( JTA ) — NBA great Shaquille O’Neal recorded a message for Israeli children whose relatives were killed or taken hostage in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, telling them “I love you” and speaking in Hebrew.
Shaq recorded the video for children at Camp Timberlane, a summer camp in Haliburton, Canada, that, in partnership with the Israeli organization OneFamily , runs a program for “Israeli youth who have been directly affected by terror and war.”
The recording came about when Chen Kraunik — a OneFamily employee and former Israeli professional basketball player whose father Arik was murdered on Oct. 7 in Kibbutz Be’eri — FaceTimed with O’Neal, the organization said in a Instagram post that it later deleted. (A representative for OneFamily said the group took the video off social media because “it’s actually not ours to share. We didn’t take it.”)
“Camp Timberlane! Hello! Shalom! This is Shaquille O’Neal,” the retired hall-of-fame center says in the video, which the camp posted on Instagram last week before also deleting it. “I just wanted to give you guys a shoutout and let you know I love you.”
O’Neal continued, “To all the amazing children from the OneFamily, I know you came from far, far away. Hope you’re having a good time. We love you so very much. Thank you for coming. And we’ll talk to you soon.”
He concluded with a string of Hebrew messages one right after the other: “Shalom,” “Baruch Hashem,” which translates roughly to “God bless,” “L’shana tova” (“Happy new year”) and “Shabbat Shalom.”
According to the Canadian Jewish News , Timberlane welcomed 39 campers and staff from Israel this summer, including children whose family members were killed or taken hostage on Oct. 7. A 16-year-old named Niv, also from Kibbutz Be’eri, lost his grandmother and brother in the attack. Another brother was killed in captivity.
O’Neal, 52, is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history. In his 19-year NBA career, the 7-foot-1 center won four NBA titles while earning the 2000 NBA MVP award and 15 All-Star selections. His jersey number is retired by three teams.
O’Neal, who was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather, has expressed interest in Judaism and Jewish culture numerous times, both throughout his playing career and in his current role as a TV analyst on TNT.
O’Neal has danced the hora at a Jewish wedding , spoken Hebrew with Jon Stewart and explained that Sukkot is his favorite Jewish holiday — because “sukkah” translates to “shack.” He also recently struck up a friendship with Jewish NHL star Zach Hyman , whom he calls “Shaq Hyman.” On his reality show “Shaq Life,” O’Neal’s family has explored the tradition of hosting a Shabbat dinner .
“Fact is I’m Muslim, I’m Jewish, I’m Buddhist, I’m everybody ‘cause I’m a people person,” O’Neal said in a 2011 interview with PR.com .
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