Basketball / Stoudemire in Israel on 'heritage' trip
Stoudemire left the Phoenix Suns earlier this month to sign a $100-million, five-year deal with the Knicks.
By Oren KesslerAmar'e Stoudemire landed in Israel yesterday for a voyage of discovery after learning he has Jewish roots. The U.S. basketball star's agent said the New York Knicks forward was planning a weeklong visit to learn about the country and explore its religions.
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Amar’e Stoudemire at Madison Square Garden in New York |
| Photo by: AP |
Yesterday afternoon Stoudemire posted to his Twitter account, Amareisreal, "Jerusalem is a beautiful city, I'm at a cafe eating a late lunch. I'm learning Hebrew by the min. Keep up !! Shalom."
On Monday he Tweeted, "On the flight to Israel. This is going to be a great trip. The holy land. Learn about it," he wrote, adding "ze ha'halom sheli" - Hebrew for "this is my dream."
Yesterday Army Radio reported that the Florida native plans to spend time in Israel learning Hebrew, having recently learned his mother is Jewish.
News of Stoudemire's trip quickly had Israeli basketball fans abuzz with speculation that they might one day see him playing alongside another Jewish NBA star, Omri Casspi, on Israel's national team.
Stoudemire left the Phoenix Suns earlier this month to sign a $100-million, five-year deal with the Knicks.
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I don't know why the Israeli press continues to ignore the only current Jewish NBA star who already wears 2 Championship rings, Jordan Farmar. Farmar, until now a Laker, who just signed with the NJ Nets, is of a Jewish mother and his most respected person in the world is his Netanya born Yehuda. Jordan had his Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel and is proud of his heritage. Farmar is an outstanding individual who's always maintained a decent and upstanding presence on court and off. He was known, during his UCLA and Taft High years, to have a real heart; sometimes stopping to help opponents off the floor (not accepted behavior for most NBA players with their "attitudes"). Let's embrace Jordan and make him feel at home in Israel.