The owner of Alabama Shop, the store that sells all kinds of Crimson Tide trinkets in an Arab market in Old Jerusalem, says he and his family are safe after well-wishers expressed worry about his welfare following last week’s Hamas attack against Israel.

Hani Imam, a Palestinian Muslim who attended the University of Alabama in the 1980s, opened Alabama Shop in 2000 after Crimson Tide items in his father’s store became popular with tourists.

“Thank you all for your concern and prayers. I am in Jerusalem with my family we are all safe and secured. Praying for peace and love for all people. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. ROLL TIDE,” Imam posted to Facebook on Sunday in response to a post from Chasidy White, who is coordinating relief efforts in Alabama and asked if Imam and his family could be relocated to Tuscaloosa amid the violence in Israel.

Jerusalem is about 50 miles from Gaza, where Hamas militants who launched the attacks inside Israel were based. More than 1,000 Israelis were killed and scores more were taken hostage. More than 2,300 Palestinians died from Israel’s response to the attacks.

Imam studied civil engineering at UA and worked as a bartender at a Holiday Inn in Huntsville.

“Everybody was super nice to me,” Imam told AL.com in a 2010 interview.

When Imam returned to Jerusalem in 1994, he said he felt homesick for Alabama.

“I really enjoyed country life,” he said, the beautiful nature and the open spaces. When his father gave him the family business — a walk-in-closet-sized souvenir shop wedged between the Jewish and Christian quarters of Jerusalem — he named it the Heart of Dixie, he says, “to keep Alabama in my mind.”

Among the items sold at the store, now named Alabama Shop, are decals that say “Roll Tide” in both English and phonetic Hebrew.

Sen. Katie Britt said Imam’s shop “exemplifies the enduring spirit of the people of Israel. Alabamians are proud to stand by their side.”