This Greek National Day Event Is Sponsored by Israeli Arms Makers

 ΣΧΟΛΙΟ ΙΣΤΟΛΟΓΙΟΥ : Η βιομηχανία όπλων του Ισραήλ πληρώνει την εθνική μας γιορτή.!!Δε γίνεται να είναι αληθινό. Γιατί, αν είναι, στην περίπτωση κολλάει μόνο το γνωστό του Σαμαράγκου.

 

A festive - and unusual - invitation landed recently in the mailboxes of many Israelis. On March 29, the Greek ambassador to Israel, Kyriakos Loukakis, will host a reception at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv to celebrate the National Day of Greece.

Inviting fellow diplomats, CEOs and journalists to such events is routine, but the Wednesday invitation stands out. The bottom of the invitation features three colorful corporate logos: Two belong to the Israeli defense contractors Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and the third belongs to Greek-British energy company Energean, which operates the recently developed offshore platform of the Karish-Tanin natural gas fields.

Sources who spoke to Haaretz said they cannot recall a diplomatic invitation containing commercial sponsorships.

Cooperation between Israel and Greece has grown stronger in recent years, manifested by the license and lease awarded to Energean for two Israeli gas fields. The company connected its drilling platform to the Israeli gas network in October 2022. During the same month, Energean announced the discovery of another offshore gas field near Israel.

October 2022 was an important month for Elbit’s business in Greece, too.

The Greek air force opened its new flight school built by Elbit in Kalamata as part of a $1.65 billion contract. “This is a strategic investment that reflects the deep relations between the nations and their defense ministries,” said then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

In January, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos mentioned the flight school in a speech he gave to the Greek parliament. "Someone came after years to break the 'Gordian Knot' of the future of the education of our pilots. If this were not done, If this had not been done, our pilots would not have jets for training."

Another major deal was being negotiated over the last two years between Greece and Israel's Rafael, for the aquisition of Spike NLOS anti-tank missiles, with a range of over 25 kilometers.

The inability to finalize the deal - worth 355 million euros - was deeply frustrating for the Greeks. Panagiotopoulos mentioned this deal in his speech to parliament in January, too. “After a difficult process filled with bumps, the negotiations for the acquisition of the Spike NLOS guided missiles are in the final stretch."

In a statement last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the military would soon complete the procurement of the missiles, after the security cabinet decided to approve the purchase.

The Greek embassy said in response: "We included the logos of these companies in the invitation because they are indeed sponsoring part of the logistics required for the event”.

Elbit said in response that it “had established and is operating the Hellenic Air Force’s flight training center, a flagship project worth over $1billion. As an act of friendship, at the embassy’s request, we provided symbolic sponsorship for the Greek National Day. It's common practice".

Rafael said it is regularly "conducting marketing activities in exhibitions, conferences and events such as this one, where it provided a modest sponsorship that was approved according to regulations."

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