Creative Community for Peace, a charity which helped organise Israeli children’s inclusion in the camp, thanked Shaq for the message. “Thank you Shaq, for your words of comfort and for showing off your Hebrew,” they posted to social media.
Shaq, who played for the LA Lakers, may not be Jewish, but has a history of celebrating the faith. “I’m Muslim, I’m Jewish, I’m Buddhist, I’m everybody ‘cause I’m a people person,” he has said.
Israelis have praised Shaq as a “mensch” for showing his support, but the star has also been criticised by anti-Israeli voices.
"Shaq would literally do anything for money,” one post said. Other commenters labelled him “Zionist Shaq” and said the star would “attach his brand to anything”.
