Haaretz Podcast

A diplomatic crisis over Israeli import of stolen grain from occupied Ukraine exploded this week following the publication of a Haaretz investigation that documents Ukrainian allegations that Russian ships were bringing the wheat and barley to Israeli ports.
National Security and Cyber editor Avi Scharf and diplomatic correspondent Liza Rozovsky explain on the Haaretz Podcast how the investigation unfolded, the international fallout, its effect on Israel-Ukraine relations and the harsh war of words between the two countries.
The story began in mid-April with Ukraine’s announcement that “they had warned the Israeli authorities about a ship arriving with stolen Ukrainian grain, and that they had asked Israel to take necessary actions to seize the ship,” Scharf said. “To their dismay, Israel did not adhere to the warnings and let the ship unload and leave Israel.”
The incident led Scharf to revive an investigation into the import of stolen Ukrainian grain that he had begun in late 2023, but was put on hold after October 7 and the all-encompassing Gaza war.
His story, documenting the systematic importation of wheat, sparked strong reactions both from Ukraine and the European Union, which threatened sanctions against Israel if such imports continue.
Rozovsky noted that the Ukrainian reaction was “the most straightforward attack on Israeli policy than we’ve seen since the beginning of the war” between Russian and Ukraine.
After the story was published – and Haaretz revealed the name of the company importing the grain – the company announced that it was cancelling the purchase.
Read more:
Haaretz investigation: How Ukrainian Wheat Stolen by Russia Is Smuggled to Israel
Zelenskyy Says Israel Broke Own Law by Buying Stolen Ukrainian Wheat From Russia, Vows Sanctions
EU Mulls Sanctions on Israelis Over Stolen Ukrainian Wheat Smuggled by Russia
Israeli Importer Drops Shipment of Allegedly Russian-stolen Ukrainian Grain
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The average American watched the Gaza war from afar as a "dramatic and gruesome humanitarian crisis that Israel was responsible for" – but the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is having a far greater impact on U.S. voters and politicians, Haaretz columnist Joshua Leifer said, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
"The perception is that this was a war that no one in America wanted," and "that America has been tricked into a war of choice, and that this is Israel’s fault."
This, he said, has fueled the erosion of congressional support for continuing massive military aid to Israel – and in the Democratic Party, growing support for refusing to sell arms to Israel entirely.
On the podcast, Leifer also discusses the state of the fragile cease-fire with Iran, and the "nightmare scenario" possibility of a prolonged period in which there will be no renewed fighting nor an agreement, leaving the region in dangerous limbo.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to suffer domestic political consequences for a failure to achieve the promised victory in Iran, Leifer added, noting that prior to October 7, Netanyahu had been positively perceived by voters as "a relatively cautious and conflict averse prime minister who chose not to get Israel involved in protracted wars. Here, he has really plunged Israel into quite a mess."
Read more:
Analysis by Joshua Leifer: Presidential Hopeful Rahm Emanuel Made Surprising Remarks on Israel. What He Left Unsaid Is Just as Big
Analysis by Joshua Leifer: Opposing Weapons Sales to Israel is the New Democratic Norm
Trump Not Happy With Latest Iran Proposal to End the War, U.S. Official Says
Former Top Biden Official Says Netanyahu Helped Create a 'Genocide in Gaza'
Iran War Has Depleted U.S. Ammunition Stockpile Significantly, Report Says
U.S. Asked IDF to Curb Gaza Strikes; Source: Israel Agreed, but Failed to Comply
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Fighting antisemitism online was meant to be the focus of the Israeli government’s multimillion-dollar digital PR campaign run by President Donald Trump’s former digital guru, Brad Parscale.
But instead, Haaretz disinformation and cyber correspondent Omer Benjakob said on the Haaretz Podcast, Parscale’s firm has built a network of pro-Israel websites targeting the U.S. evangelical right, stressing the contrast between Western and “Judeo-Christian” values while promoting negative messages regarding Palestinians and Islam.
Among them is “praise for international calls to recognize settlements,” and “articles dedicated to why giving the Palestinian Authority control of Gaza is a terrible idea, and almost worse than letting Hamas take control."
