Special Report

REMEMBERING THE DREAM

Martin Luther King
Jr. Israel Award win-

ners the Rev. Kenneth

Flowers of Detroit and

Israeli violinist Miri
Ben-Ari with FIBA's

Pastor Glenn Plummer

Building On The Dream

Black-Jewish friendship is focus of MLK Israel Awards.

Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor

Jerusalem

E

arly this month, Pastor
Glenn Plummer of Redford's
Ambassadors for Christ Church
went on a mission to Israel with several
goals in mind.
One was to co-lead a group of Detroit-
area Jews and black evangelical Christians
on a nine-day mission to Israel. Another
goal was to work on the establishment of
a Martin Luther King Center in Israel. A
third was to present the first annual MLK
Jr. Israel Awards.
On Jan. 15, on what would have been Dr.
King's 79th birthday, Plummer stepped
to the podium in the home of Israeli
President Shimon Peres to honor the Rev.
Kenneth James Flowers, pastor of Detroit's
Greater New Mt. Moriah Missionary
Baptist Church, and Israeli musician Miri
Ben-Ari.
On behalf of the Fellowship of Israel
and Black America (FIBA), the orga-
nization he founded in 2004, Plummer
bestowed the awards that honor black and
Jewish leaders who further friendship
between the two groups. The awards also
are an expression of support to the State of
Israel, Plummer said.

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January 24 • 2008

That point was driven home in a
husband and the young pastor.
video that showed an impassioned
"This was the most humbling experi-
Plummer speaking at a pro-Israel rally at
ence of my life said Flowers, in Israel
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield
on an American Israel Public Affairs
during the summer of 2006, when the
Committee mission. "This award will chal-
second Lebanon War was raging. In that
lenge me to do more to bring together the
speech, he recalled how Jews stood with
black and Jewish communities.
African Americans during the Civil Rights
"I have a dream that Israel and the
movement and
Palestinians will live
. ,
pledged that Jews
together peacefully
and Israel would
as neighbors. The
not stand alone
lion shall lie with
when Israel was in
the lamb and live
trouble.
as brothers. I have a
At the ceremony
dream that Israel will
in Israel, he reit-
be recognized to have
erated, "African
the right to exist and
Americans will
not be threatened on
stand and lift our
its borders:"
voices with you."
Pastor Plummer and Israeli President
Miri Ben-Ari,
Shimon Peres
known as "the hip
Inspired By
hop violinist:' once
MLK's Dream
studied under the
Plummer introduced Flowers, who
renowned Isaac Stern. She received the
has close ties with Temple Beth El in
MLK award for her outreach to African
Bloomfield Township, by saying the rever-
American culture and youth, particularly
end devoted his life to bringing blacks and through her song and video "Symphony
Jews together through their shared histo-
of Brotherhood;' which features video
ries of slavery and freedom. Plummer said footage of King delivering his "I Have a
Flowers has patterned his life after King,
Dream" speech during the 1963 March on
and is close to the King family, even being Washington. She performed the piece live
"adopted" by Coretta Scott King who was
as the video played in the background.
struck by the similarity between her late
The Grammy Award-winning Ben-

Ari has fused classical, jazz, hip-hop
and rhythm and blues in a way that has
attracted collaboration with such noted
American musicians as Kanye West, Alicia
Keys, Jay Z and others. She also is the fea-
tured violinist and composer for the score
of the movie The Freedom Writers.
"Being a third generation to Holocaust
survivors, I have always believed in the
fight against racism;' she said. She is cur-
rently working on a new humanitarian
and educational campaign called Gedenk
(remember) dedicated to the Holocaust.
Awards also were given to President
Peres and the State of Israel and to U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones.

Deeply Moved
"We should be giving you an award and
not you to us," Peres told Plummer during
the ceremony. "Congratulations on your
idea [of bringing blacks Americans and
Jews together to support Israel]; it's very
original, very inspiring and gives hope for
the people. Your dream is our dream."
Peres likened King's "I Have A Dream"
speech to Moses when he told Pharaoh,
"Let my people go."
"These are two great leaders who stood
on the highest mountain of human rights
and understanding:' Peres said. "Martin
Luther King is like one of our own leaders
with a drive for equality and liberty. We