Amar’e Stoudemire apparently feels Israel is the land of milk, honey and good-looking MRIs.
The sore-kneed Stoudemire, who is touring Israel, has now applied for Israeli citizenship, his agent Happy Walters told nymag.com.
Stoudemire has been in Israel since mid-July, first as assistant coach for Canada in the Maccabiah Games and is touring the country while exploring his Jewish roots on his mother’s side.
The Knicks have shut down Stoudemire this summer to rest his knees, telling him not to train or take part in basketball-related activities, such as attending Hakeem Olajuwon’s big-man camp.
Stoudemire previously announced he had become a part owner in the Israeli basketball club Hapoel Jerusalem, partnering with basketball and baseball agent Arn Tellem. Israeli president Shimon Peres said he wants Stoudemire to play next year on the Israeli National Team, but it’s unlikely the Knicks would grant permission, since they already denied him a spot on Team USA in 2010.
In an interview in Jerusalem in July, Stoudemire said he is in regular dialogue with New York rabbis, studies Torah and observes the High Holidays. Indeed, Stoudemire wore a yarmulke to a morning shootaround before Game 6 of the Knicks-Pacers series. He also was seen leaving the locker room after Game 4 with a yarmulke under his fedora.
“I’m not a religious person, I’m more of a spiritual person, so I follow the rules of the Bible that coordinate with and connect with the Hebrew culture,” Stoudemire said in Jerusalem.
* Ex-Knick Chris Copeland will have arthroscopic left-knee surgery to remove a loose piece of cartilage weeks after signing a two-year, $6 million deal with the Pacers. According to a source, the Knicks knew after the season Copeland would need surgery eventually, but decided to hold off to see if his pain would subside. But after signing with the Pacers and still in discomfort, Copeland elected to have surgery instead of trying to play through it next season.