Former NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, after lashing out at Black Lives Matter supporters and politicians following Hamas' deadly attack on Israel over the weekend, has issued a new statement acknowledging that he was "pretty emotional" about the conflict in Israel and calling for prayers for people on both sides of the war.
In his initial Instagram statement, which has since been taken down but shared on social media platform X, Stoudemire called the Hamas actions against Israel's women, children, and elderly "cowardly" and slammed BLM supporters who aren't saying anything against the attacks.
"I woke up this morning to some disturbing news out of Israel, of Hamas kidnapping children, putting them in cages," Stoudemire posted on his Instagram page. "Killing women, killing the elderly — that's some coward s***. That's cowardly."
He added that BLM supporters "who ain't sayin' nothin,' or 'let me figure out exactly what happened before I say anything,' f*** you. Figure out what? It ain't never been cool to kidnap kids and put 'em in cages.
"It ain't ever been cool to kill women and elderly, never been no matter where you from, what you represent, what tribe you from. Don't matter. It ain't never been no cool thing, never been nothing nobody supported."
"And then you're gonna hide and put the kids in front of you like a barricade," Stoudemire continued. "That's some coward s***. All you politicians who always have something to say on the contrary, I see you. F*** you. All you Black Lives Matter people who always have something to say and always support everything else and you're quiet now? F*** you, too."
"[Israel is the] only place in the world where I can go and study, tour and eat cultured food. Only place in the world. Some coward s***, dog. And all you support it. F*** you. On my mama, we don't respect none of y'all for that. Peace," he added.
In Stoudemire's new video statement, posted Monday just before midnight, he said that his first comments came from "passion" and that he is praying for people on both sides.
"To Black Lives Matter and the Politicians, I recognize that it is everyone’s choice if they want to speak about the conflict and that while I may want people to say more, that there is a better way that I can communicate that," he wrote in comments posted with the video. "I pray for the people of Israel. I pray for Jerusalem. I pray for the people of Palestine. I stand with humanity."
In the video itself, Stoudemire said that he saw "so much progress" during his time in Israel "learning the Torah, playing my sport."
"I saw Palestinian families going on beautiful walks, watching the beautiful sunset, jogging, exercising," he said. "I saw beautiful Palestinian children singing, dancing, bowling, interacting with my African-American Jewish children, playing sports. I saw the progress. I saw it happening."
He added that his first comments came "because I wanted to continue to see that progress."
"I hope we come to a cease-fire soon and that we're able to find a resolution for this situation," said Stoudemire. "I pray for the safety of the Palestinian children along with the Israeli children. I hope we're able to find a cease-fire and get this all resolved soon. God bless."
Back in August 2020, Stoudemire posted on Instagram that he had finished his two-year conversion to Judaism. He had been granted Israeli citizenship in March 2019 when he was playing basketball there, reported Newsweek.
His name in Hebrew is Yahoshafat Ben Avraham and he identifies with the Hebrew Israelites, who are African-Americans who are of the belief that they trace to the biblical Israelites.
A former player for the Brooklyn Nets, Stoudemire stepped down because of conflicts with the observance of his religion. He has also played for the New York Knicks.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.