Grammy Award-Winning Israeli Miri Ben- Ari, AKA "The Hip Hop Violinist", will be receiving the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Israeli Award for her unique outreach to African American culture and youth, particularly through her song and video "Symphony of Brotherhood" ft. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, in Jerusalem, Israel for the Fellowship of Israel and Black America (FIBA) and will be hosted by the President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres.


FIBA, founded by Pastor Glenn Plummer, works to mobilize 2.8 million Black American Christians to support and bless the State of Israel and to establish The Martin Luther King Center and Memorial in Jerusalem, a research and training facility that will engage the Ethiopian community in Israel with the African American community.


Ben-Ari's "Symphony of Brotherhood" is the first instrumental single ever to hit on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop charts, MTV and VH1. It was used as a PSA for the Viacom Dream Concert at Radio City Hall in September 2007.


Other award recipients are Israeli President Shimon Peres, Rev. Kenneth James Flowers and the USA Ambassador Richard Jones.