Israeli importers are refusing to buy grain that may have been stolen from Ukraine

Israeli importers no longer purchase grain if there is any suspicion that it was illegally exported from Ukraine. This was stated by Israel’s new ambassador, Roy Rosenblit, while commenting on the incident involving Ukrainian grain at the Port of Haifa.

Meanwhile, the ship carrying the cargo—which sparked a diplomatic conflict between Kyiv and Jerusalem this spring—eventually reloaded the grain and left the port of Haifa.

Roy Rosenblit commented on the situation involving the grain, which Ukraine considers to have been stolen from the occupied territories, and explained why the cargo ultimately left the port of Haifa.

Rosenblit called this situation “a somewhat strange crisis” and noted that accusations of purchasing stolen Ukrainian grain had also been leveled at other countries.

According to the ambassador, the Israeli government cannot independently intervene in the decisions of private companies, as grain procurement falls under the jurisdiction of the private sector.

“If an Israeli importer wants to buy grain, and this violates international law, someone must prove it in court and demand that the importer not do so,” Rosenblit explained.

He also said that the Israeli side received evidence regarding the grain’s origin only after the ship had begun unloading at the port of Haifa. The process took several days, after which the case went to court. Ultimately, the cargo did not remain in Israel. It was returned to the ship, which then left the port.

“But in the end, the cargo did not remain in Israel: it was returned to the ship, and the ship left Israel. Subsequently, the importers themselves decided not to purchase grain anymore if there is a suspicion that it was stolen from Ukraine,” the ambassador stated.

An embassy representative, who elaborated on Rosenblit’s remarks, noted that there is an official procedure between the two countries for submitting complaints and evidence in legal matters. According to him, in this case, the Ukrainian side provided the relevant materials too late, after the grain had already been sold.

He also emphasized that official legal channels must be used for such cases, rather than public posts on social media.

“There is an official procedure for filing a complaint, because Israel is a state governed by the rule of law, where the government cannot simply confiscate cargo,” the embassy representative explained.

Rosenblit added that the Israeli side was surprised that information about the situation appeared in the press even before the government had received written evidence for the court proceedings.

At the same time, the ambassador believes that this matter is now in the past. He emphasized the friendly relations between Ukraine and Israel and stated that the parties have the necessary channels of communication to resolve even complex issues.

“The Ukrainian authorities know how to contact our relevant agencies—and vice versa—so we are able to resolve issues, even complex ones,” Rosenblit said.

Separately, the ambassador thanked the Office of the First Lady of Ukraine for its assistance in repatriating Daniel Umansky’s remains to Israel. According to him, Israeli and Ukrainian specialists worked together even during the holidays to organize the necessary procedures. “So we know how to work together,” Rosenblit concluded.

It is worth noting that in April 2026, a ship carrying grain—which Russian forces had taken from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine—already arrived at the port of Haifa. Despite official appeals from the Ukrainian authorities urging that this cargo not be accepted, it was unloaded nonetheless.

Subsequently, one of Israel’s largest grain importers refused to accept the shipment, which is linked to grain stolen from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

This is reported in an article by Glavkom.

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