Eli and Ziva do not communicate until he visits the U.S. on official business in Season 8, seemingly resenting his daughter and the choice she made to become a U.S. citizen. He dismisses her ordeal in the desert with the remark "You are not dead." Gibbs is annoyed that Eli refers to Ziva as "her" and points out "She has a name. Ziva. She has a name." Later Ziva questions Eli's apathy towards the prospect of his own death, saying that a human man would at least feel some emotion, prompting him to tell her that while he did not have the luxury of expressing his feelings, as he had to constantly put the safety of the nation before everything else, there was once a time when things were different, "when my house was filled with the sound of children laughing." Before Eli's departure back to Israel in the following episode, his relationship with Ziva appears to have somewhat improved, as he is shown to have given her a small Israeli flag and kissed her goodbye.