Five Questions for Jared Armstrong, a Hoops Player in Israel Working to Bridge Understanding

Elizur Ashkelon basketball player Jared Armstrong at his JAB CAMP.

Twenty-seven-year-old point guard Jared Armstrong is a professional basketball player for Elizur Ashkelon, a team in Israel. Armstrong himself grew up in Maryland, the son of a Navy vet. His mother is a Black Jew, and the family legacy of Judaism goes back generations.

Armstrong lives in Philadelphia during the off-season and has used his platform at the intersection of the Black and American Jewish experience to speak out against antisemitism, racism and hate through public speaking and education. More recently, Armstrong has also been using philanthropic tools to make an impact. Last year, he started JAB Camp, a Philadelphia-based basketball camp bringing together Black and Jewish youth with the aim of teaching hard work, pluralism and unity through diversity. He tells me that basketball has been his “sanctuary.” I recently caught up with Armstrong in Jerusalem over Zoom.

In our conversation, I found out more about Armstrong’s unique background, why he started giving back, and where he hopes to take his philanthropy next. The following conversation is edited for length and clarity.

Maybe we could just start from the beginning. Tell me a little bit about your background and your come-up in hoops.

Basically, I grew up originally in Severn, Maryland. My dad is a Navy vet. He’s also a 9/11 survivor, so that's another story for another day. But he was in the Pentagon when it got hit. And you know, basketball has just pretty much been my sanctuary since the age of three. And on my mother's side, that's where Judaism is strong in my family. My great-aunt started a synagogue about 70 or 80 years ago. She's now dead. But this synagogue [Congregation Temple Beth El in Philadelphia] is still thriving.

At the age of 12, my life just did a 180. My parents got divorced. I moved to Philly. And then I just kept playing basketball. I was blessed to get a full scholarship to Slippery Rock University. And then that led me to Israel.

What did Judaism mean to you and what did it mean to grow up that way? And how did your mom’s family start a synagogue?

To be honest, I never was really vocal about it. Growing up in my family, I was strict. Friday nights, couldn't do anything. Saturday was just go to synagogue and that's it. Obviously, being Black, most people never really assumed that I was Jewish and it’s still a surprise [to people] now, so imagine 20 years ago.

The founding was basically, she [Armstrong’s grandmother] was a daughter of a Baptist preacher and she worked for a Jewish family. That inspired her to convert to Judaism. My grandmother still keeps the Shabbat to this day. But yeah, on my mother’s side, they’ve been there, I want to say 72 to 73 years. It’s pretty known, a U.S. Ambassador [Michael Oren] wrote about it. I’m not part of that synagogue anymore. I have no affiliation. Israeli officials have been there, Jewish organizations. In the Tri-State area, it’s well known.

What inspired you to start giving back and focus philanthropically?

It kind of felt just second nature to me. I always believed in giving back to the community, but I felt like people weren’t using basketball as a way to give back and a way to bridge the gap. I went to basketball camp. But you start to understand the business aspect of life and you feel that you can use basketball as a central connector. I just think with the rise of not only racism, but antisemitism and homophobia, people need to be able to dialogue with one another. This was all pre-October 7. My thing is, I teach kids, you’re going to deal with African Americans if you’re white, or a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Jew, but if you don’t know anything about them, how are you going to be able to be in the workforce?

I started initially with the Asiel Foundation, a really small idea. It’s my middle name. In Hebrew, the word "Asiel" means “God has created.” Basically, I was saying that God has created all of us in our own individual image. We’re all different for a reason. I applied for a 1024-EZ form to receive $50,000. I then filed JAB Camp as a 501(c)(3). Since then, outside of basketball, I’ve been occupied with this. I think this initiative is more important now than ever because of what happened on October 7. It really amplified my mission and the importance of kids building a strong foundation of understanding — of kids from different communities, zip codes and backgrounds.

I had my first clinic in August 2023, a free clinic for kids in the African American, Muslim and Jewish community in Philadelphia. I had a guest speaker, Eric Rubin, who started the financial literacy plan for the NBA and who is also big on combating antisemitism and racism. Then I returned to Israel.

What was it like on October 7? How has that impacted your work?

I live in the south, about 15 minutes from Gaza. A rocket landed right in front of my apartment. It was pretty much a life-or-death situation. The city I live in was one of the most targeted. They had over 1,200 rockets fired [at it]. I eventually went home and wanted to use my time outside of working out to inspire kids. A lot of kids, especially in the Jewish community, have families here in Israel. Have cousins in the IDF. I felt it was important to keep them going. Then I started to have free clinics for displaced kids through JAB Camp. Kids use it as a sanctuary.

What fundraising strategies are you using? And what are your hopes for the future?

Most of my funding has been [from] individuals, through my network. I haven’t raised a lot of money, but some. And DAFs. But once this war is over, this initiative will be promoted more, hopefully. I have budget team. I have a website team. But other than that, it’s me, hustling and bustling, trying to find donors. Since I’m in Israel, most of my stuff is over Zoom. That’s where most my fundraising happens.

My ultimate goal is to start in Philly and start small. And the 3-5 year plan is to take it nationwide. Start in smaller cities and go from there. I have a collaboration with some schools. I’ve spoken to the Jewish liaison in the White House and they are very interested, so D.C. is a targeted city that I’m working on having a camp in. Also in New York, one of my rising board members is CEO of Hebrew Public Charter School, which has eight locations all across the country. They already offered to host me in New York. My goal is using sports to bring everyone together as a niche. I can help everyone come together. It’s not just about basketball. I hire experts to work on financial literacy, nutrition. I also want to create a JAB app where kids all across the country can stay connected.