There is something heartening in more than one sense about the arrival and success of Israeli players in English football in 2026.
It is heartening, first, because Israeli sport continues to produce players capable of competing at the highest level, and because Daniel Peretz and Manor Solomon are doing more than merely holding their own. They are being signed by famous English clubs, trusted to play important roles and cheered by supporters who care, as football supporters should, about talent, commitment and what a player delivers on the pitch.
But it is heartening for another reason, too. An Israeli footballer joining an English club should be no more politically significant than the signing of a Dutchman, a Brazilian or a Spaniard. Yet such is the atmosphere surrounding Israel that even an ordinary football transfer can become freighted with ideology, protest and hostility. It is therefore worth recognising that at a time when there are persistent attempts to turn Israelis into pariahs, English clubs have refused to allow hostility towards Israel to dictate whom they employ. They have judged Israeli players as sportsmen rather than symbols. West Ham did not sign Manor Solomon as a political gesture but because they believe he can help them win matches, just as Southampton did not put its faith in Daniel Peretz because of his nationality, but because of his ability.
The response to Peretz and Solomon is therefore encouraging precisely because it affirms something that should be unremarkable: that a footballer should be judged as a footballer. The clubs’ supporters, too, have overwhelmingly done what football fans have always done: embraced those who give everything for the shirt.
There is something notable, too, about the players themselves beyond their ability on the pitch. Peretz’s words to the JC in our special report are striking: “I am not only a football player, I am also an Israeli and a Jew. Therefore, I represent my country and my people every time I step on the pitch.”
No footballer should have to carry the weight of an entire nation every time he walks on to the field.
Players from almost any other country would not be expected to answer, implicitly or explicitly, for the conduct of their government, the actions of their army or a conflict thousands of miles away. Israeli players, however, know that they may face precisely that burden, that their nationality will not always be treated as incidental, and that social-media abuse, hostile banners and political demands may follow them from stadium to stadium. Yet neither Solomon nor Peretz shrinks from it. Whether they sought the role or not, they understand that they are seen as representatives of Israel and of the Jewish people in one of the most intensely scrutinised arenas in public life.
That is perhaps the aspect of their story that is even more remarkable than their sports success. Ran Ben-Shimon, the manager of Israel’s national team, describes the two men as “exemplary athletes and human beings”, and his words about how to confront the hostility they may face are touching: “I believe you cannot fight hatred with hatred and you cannot eliminate darkness with darkness. Only with light.”
And so, while we are delighted to report that Israeli players continue to make their way in English football, we look forward to the day when the only remarkable thing about that sentence is how well they play.
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