Kerem Ashkenazi is heading home. The 18-year-old guard, who wore Israel's colours at this summer's European Under-18 Championship, has signed with Hapoel Galil Elyon's senior team, ONE reports — a return to the Upper Galilee club that first spotted him as a teenager.
Ashkenazi, from the northern community of Beit Hillel, put pen to paper with Galil Elyon on a long-term deal back in 2023, when he was just 15. The club has built part of its identity around developing homegrown talent from the Upper Galilee, and Ashkenazi was seen as a flagship prospect.
The war changed those plans. With the north disrupted and Beit Hillel among the communities affected, Ashkenazi relocated south and spent last season in Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth academy instead of continuing his development at home.
It was a productive detour. According to ONE, Ashkenazi averaged 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth side last season, numbers that helped keep him in the frame for Israel's national youth setup.
That form carried him to this summer's European Under-18 Championship, where he featured for Israel's youth national team as the squad opened its campaign in Trento, Italy.
Now, with conditions in the north settling, Ashkenazi has opted to return to Galil Elyon — this time on a contract with the senior team rather than the youth ranks he left behind. Galil Elyon compete in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, representing the Upper Galilee and Golan communities from their Kfar Blum base.
For a club that has long leaned on local talent, getting back a player of Ashkenazi's pedigree, and doing so on a senior deal, is a statement of intent as much as a squad addition. Neither ONE nor the club has published further comment on his role or expected playing time for the coming season.
