Former soccer star Eli Ohana joins Bayit Yehudi

Former Beitar Jerusalem soccer legend Eli Ohana will be placed among the top ten slots on the Bayit Yehudi Knesset list, it was reported Monday evening.

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Ohana (50), currently serves as the head coach of Israel's national under-19 soccer team and a commentator on the Sports Channel. Ohana also played in Israel's national team in 1984-1997, and later signed with KV Mechelen in Belgium, but as a player he is most well known for his time at Beitar Jerusalem, the team with which he spent most of his career. In the past, Ohana was among the candidates on Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's list for the city's City Council.

Ohana with Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennet, Monday

The former soccer player has not always held right-wing political views. In 2006, he voted for Kadima, and during that time he also expressed support for the disengagement from Gaza. "Sharon can evacuate all the settlements as far as I'm concerned, we have enough land to live on," he said in an interview. In 2008, he retracted remarks in which he said he would like to be education minister.

"Come on, would I really want to be the education minister? Nonsense. I meant that had I been in politics, I would rather be in a position that can effect change, and not just be a Knesset member," Ohana claimed in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth. "A politician has to be manipulative, a liar…and those are qualities that I don't possess whatsoever.

At the time, Ohana expressed support for Netanyahu: "He has been in politics for many years, he was prime minister…when he was finance minister, the country flourished." Responding to a question relating to the deteriorating state of the weaker sections of society, Ohana said: "You can't please everyone…there is a general consensus that he was the best finance minister. He is a leader. And Israel has a leadership crisis. There aren't any charismatic people, like Begin or Ben-Gurion."

Commenting on his joining the Bayit Yehudi party, Ohana said: "I have been a 'Likudnik' all my life, but I don't believe in the method of withdrawals anymore – I sobered up. I love the people of Israel, the State of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and I have come home, to the Bayit Yehudi."

According to Channel 2 poll results released Monday, Naftali Bennett's Bayit Yehudi would take 15 seats if elections were held today, making it the third largest party.