Amare Stoudemire, formerly of the Phoenix Suns, now with the New York Knicks, is in Israel exploring the country and working on his Hebrew.

KYW middle east bureau chief Jay Bushinsky reports that en route, he reportedly referred to Israel on his twitter as the “Holy Land” and recommended learning all about it.  Zeh ha’halom sheli, he went on in Hebrew — This is my dream.

Stoudemire’s interest in Israel and all things Jewish is attributed to his having learned recently that he has a Jewish mother.  Local sports writers speculate that some day he may play on an Israeli team.

(file photo)