Anyone who follows Israeli basketballer Omri Casspi on social media will see he is a mensch.
For instance, you may recall he spoke out for Israel during the last war.
And embraced the first Iranian-born player in the NBA, Hamed Haddadi.
https://youtu.be/PfRN4uKxQPI
Well, now he has gone even further with his awesomeness, bringing some of his Sacramento Kings teammates to Israel.
Omri Casspi is not a politician, lobbyist or expert on the Middle East. He earns a living as a professional basketball player. Occasionally, he even dabbles as an unofficial Israeli tour guide, introducing teammates to his homeland with the robust enthusiasm of a chamber of commerce official.
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With Kings teammates DeMarcus Cousins and Caron Butler, former teammates Tyreke Evans and Chandler Parsons and 30 others nearing the end of a Casspi-arranged visit to the tiny nation bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, security concerns remain paramount.
A security detail has accompanied the group throughout their travels to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, a restaurant near the northern border with Syria and Lebanon, the Holocaust Museum, and a basketball clinic for Israeli and Palestinian youngsters. The itinerary includes another youth clinic and a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We were a little nervous about going to Jerusalem,” Casspi said by phone early Tuesday morning, “but we had a great time. Thousands of people followed us when we walked around the Wall and the shops. DeMarcus was like a rock star. Everybody wanted to be around him.”
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Though reluctant to talk about politicians or controversial political donors, Casspi vehemently denied he was motivated by the boycott campaign. Instead, he said, his intentions are consistent with an ongoing desire to promote his country and use influential NBA stars to nudge young Israelis and Palestinians toward peace and away from conflict.
“You sit around a locker room, and you talk about your home,” Casspi said. “I always tell my teammates, ‘Come see my side of the world. I go to your house when we go to Washington. Come meet my parents, my brother, my sister.’ It’s literally as simple as that. On CNN, all you see is war. My thought is, ‘Come see for yourself.’ Sheldon … is a Republican; our president (Barack Obama) is a Democrat. Good, bad, whatever. It doesn’t matter. We have to work on our relationship.”
https://youtu.be/QVRi9XMtEeU
Omri has posted the following on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/Omri/photos/pb.9162617150.-2207520000.1438183087./10153052557627151/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/Omri/photos/pb.9162617150.-2207520000.1438183087./10153054172312151/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/Omri/photos/pb.9162617150.-2207520000.1438183087./10153056972702151/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/Omri/photos/pb.9162617150.-2207520000.1438183087./10153058846202151/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/Omri/photos/pb.9162617150.-2207520000.1438183087./10153060480512151/?type=3&theater
And the official Sacramento Kings Twitter timeline is full of images from the trip:
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624279934928834560
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624281580899540992
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624284581324292096
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624710153850486784
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624760995802677248
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624861900174716928
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624884549357596672
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624941323158724609
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/624974470051176449
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625017694916608001
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625034422576746496
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625300658841911296
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625368350500196352
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625396148128350208
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625425376471347200
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625728621093781505
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625734275497893888
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625779510315753476
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625817967339696128
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/625863265067888640
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/626057686988255233
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/626102537054130181
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/626120106104496128
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/626150165246803968
A slam dunk for Israel which will no doubt have the BDSHoles and haters crying foul.
