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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.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to Cavaliers coach David Blatt last week, promising the support of about 8 million of his fellow countrymen. "He said all of Israel is behind the Cavaliers," Blatt said Sunday. "That was great. Blatt has dual citizenship in the United States (where he was born) and in Israel, where his family still lives and where he spent most his pro career as a player and coach.
Blatt told the Northeast Ohio Media Group he knows Netanyahu well enough to call him "Bibi" (his nickname) but usually sticks to the Hebrew translation of "Mr. Prime Minister." He said Netanyahu last reached out to him after he directed Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague title last year. "I have been fortunate enough to hear from the Prime Minister of Israel, to the then Prime Minister and president of Russia (Dmitry Medvedev), and there's nothing I would like better than to hear from (President Barack) Obama," Blatt said. "That sort of covered all the bases, wouldn't it?"
In a more serious tone, Casspi said he followed the negotiations in Washington and was pleased to learn that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to future talks. "Peace is something we all think about it," he said. "We lose so many creative people ... people on both sides dying for no reason. We all want peace. "Sooner is better. That's why when I talk to the kids ... that's the next generation, those little kids. It's very important for me to do everything I can."
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