Skip to main content

McCartney resists pressure to scrap Israel concert

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Legendary Beatles star Paul McCartney said he was pressed to cancel his upcoming performance in Israel, but reassured Israeli fans in comments published on Thursday he would go ahead with the planned concert.


"I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here. I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel," McCartney said in an interview with Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth.


Pro-Palestinian groups have frequently called on international academics and prominent cultural figures to boycott Israel over its occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.


Jewish groups have condemned cultural and academic boycotts as anti-Semitic.

McCartney will perform hits from his Beatles days and his solo career during a September 25 concert in Tel Aviv as part of a series of shows that has taken McCartney to cities he never visited before.


Asked about how members of the Beatles, one of the most popular bands in rock history, felt when the Israeli government scrapped their concert in 1965 on the grounds it could corrupt the nation's youth, McCartney said it was "a bit insulting, the thought we could corrupt the youth."


"The Beatles had a pretty positive influence on the world and only regimes that wanted to control their peoples were afraid of us. We mostly laughed at the Israeli government decision," McCartney said in comments translated into Hebrew.


Another account in Israel's Haaretz newspaper last month pinned the cancellation of the 1965 Beatles concert on a rift between two concert promoters.


McCartney said in comments published on his Web site last month he looks forward to this chance to perform in Israel. "I've heard so many great things about Tel Aviv and Israel, but hearing is one thing and experiencing it for yourself is another," he said.


(Writing by Avida Landau)


© Reuters 2008
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

London's Win Is My Loss.

I can barely conceal my overwhelming enthusiasm for the IOC's decision to award the city I live in, management of the 2012 Olympic Games. I'm not going to harp on about why I'm so against the decision, suffice to point you to the blog I posted back in June. So now I have to spend the next seven years listening to endless debates and counter-debates as to how prepared/unprepared this city is and whether anything at all will change. It makes you almost wish you were listening to some gossip about the Royal Family instead (I said almost ). One positive outcome is that we beat the French (once again) and if I think about it from that angle, I can come to the conclusion that hosting the games not be such a bad thing after all. Guess what....I'm already beginning to feel better!
6 comments
Read more

The Bomb Shelter

I'm feeling pretty down today. I don't know if its the shitty weather (grey skies and nothing but rain) or the fact that the alarm clock woke me up at the ungodly hour of 4.30 this morning - but I really don't feel happy. I'm pondering whether I'm finding my marriage or parenthood more challenging right now. My throat is raw from all the screaming I've done at the kids over the last few days and my T.Q (temper quotient) is at an all time low. You sneeze at the wrong volume and I'll bite your head off. I'm an absolute bastard to live with and I know it. I prefer not to engage in conversation with any of the family because I can't be bothered to be sociable. At least on my blog, I can let my emotions rip, without someone interrupting my rant. The underlying cause for it all? It could be a growing sense of panic that school is approaching and I really haven't done any preparation yet. When I sit down to start work, I get a feeling of total paralysis...
7 comments
Read more