Repeatedly, he added, the websites reflect a “compulsive obsession with perception and narrative,” insisting that all negative content about Israel online is false and manipulated.
On the podcast, Benjakob explained that the multiple new websites created by Parscale's consulting firm are designed to look like research institutes and think tanks in order to optimize them for ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI chatbots.
He questioned both their efficacy and value.
“They seem to be fueling a lot of the issues that, you know, led us here – for example, demonizing the Palestinians instead of solving our conflict.”
Read more:
Fighting the 'Jesus Was a Palestinian Lie': Inside Israel's MAGA Influence Campaigns
Losing the Republican Base, Israel Pours Millions to Target Evangelicals and Churchgoers
Your Car Is Spying on You – and Israeli Firms Are Leading the Surveillance Race
Spyware Firm NSO's Chief Steps Down as U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Intellexa Executives
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The final moments of Vivian Silver’s life were a “pivotal turning point” for her son Yonatan Zeigen, who now dedicates his life to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, following in the footsteps of his peace activist mother, who was slain in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
Speaking on the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and terror victims, Zeigen recalled his final goodbyes with his mother with the gunshots of Hamas terrorists at her doorstep in the background, and the loss that he described as jolting him out of what he calls a “political coma” and moved him into full-time activism.
Zeigen is a board member of The Parents Circle-Families Forum that co-sponsors the annual alternative joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony.
He attended the ceremony in his youth together with his mother and immediately after her death, he knew that this would be the appropriate place to mourn her and continue her mission.
He said on the podcast that the alternative ceremony represented “how two peoples share a land: They don't share a land by creating artificial divisions and dehumanizing each other. They do it by looking each other in the eye by celebrating together and also crying together, mourning together.”
Zeigen said he was not comfortable being part of the government-sponsored ceremonies memorializing terror victims like his mother.
“Bereavement is framed in a political manner in Israel. It is utilized to boost morale by diving into our narrative of victimhood and rallying around and making heroes of those who die in the conflict. It’s not the way that I feel comfortable commemorating my mother.”
Read more:
'Swimming Against the Tide, but Swimming': More Israelis and Palestinians Now Choose to Grieve Together
Op-ed by Yonatan Zeigen: Most Israelis Are Willfully Ignorant, Opting to Deny or Justify. But There's an Alternative
Thousands of Israelis Sign Petition Urging TV Networks Not to Broadcast State Independence Day Ceremony
Op-ed by Yonatan Zeigen: When Justice Means Revenge, the Open Wounds of Israelis and Palestinians Won't Heal
'She Knew Peace Was the Only Way': Thousands Attend Funeral of Slain Canadian-Israeli Peace Activist Vivian Silver
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The dramatic landslide election in Hungary toppling authoritarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, resonated deeply for Israel in diverse ways, explained Haaretz’s David Issacharoff, who covered the election from Budapest, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.
For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters, it meant the loss of his “closest ally” in Europe who would no longer stand up for Israel by pulling out of the International Criminal Court when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders – and bucking the European Union in defense of the Jewish state.
For Israelis desperate to rid themselves of Netanyahu’s leadership, the end of Orbán’s 16-year reign offers inspiration. Issacharoff noted that young anti-Orbán voters he interviewed “said exactly the same things that many young Israelis believe too: that he’s been making their country a pariah, and they don’t feel part of the wider world anymore.”
Although the two countries are very different, there are lessons from the Hungarian campaign of Péter Magyar, and Netanyahu’s opponents must learn them. The biggest lesson? "Turning the anxiety into hope."
Read more:
Hungary's PM-elect Magyar Signals Shift in Israel Policy With Return to International Criminal Court
'It Won't Get Worse': After 16-years Under Orbán, Hungary's Jews Are Split Over What Comes Next
'We Hope You Can Do It Too': How Israel Echoed in Hungary's Election
Hungry for Hungary: Why Are Netanyahu's Ministers Flocking to Budapest?
Could Orbán's Crushing Defeat Be a Blueprint for Netanyahu's Opponents?
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