Aug 5, 2008 6:05 pm US/Pacific
Farmar Teaches Kids To Shoot Hoops, Not Guns
JERUSALEM (CBS) ―
Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, the NBA's only Jewish player, was a guest instructor at a basketball clinic in southern Israel on Tuesday for Jewish and Arab kids.
The clinic, hosted by the Peres Center for Peace, which was founded by current Israli president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres, encourages cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians through having children play sports together.
The 21-year-old Farmar is the first Jewish player in the NBA since Danny Schayes retired in 1999.
"I've gotten a warm welcome from the whole country," he told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "People seem to recognize me everywhere, and it's been great."
Farmar's stepfather is Israeli and he has visited the country twice beofre with his family.
His own heritage helped him relate to the Jewish and Arab basketball hopefuls he met at the clinic. His father, former baseball player Damon Farmar, is black.
"When I go to the black neighbourhoods, people relate to me, and when I go the Jewish neighbourhood they relate to me, too," he said.
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