Amar’e Stoudemire

19th Annual ESPY Awards - Arrivals

Stoudemire in 2011, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Amar’e Carsares Stoudemire

Place of Birth: Lake Wales, Florida, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 16, 1982

Ethnicity: African-American

Amar’e Stoudemire is an American and Israeli basketball player and coach. Initially with the National Basketball Association (NBA), he has played for the Phoenix Suns, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, the Miami Heat, Hapoel Jerusalem, Fujian Sturgeons, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and the U.S. Olympic team. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003. He has been a player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets, and owns a large share of Hapoel Jerusalem.

His parents, Carrie (Palmorn) and Hazell Stoudemire, are both African-American. His mother performed agricultural work, and moved with Amar’e to upstate New York when he was a child, where Amar’e lived in Newburgh and Port Jervis. He is married to Alexis Welch, with whom he has four children. In 2019, Amar’e became an Israeli citizen; he has played for Israeli teams.

Amar’e formally converted to Judaism in 2020, with a Rabbinical Court. He took on the Hebrew name Yahoshafat Ben Avraham.

In the past, Amar’e had sometimes said that his mother had some degree of Jewish ancestry. It is not clear if Jewish heritage has been verified/documented for Amar’e’s mother.

Amar’e’s paternal grandfather was Jimmie/Jimmy J. Stoudemire, Jr. (the son of Jimmy Stoudemire and Lillie Smith). Amar’e’s grandfather Jimmie was born in Alabama.

Amar’e’s paternal grandmother was Oriephine Lamar (the daughter of Joe/Joseph David Lamar and Alabama Robinson). Oriephine was born in Alabama. Joe was the son of Will/William Lamar and Mittie/Mit Dejarnette.

Amar’e’s maternal grandfather was Jack Palmorn (the son of Joe Palmorn and Carrie Jackson). Jack was born in Georgia.

Amar’e’s maternal grandmother was named Bessie Bell Thomas.

Sources: http://njjewishnews.com
http://www.jpost.com

Article about Amar’e’s Judaism – https://ohr.edu

32 Responses

  1. bablah says:

    Amare’e’s paternal grandfather was Jimmie Stoudemire. Jimmie was born in Alabama.

    Amare’e’s paternal grandmother was Oriephine Lamar (the daughter of Joe Lamar and a woman with last name Robinson). Oriephine was born in Alabama .

  2. passingtime85 says:

    Correction.

    This is more of a question rather than a true correction.

    Should this line “It does not appear that Jewish ancestry has yet been documented/verified for Amar’e Stoudemire” be stricken from this profile?

    If he claims to be a Hebrew Israelite, I’m pretty sure that he meant he’s a Black Israelite. If that’s the case, there will never be a record of his ancestry to support that claim. Instead of me explaining why that is, I suggest a moderator to look into their history for him and/or herself.

    Either way I feel like the wording should be changed.

    • follers says:

      “Instead of me explaining why that is, I suggest a moderator to look into their history for him and/or herself.”

      I’ll pass.

      As I understand it, Stoudemire meant that he has “typical” Jewish ancestry of some kind, i.e.:
      http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2010/08/02/amare-update/

      • passingtime85 says:

        “My family are Hebrew Israelites descended from the Kingdom of Judah.”

        That statement seems to suggest otherwise. But w/e it’s your call.

        • follers says:

          Yes, Stoudemire went from generic Jewish ancestry in the early 2010s to more ambitious comments like that one more recently.

          I don’t think his parents nor his grandparents were Black Hebrew Israelites.

          • bearboy says:

            Speaking of Judaism follers are you 100% confident Anthony Rapp, Abigail Breslin,Aalessandra Torresani, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Carter, and Charlie Sheen have no recent Jewish ancestry?

          • follers says:

            I would say 100% for Torresani, Goldberg, Carter, and most probably Rapp.

            How did Carter get involved in this, anyway? He wouldn’t be my first choice for the first Jewish president.

  3. bearboy says:

    I don’t understand? “Amar’e practices Judaism, and plays for an Israeli basketball team.” “It is not clear if he has (yet?) converted to Judaism.”

  4. Connerfromvine says:

    furthermore***

  5. Connerfromvine says:

    “Amar’e has frequently stated that he has some kind of Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side”

    I have never heard him say “I have Jewish ANCESTRY on my mother’s side” He has only said that he is Jewish and practices Judaism. If he says he practices, then you can assume he does.

    “No Jewish ancestry has ever been documented for Amar’e Stoudemire, nor has he (yet?) converted to Judaism.”

    The media does not document the beliefs of all athletes.

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