Amar'e Stoudemire Cites Lack of Black Leadership for Rise In Anti-Semitic Rhetoric

Pro basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire is both Black and Jewish -- and says he's uniquely positioned to help "bridge the gap" between the two groups.

Stoudemire has been living and playing ball in Israel since 2016 -- but he's been paying attention to the recent wave of anti-Semitic comments from high profile people like DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Nick Cannon.

All 3 of the above-mentioned stars have apologized -- but Amar'e says moving forward, there should be a focus on educating young people about the SIMILARITIES between Black people and Jews.

"There's more similarities with the African Americans and Jewish people than there are differences. I went over a few of them -- the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade. There's post-traumatic stress between both from those events. Think about all the persecution, it's always the Jews or the blacks," Stoudemire says.

Stoudemire suggests a "lack of leadership" in the Black community has led to many Black people turning to Louis Farrakhan for leadership, which is problematic because of his long history of anti-Semitic comments.

"Amongst the African-American community, there's not a lot of leadership," Amar'e says ... "So, they gravitate to a leadership factor that help keep people off the streets, right? So, Farrakhan is seen as one of their leaders in their African-American community."

"But, I do think, I know with me being in the position where I am where being an African American Jew who's learning at a high level, I think there's a narrative shift that's happening."

"We have to figure out a way to now teach the next generation on positivity."

There's more ... Amar'e explains why he's down to have conversations with both DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson.