Israeli route through Ukraine: Tomer Yosefi left ‘Polesie’ and returned to ‘Beitar’ Jerusalem

Israeli midfielder Tomer Yosefi has officially completed the Ukrainian stage of his career and has become a player for Beitar Jerusalem. On June 2, 2026, the Jerusalem club announced the signing of the 27-year-old footballer for the next three seasons — until the summer of 2029.

For the Ukrainian club Polissya, this is not just another summer departure of a foreign player. Yosefi was a notable figure in the team from Zhytomyr, and his return to Israel coincided with an important moment for both sides: Beitar is preparing for European competition qualification, and Polissya is also entering the European stage after the 2025/26 season.

Yosefi returns to Israel: what is known about the transfer

Beitar Jerusalem announced the signing of Yosefi on June 2, 2026. The club’s publication stated that the midfielder will play in the yellow-black uniform for the next three seasons and will also become one of the team’s newcomers ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

The transfer took place after the player’s departure from Polissya. According to Sport Arena and Football24, Yosefi joined Beitar as a free agent.

This is an important detail.

For Beitar, such a transfer looks economically prudent: the club gets an Israeli player with experience in the Ukrainian Premier League and international adaptation without a full transfer fee. For Yosefi himself, this is a return home, but not a step back. After his experience in Ukraine, he joins a team that will play in the Conference League qualification.

Who is Tomer Yosefi

Tomer Yosefi is an attacking midfielder born in Israel. Before the Ukrainian period, he played for Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Hapoel Haifa, and then moved to Zhytomyr’s Polissya. On Beitar’s website, his experience, intensity, attacking qualities, and ability to add depth to the squad were specifically highlighted.

In Jerusalem, he will not be waiting for a leisurely stroll, but the pressure of a big club.

Beitar is not just a league table. It’s Teddy Stadium, a demanding audience, emotional football, and constant attention from Israeli sports media. For a player who has already gone through the Ukrainian championship, this can be a good test of maturity.

What Yosefi gave to Polissya and why his departure is noticeable

Yosefi joined Polissya at the beginning of 2025 after leaving Hapoel Be’er Sheva. Ukrainian sources indicate that he played 26 matches for the Zhytomyr club in all competitions, scored 3 goals, and provided 2 assists.

In the 2025/26 season, his contribution was more compact but still noticeable: 15 matches, 2 goals, and 2 assists.

The numbers don’t look fantastic if you only look at the statistics.

But football is not always read by goals and assists. For Polissya, Yosefi was a player who added a different rhythm to the team: the Israeli school of movement between the lines, the ability to play in the attacking zone, the experience of the Israeli championship, and the habit of taking the ball in difficult episodes.

The Ukrainian club on the European stage

In recent years, Polissya has been building an ambitious project where not only local results are important, but also the club’s recognition outside of Ukraine. The invitation of the Israeli midfielder fit precisely into this logic: the team from Zhytomyr was trying to assemble a squad capable of competing above the usual level.

Now the club will have to fill this part of the squad without Yosefi.

And this is happening against the backdrop of preparation for the 2026/27 Conference League qualification. According to Ukrainian sports media, Polissya will also represent Ukraine in the main stage of the tournament.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this transfer broader than a usual transfer line: the Israeli footballer leaves the Ukrainian club at a time when both Ukraine and Israel remain in the European football field not only through sports but also through political, social, and human context.

Why the transfer to Beitar is important for Israeli football

Beitar finished the 2025/26 season in second place in the Israeli championship and earned the right to play in the Conference League qualification.

This makes Yosefi’s transfer not just a return from a foreign assignment.

The Jerusalem club needs a squad that can withstand several levels of pressure: the Israeli championship, internal pressure, fan expectations, and European matches. In such a situation, a player with experience in another championship can be especially useful — not as a star for the poster, but as a footballer who has already stepped out of his usual environment and knows how to adapt.

Jerusalem, Zhytomyr, and the football connection between Israel and Ukraine

For the Israeli audience, there is a separate layer here.

Yosefi went to play in Ukraine after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. It was an unusual route for an Israeli footballer: not to Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, or MLS, but to a country living under constant threat of attacks, alarms, and disrupted sports logistics.

And yet the Ukrainian championship continues to operate.

Clubs play, develop, sell and sign players, enter European competitions, and foreign players gain experience there. This is an important signal: Ukrainian football has not disappeared from the European map despite the war and pressure from Russia.

For Israel, which itself lives under conditions of war, threats, and constant security as part of everyday life, the Ukrainian sports context is especially acutely understood. Football in such conditions becomes not only a game but also proof of normal life where the enemy tries to destroy this normalcy.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees in Yosefi’s story precisely such an intersecting plot: the Israeli player gained Ukrainian experience, returned to Jerusalem, and can now enter Europe with Beitar. It’s a small sports story, but behind it lies a large geography — Israel, Ukraine, Jerusalem, Zhytomyr, and a common European football route.

What’s next

For Yosefi, the next season will be a test of his new status.

In Polissya, he was a foreign player from Israel who had to prove he could be useful in the Ukrainian Premier League. In Beitar, he returns not as a young player with potential, but as a footballer from whom a specific contribution will be expected immediately.

Beitar has European qualification ahead, and there the depth of the squad can be decisive. One match, one mistake, one quick goal — in the Conference League, such details change the season.

Polissya has its own task: to maintain the pace of development after the departure of foreign players and not lose quality before European matches. It is important for the Ukrainian club to show that it is capable not only of inviting interesting players but also of calmly enduring their departure.

For fans in Israel, this transfer looks especially lively. There is a familiar name, a big club from Jerusalem, a Ukrainian trace, and a European perspective. This means Yosefi’s story did not end with the news of signing a contract — it just moved from the Ukrainian field to the Israeli stage.