Eli Ohana

Ohana grew up in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood, the third-youngest of nine children in a poor, traditional family.[5] He progressed rapidly through Beitar Jerusalem’s youth ranks and joined the professional team at age 16.[5]

A goalscorer in Beitar’s youth team, he made his first-team debut on January 24, 1981, entering as a substitute against Hapoel Beit Shemesh.[6] On March 7, 1981, aged 17, he made his first start against Hapoel Lod and scored.[6]

Ohana became a regular first-team player during the 1982–83 season, when David Davidoff, previously his youth coach, took charge of Beitar Jerusalem and placed him in his preferred position on the left wing.[1] An earlier coach had used him in several positions, including defensive midfield.[1] In 1984, aged 20, he was voted Israeli footballer of the year.[1] That year, he scored three first-half goals against Maccabi Haifa, a performance that earned him a rare rating of 10 from a sports journalist.[6]

In 1985, Ohana scored Beitar’s winning goal against Maccabi Haifa in the State Cup final.[6] He then scored 15 league goals during the club’s first championship-winning season, 1986–87.[3] After that title, he moved to Belgian club Mechelen in 1987, with the transfer fee reported as $275,000.[1]

Mechelen won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1988, defeating Ajax Amsterdam 1–0 in the final in Strasbourg.[3] Ohana scored four goals during the campaign, including three that helped the club advance, and supplied the cross for the final’s only goal.[3] His European performances included two goals against St Mirren and a goal against Dynamo Minsk.[3] In 1988, he received the Bravo Award, an honor recognizing an outstanding young footballer in Europe.[1]

Italian club Atalanta offered Mechelen $1.5 million for Ohana, but Mechelen demanded $4.2 million.[1] His position at the Belgian club later changed when coach Aad de Mos preferred another foreign player, although Ohana continued to appear in European matches, where the club was not subject to a foreign-player limit.[1] Mechelen won the Belgian league in 1989; Ohana played seven league matches and scored once that season.[6] He also scored twice against Rosenborg during the European Cup campaign in which Mechelen reached a quarterfinal against Milan in 1990.[6]

After his time in Belgium and a season with Portuguese club Braga, Ohana returned to Beitar in 1991, when the Jerusalem club was in Israel’s second division.[1] Beitar paid $375,000 to bring him back, with assistance from film producer Yoram Globus and a contribution from Ohana himself.[1] He scored 18 goals as the club won promotion and then helped it win the 1992–93 league championship in its first season back in the top division.[1] His later Beitar career brought further league and cup successes, and he again won the Israeli footballer of the year award in 1997, aged 33.[3][1]

Ohana’s international career began on April 4, 1984, against Ireland.[1] He scored three minutes after coming on and later assisted Israel’s third goal in a 3–0 victory.[1] In a 1986 friendly, he scored Israel’s first goal against England’s senior national team.[1] His international career also included an individual goal against Australia in a 1989 World Cup qualifier.[1]

After not starting against Argentina in 1994, Ohana announced his retirement from the national team.[1] Israel subsequently hosted Uruguay in September 1995 for a match arranged as his farewell, and he scored in the 3–1 Israeli victory.[1] He later returned to international football, scoring Israel’s only goal against Luxembourg and both goals in a 2–0 victory over Cyprus; the Cyprus goals were his last for the national side.[1] His international record for 1984–97 was 17 goals in 51 appearances.[3]

In 1998, Ohana suffered a cruciate ligament tear during a Beitar match against Hapoel Petah Tikva after scoring in the game.[1] He attempted a return but made only limited appearances before retiring from playing in summer 1999 and becoming Beitar’s coach.[1] A contract he had agreed to in 1997 had envisaged a transition into coaching at age 35.[1]

Ohana coached Beitar in 1999–2000 and again in 2003–05.[6] His club coaching career also included Bnei Yehuda, Maccabi Petah Tikva, and Hapoel Kfar Saba.[6] He left Maccabi Petah Tikva after seven league matches without a win.[6] At Kfar Saba, he took over with 14 matches remaining in a season and helped the club avoid relegation, although the team was relegated in a later season under his management.[6]

The Israel Football Association appointed Ohana coach of the national under-19 team in 2008, following his work at Kfar Saba.[7] He also temporarily coached the senior national team in a March 2010 friendly against Romania, which Israel won 2–0.[6] In June 2014, his under-19 side defeated Georgia 1–0 to qualify for the European championship in Hungary, the first such Israeli youth-team achievement under the competition’s new format.[4] Ohana said the victory brought the team “few steps closer to minimize the gap” with its European rivals.[4]

In January 2015, Ohana was announced as a Jewish Home candidate for the 20th Knesset but withdrew three days later.[8] He briefly resigned from his youth-team coaching position following the candidacy announcement, then returned to the post.[9][10]

In May 2017, Ohana returned to Beitar Jerusalem on a five-year agreement as its top professional and administrative authority, leaving his television-commentator role to take the appointment.[2] The move came while club owner Eli Tabib was barred by an Israel Football Association committee from running the club for two seasons.[2] Ohana was a friend of Tabib and retained a devoted following among Beitar supporters.[2]

Beitar Jerusalem supporters’ nickname for Ohana, “the prince,” reflected his enduring standing at the club, where his career encompassed youth football, championship-winning seasons, a return during relegation, coaching, and senior administration.[2][1] He scored 142 league goals for Beitar and received the Israeli footballer of the year award twice, in 1984 and 1997.[3][1]

His European achievements included the decisive assist in Mechelen’s 1988 Cup Winners’ Cup final victory and the Bravo Award that same year.[1][3] In addition to his playing record for Israel, his later national-team work included leading the under-19 side to the 2014 European championship.[3][4]

Ohana and fellow Beitar figure Uri Malmilian were inducted into the Israeli Football Hall of Fame and were chosen to light Independence Day torches in different years.[3]

Ohana’s brief Jewish Home candidacy in January 2015 drew opposition within the party and public criticism.[8][11] Naftali Bennett announced that Ohana would receive a reserved place on the party’s Knesset list, but Ohana subsequently asked to be removed, saying he had not anticipated the public storm, did not feel ready for political life, and had been hurt by attacks affecting him and his family.[8][11]

Some objections concerned his earlier support for the 2005 Gaza disengagement, which contrasted with the party’s position.[11] At the time of his candidacy announcement, Ohana said his views aligned with Jewish Home in opposing a Palestinian state and territorial concessions.[8] Ayelet Shaked defended Bennett’s choice as an effort to bring in a successful traditional Sephardic Israeli who had overcome a difficult childhood.[11]