Heirs of Holocaust victim sue Israel Museum over rare medieval hagaddah

(JTA) — Just days before Jews around the world gathered with their families and friends to read the Haggadah as part the Passover holiday, one family of reunited Holocaust survivors filed a lawsuit to reclaim a 700-year-old haggadah that they say was lost to them during the rise of Nazi Germany.

Since 1946, the Birds’ Head Haggadah has been in the possession of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem where it has been examined by countless scholars and displayed prominently for millions of visitors who have passed it by.

The medieval manuscript features illustrated figures with human bodies and bird he...