The Israeli Consulate in New York staged a unique performance at
the city's Apollo Theater Tuesday, celebrating Israel's 60th birthday.
The main event: A concert headed by Grammy Award winning hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari, who preformed with the Big Apple's most famous gospel choirs.
The evening was sponsored by the Gedenk Movement, a humanitarian group founded by Ben-Ari that is dedicated to promoting youth education about anti-Semitism and the Jewish Holocaust, and by the Foundation for Ethnic Tolerance, which was founded by Rabbi Marc Schneier and philanthropist Russell Simmons.
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"This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the friendship between Israel and the African-American community in the United States," said Ben-Ari.
"We are excited to bring the African-American community and its Israeli counterpart together to prove that music can be the catalyst to understanding and cooperation. We hope this evening will spell the beginning of a cultural change," Assaf Shariv, Israel's consul general in New York, told Ynet.
Rocking the Apollo (Photo: Shachar Azran)
David Saranga, the consulate's Consul for Media and Public Affairs, added that "we wanted to introduce the African-American community to Israel; to send a message of kinship. This is the first time an Israeli group organized an event specifically with the African-American community in mind."
The concert is just one of a series of events organized in the city in honor of Israel's 60th Independence Day. Another major event includes giant billboards in Times Square, featuring various celebrities – the likes of Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise, to name a few – wishing Israel a happy 60th.
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