“Such a deal can’t be carried out without the state’s consent”: an expert explained who in Israel is buying stolen Ukrainian grain

Political strategist Mykhailo Sheitelman explained that it is not Israel as a state that buys stolen Ukrainian grain, but private businesses—however, state authorities and government agencies allow it, Politeka reports.

He spoke about this on his blog.

“The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs says: ‘Wait, why are you addressing us? This is purely business.’ In other words, it’s not the state of Israel buying the grain. Israel has a market economy, and the grain is purchased by some private company. To which Zelensky responds: ‘No, wait, we understand that the business is private, but such a deal cannot be carried out without the state’s consent.’ And that is also a fact,” notes Mykhailo Sheitelman.

After all, he emphasizes, permission to enter a port is not granted by the port itself, but by a state authority. And the Port of Haifa, where the grain is unloaded, the expert explains, does not belong to Israelis—in fact, a controlling 70% stake is owned by an Indian company.

“In other words, the port is private, not state-owned, and belongs to an Indian company. And we all know very well that India is one of the countries that has repeatedly been seen trading in stolen Russian goods, engaging in illegal trade of Russian oil, purchasing oil from illicit tankers, and so on. And we know that Indians carry out their shady dealings through this port, but that does not excuse the State of Israel. The State of Israel still regulates all of this,” explains Mykhailo Sheitelman.

“If, for example, drugs or Indian migrants were being transported through this port, they would of course be immediately stopped—police would arrive, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry would not say that the state has nothing to do with it. Nevertheless,” he concludes, “the state allows stolen grain to pass through this port.”