have a common history and a com-
mon future and a common hope."
Peres said he used to feel racism
was an insolvable problem in the U.S.,
but 55 years later, he's seen a huge
change.
He singled out U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice as a great
woman leader.
Peres was personally moved by
the award and its ramifications. He
understands FIBAs goal and sees its
potential.
Plummer noted, "If we mobilize 10
percent, or 2.8 million, of the 28 mil-
lion African American Christians who
have a natural affinity toward Israel
based on the Bible — our goal by
2010 — that's almost half the Jewish
population of America.
"The net result of a large group like
that coming out of slumber in support
of Israel is very significant. Peres was
moved by that"
In fact, Peres purposefully walked
back to Plummer before he left the
room to tell him, "I'm shaken to my
bones Plummer says he asked Peres
if he'd heard right, and the Israeli
president repeated his statement.
FIBA Gains Israeli Support
While in Israel, Pastor Glenn
Plummer, chairman and CEO of
the Redford-based Fellowship for
Israel and Black America (FIBA),
worked on several future projects,
including the establishment of
a Martin Luther King Center in
Israel.
The center, to be based in
Jerusalem, will be the centerpiece
between Israel's Ethiopian Jews
and black Americans, Plummer
said. The facility will focus on
research, the arts and training to
help the Ethiopian Jews become
more employable.
Plummer has received inter-
est in the project from U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Richard
Jones and also from Rabbi
Joseph Hadana, chief rabbi of the
Ethiopian community. Strong sup-
port comes from Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin, head rabbi of Efrat, a
West Bank settlement of 12,000
near Jerusalem. Riskin, a modern
Orthodox rabbi, marched with
King during the Civil Rights move-
ment in the mid-1960s.
Support for the center and for
FIBA's overall mission to mobilize
African American Christians in
support of Israel also came from
Todd Mendel, president of the
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit, which co-
sponsored the local Israel mission,
presented the JCRC's "Friend of Israel"
award to Plummer as the finale of the
event.
"When Israel was at war with
Hezbollah and Hamas the summer
before last, you stood up for Israel —
locally in Detroit and by traveling to
Israel when few people were willing to
travel here Mendel said. "You spoke
as a Christian, as a friend of Israel and
as a human being.
"You are standing with Israel now
as you are here with us during the
first weeks of the 60-year anniversary
of the creation of the modern State
of Israel for which our pride as Jews
is immeasurable ... Pastor Plummer,
you have honored us and the State of
Israel with your presence and your
deeds."
The MLK Jr. Israel Awards will be
given annually in Israel on King's
birthday.
ometown
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❑
To hear Miri Ben-Ari's "Symphony of
Brotherhood," go to www.miribenari.com.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
during a private meeting Jan.16.
Linda Olmert, the prime minister's
sister-in-law, is vice president of
the FIBA Israel office.
"The prime minister clearly sees
the need for the work of FIBA and
committed himself to helping us
make it a reality," said Plummer.
"Dr. King and civil rights made a
personal impact on him as a young
man.
"Olmert, who works with U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, sees that blacks in America
have a different place in this gen-
eration, and that very possibly
a black guy could be president,"
Plummer said.
"I believe America is ready for
it. African Americans are run-
ning major corporations [and
much more]. It's a different day
from King. African Americans are
natural allies who, if courted and
awakened and challenged, once
they get it, can be a big benefit to
Israel.
"This is something whose time
has come and it's measurable,"
said Plummer. "FIBA is right there
working to make that happen."
❑
— Keri Guten Cohen
story development editor
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