‘I will survive!’ Disco legend Gloria Gaynor to perform in Israel

The following year, she received the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. award, presented every year by the Consul General of Israel in New York, who at the time was Ambassador Ido Aharoni.

Gloria Gaynor with the then Consul General of Israel in New York, Ido Aharoni, in 2016. (Photo-Gloria Gaynor/Facebook)[Missing Credit]

Gaynor said after receiving the award: “I fell in love with Israel the first time I went there.

“Now to receive a peace award from a nation that personifies peace in the midst of a raging storm is more humbling than words can express. I am eternally grateful.”

Gloria Gaynor attends the 48th Kennedy Center Honors at The Kennedy Center on December 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)Getty Images

Aharoni declared that she deserved the award as she had “inspired millions with her music to empower themselves”.

He said: “Gaynor has a special relationship with Israel which she also shares with MLK, whose attachment to Israel and the Jewish people is a symbol of the fraternity, mutual respect and admiration that should unite our communities today.”