How You Doin’ Israel- Wendy Williams is this year’s MLK award recipient
Photo: Ilan Klein
Media Icon, Wendy Williams is this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award recipient. The award was given to Williams by the Consulate General of Israel in New York for her work toward dialogue, understanding and compassion between people of different backgrounds. During her years in television, Ms. Williams has successfully crossed all barriers of religion and ethnicity to become a leader in the community at-large, representing and respecting everyday America.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Award has been presented by the Consulate General of Israel in New York for the past 19 years to individuals and organizations promoting ethnic and cultural understanding ” I am honored to receive this award”, said Ms. Williams, “this is such a special day and it means so much to me”.
This annual tribute to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. honors the dream of peaceful coexistence between people of diverse religious, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. To commemorate this great visionary, each year the State of Israel, together with the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, honor those whose work keeps alive Dr. King’s legacy of hope and peace.
“As a diplomat I was trained to speak in a certain manner”, said Israel’s Consul General in New York, Asaf Shariv, ” bearing that in mind I just want to say how you doin’! or as we say in Hebrew Ma Kore? on a serious note, Ms. Williams is a media icon who knows how to communicate to her audience which consists of a broad section of American. Her warmth in dialogue creates an atmosphere of equality and encourages her viewers to talk about everyday issue, setting aside any differences in backgrounds. Dr. King understood the important relationship between the African American community and the Jewish people and the State of Israel. This bond is unbreakable. We are honored to be able to present this award for the past 19 years and we are honored to have Ms. Williams as this year’s recipient.”
In recognition of her work the Jewish National Fund has planted trees under Ms. Williams’s name, in the Dr. Martin Luther King Forest in Israel. These trees come as an addition to trees planted for past honorees which include: Mayor David Dinkins, Congressman Charles Rangel, Author Toni Morrison, Jazz legend Lionel Hampton and many others.
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