From President's Residence

President Isaac Herzog told Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz that he would return an ancient stone displayed for 57 years at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. A renewed Israel Antiquities Authority review found it likely came from Western Wall excavations and possibly from collapsed Wall masonry or another Herodian structure on or near the Temple Mount. In 1969, President Zalman Shazar sought its return after it was brought to the garden without his knowledge, but excavator Benjamin Mazar then classified it as a Herodian stone rather than a Wall stone. It will be the third such stone returned from public display and placed in a dedicated genizah beside the Western Wall in the coming days.