Update 2 (8/26/20): Stoudemire announced on Twitter today that he completed an Orthodox conversion to Judaism in Israel, the most stringent kind of conversion there is. This step makes him a full-fledged MOT—mazel tov!—though he may still identify as a Hebrew Israelite from a genealogical standpoint. (Rabbi Capers Funnye, the Chief Rabbi of the International Israelite Board of Rabbis, identifies as Jewish by religion—he also converted—and a Hebrew Israelite by blood.) From “Original Christian” to “Orthodox Jew,” Stoudemire’s spiritual journey has certainly been fascinating to follow.
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Update 1 (10/21/16): Journalist David Kaufman appeared on this week’s episode of the Unorthodox podcast and repeated the claim that Stoudemire is a Jew, saying the basketball star had “reclaimed his Jewish ancestry” before moving to Israel. During the discussion, co-host Stephanie Butnick quipped that Stoudemire “is a better Jew than all of us.” As I explained in this post, Stoudemire is not Jewish. I wrote to the podcast hosts on Twitter and offered to discuss the distinction between Jews and Hebrew Israelites on a future episode.
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Is Amar’e Stoudemire a Jew or a Hebrew Israelite? Readers can’t be faulted if they are confused about Stoudemire’s identity after reading David Kaufman’s Oct. 9 profile in the New York Post of the former Knicks forward, who now lives in Israel and plays for Hapoel Jerusalem. In the article, Kaufman describes Stoudemire as “an unlikely Jew” and as someone who didn’t come out of the closet “as a Jew” until about 10 years ago.
Yet Stoudemire was not raised in the Jewish faith, nor has he converted to the religion. Instead, as he has testified in YouTube videos and on his social media accounts, he identifies as a Hebrew Israelite and believes African Americans are the true Children of Israel. He was even baptized in a Jesus-worshiping Hebrew Israelite congregation, Israel of God. In an Instagram post earlier this year, he referred to himself as an “Original Christian.”
Screenshot of Stoudemire’s February 23, 2016 Instagram post.
The news media have misrepresented Stoudemire for years, in part because he has been coy about his identity, describing himself as “culturally” Jewish and telling JTA: “I had a Hebraic wedding in New York, so I’m definitely Jewish.” It’s unclear why Stoudemire has played this semantic game for so long. (Typically, when Hebrew Israelites play this game, it’s to point out that Jewish people are only Jew-ISH, while they, as direct descendants of the Children of Israel, are the authentic Jews.) But journalists, and especially Jewish journalists, need to be more careful when describing his religious identity.
Why do I care so much about how reporters describe Stoudemire? As a Jewish journalist who is researching the Hebrew Israelite movement for a book-in-progress on the African Hebrew Israelite community in Israel, I feel compelled to speak up when those who may not know better erase or blur the distinction between Jews and Hebrew Israelites. The distinction is important to both groups, who share some common practices but diverge in terms of historical claims and theological beliefs.
Moreover, I value accuracy and precise language. There is a term for African Americans who practice elements of Hebraic culture but who are not considered Jewish according to halakha (Jewish law), and that term is “Hebrew Israelite.” If we in the media don’t use this term, if we obfuscate by describing Stoudemire as “culturally Jewish,” we confuse readers and ignore an entire movement with a rich history. And we cause tsuris for people of color who are actually Jewish. Jews of color already faced scrutiny and even hostility over their right to be in Jewish spaces before Stoudemire’s spiritual quest became a source of public fascination. He hasn’t exactly helped their cause.
Stoudemire is perhaps the most visible Hebrew Israelite in the world, and he is clearly proud of his identity. We should examine and celebrate that identity rather than pretend it doesn’t exist.
