Current sectionIsrael NewsShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJalal and Munas Alai. "I got here even before some of my Jewish neighbors did," Jalal says. "This is where my work and my life are. I'm 100-percent Eilati." Credit: Sasi HoreshThe story of Eilat, where more than 3,000 Arabs from across Israel have already made their home, offers a glimpse of how the fabric of life in Israel is slowly changing11:06 AM • August 22 2026 IDTAt the entrance to Jalal Alai's villa in Eilat's Shahamon neighborhood stands a roughly 300-year-old olive tree brought from the Arab town of Arraba. "That's how it is with us northerners – the Galilee runs in our blood," Alai says. But the tree, ancient and impressive, is not the main attraction here. The house sits on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Eilat, with a view of the point where Jordan meets Saudi Arabia. Every morning, Alai sits next to his pool and watches the sun rise over the Red Sea.In the NewsIsraeli Arab Families Are Moving to Jewish Cities. Eilat Is a Case in PointA Palestinian Lies Paralyzed, While the Settler Who Shot Him Remains on the HillAn Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. It May Upend a Global Industry'The Devastation Was Huge. I Knew Help Wouldn't Come, and I'd Have to Improvise'U.S. Envoy Barrack: Israeli Strike in Syria Could Have Led to War With TurkeyRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIDF Marks Detained Palestinians With Numbers as Northern West Bank Raids ExpandThe American Jewish Establishment Is Defending an Israel That No Longer ExistsReality Check: As the Election Nears, Haaretz Debunks Israeli Politicians' Biggest LiesSo Will It Be a Problem if Miriam Adelson Flies to Israel to Vote?Israeli Army Orders Criminal Probes Into Killing of Hind Rajab, Gaza MedicsGo to Qusra to See What Israel Is Trying to Hide