Profile Text
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 professional basketball player, and coach. A power forward and center, he played for the Phoenix Suns, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League (ISBL), Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Maccabi Tel Aviv of the ISBL; he was also with the U.S. Olympic team. He was a player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003, and owns a large share of Hapoel Jerusalem. He is 6′10″.
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 has four children with his former wife Alexis Welch. In 2019, Amar’e became an Israeli citizen.
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