Israeli footballers turned in eye-catching performances across three different leagues over the weekend, with Mohammad Abu Fani drawing the most attention as his new club, Red Star Belgrade, brushed aside Vojvodina 3-1 in the Serbian SuperLiga, according to ONE.
Abu Fani, deployed in Red Star's midfield at the Rajko Mitić Stadium, set up three clear chances for teammates during his 62 minutes on the pitch before he was replaced. He also picked up a yellow card in the 43rd minute, one of the few blemishes on an otherwise composed display.
The Israel international arrived at Red Star on 1 July in a reported deal worth around €1 million from Ferencváros, with a further €300,000 in potential add-ons, signing a contract through June 2029. Sunday's fixture, part of the second round of the new Serbian season, offered an early glimpse of why the Belgrade giants were prepared to spend big to bring him in.
Elsewhere, another Israeli forward gave his club's supporters something to cheer even in defeat. Abdallah Hleihel - transliterated in some databases as Khalaihal - struck deep into stoppage time for Gangwon FC in a 2-1 defeat to FC Anyang in South Korea's K League 1.
The goal, arriving in the 90+6th minute, was Hleihel's seventh in the league this season, ONE reported, underlining the impact he has made since signing for Gangwon in January. Born in the Galilee town of Jish, Hleihel moved to South Korea from Bnei Sakhnin, where he had played since 2023.
In Moldova, defender Tomer Katz was in action as Politehnica UTM Chișinău fell 2-0 to city rivals Zimbru Chișinău, rounding out a mixed weekend for Israel's contingent of players based overseas.
Taken together, the results capture the scattered nature of Israel's football diaspora this summer: a marquee arrival settling in at one of the Balkans' biggest clubs, a Galilee-born striker finding the net regularly in East Asia, and a young defender learning his trade in Eastern Europe.
