We all know there are plenty of Jews in New York.  Perhaps that's why NBA superstar Amare Stoudemire has signed with the Knicks. 

The five-time NBA All-Star is on a weeklong visit to learn about Israel, its language and religions. He believes he has "Hebrew roots" through his mother, Carrie.

"She studied the Scriptures and history and she believes she is a Hebrew," he told The Associated Press in Jerusalem. "I grew up in a very spiritual home. It's not about religion, it's about spirituality for me."

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Stoudemire said he was "soaking up the culture" with his girlfriend and a few other friends from home.

He has long suspected his Jewish lineage -- Judaism is passed down through the mother's side. Stoudemire's agent, Happy Walters, said his client is a "student of history" and is "exploring religions in general."

He added that Stoudemire may turn to a genealogist when he returns to New York to dig deeper.

The 6-foot-10 forward signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Knicks three weeks ago. He will now be playing in the city with the largest Jewish population in the United States.

The NBA features two Jewish players: Israeli Omri Casspi of the Sacramento Kings and Jordan Farmar of the New Jersey Nets.

Stoudemire said he's spoken to Casspi a few times about Judaism, "but we didn't go into details about it."

Stoudemire has begun studying Hebrew and his Twitter page features such words as "Shalom," "Le'chayim" and "ze ha'halom sheli," Hebrew for "this is my dream."

"It's great," he said. "Hebrew is the original language."

On Twitter, he also called himself "the new Reggie White," saying "I'm going 2 Israel 2 study Hebrew. It's time 2 get a better understanding on who we R."

White, the late NFL star who was an ordained minister, traveled to Israel late in his life and studied Hebrew to learn Scripture in its original form.

Stoudemire spent his first eight NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns, where he won the 2003 Rookie of the Year award and became one of the league's dominant players. Now, his possible Jewish ties have stirred interest in Israel, with bloggers dreaming he could one day join the Israeli national team.

Stoudemire, however, laughed that off.

"I'm looking forward to playing in the 2012 Olympics," he said. "For the USA."