Paul McCartney Kicks Off Tel Aviv Concert Amid Terror Threats
Thursday , September 25, 2008
" Paul McCartney kicked off his concert in Tel Aviv on Thursday with the Beatles' familiar "Hello, Goodbye." But while the performance delighted about 40,000 cheering fans, the ex-Beatle was reportedly surrounded by a 5,000-strong security detail following death threats from Islamic fanatics.
One security source told the U.K.'s Daily Mirror: “No one is taking anything for granted. The level of security is unlike anything we’ve seen. Everything is being done to ensure that this passes peacefully and without incident.”
The security army includes 20 agents from Israel’s elite Mossad intelligence organization, officers from Britain’s MI6 and Israeli police officers, at a cost of about $2.8 million, according to the Mirror.
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But the Associated Press reported that only hundreds of police and private security guards were deployed at the concert, with police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld saying there were no concrete threats against the singer, and no extraordinary security precautions were being taken.
McCartney billed the concert "Friendship First," saying he is on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians. Singing "Give Peace a Chance," he stopped and let the audience sing the chorus alone. He told his fans, "Here tonight you sang it, you want it."
A crowd made up of Israelis of all ages cheered McCartney as he performed outdoors in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park. Some wore T-shirts with the slogan, "I love Paul."
McCartney, 66, visited the West Bank town of Bethlehem with girlfriend Nancy Shevell on Wednesday, touring the Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional birthplace of Jesus. He took pictures with a small camera and lit two candles. He said they were for peace.
Outside the church, he was asked to respond to some criticism from a small group Palestinians, who charged he was endorsing Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
He said his visit showed that he wasn't playing favorites.
"I'm here to highlight the situation and to say that what we need is peace in this region, a two-state solution," McCartney said, referring to Israel and a Palestinian state.
"I get criticized everywhere I go, but I don't listen to them," McCartney said. "I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."
The next stop on the itinerary, a trip to the city of Ramallah, was canceled because it was considered too much of a security risk, the Mirror reported.
McCartney said on his Web site that he hoped the concert would “reawaken” the idea of peace.
He added: “The world knows about the conflicts that have been in that region and I like to think that if I go to a place it becomes evident that my message is a peaceful one and I hope the idea will spread.”
Earlier this month, McCartney said he would go ahead with the concert despite being labeled "an enemy of all Muslims" and a possible terror target, the U.K.’s Daily Express reported.
Muslim fundamentalist speaker Omar Bakri Muhammad decried the singer’s decision to take part in the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary celebration, warning that “if he values his life, Mr. McCartney must not come to Israel,” and that “the sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him,” Ynet News said.
According to the Express, a number of Web sites described McCartney as an “infidel” and suggested he was traveling to Israel solely for monetary reasons.
But McCartney defended his decision in an interview with the Israeli media and refused to bow down to the pressure to back out of the concert, the Express said.
“I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here,” McCartney told the Israeli press. “I refused. I do what I think and I have many friends who support Israel.”
Bakri, speaking from his home in Lebanon where he has lived since exiled from Britain, said that McCartney’s decision was making him “more enemies than friends,” the Express said.
McCartney was first scheduled to appear with the Beatles in 1965. But in one of the country's most widely repeated tales, an Israeli official supposedly called off the concert for fear it would corrupt the nation's youth. Only in recent weeks, it turns out the story may not have been true.
So pervasive is this story that Israel's ambassador in London, Ron Prosor, sent a letter to the surviving members of the band to express regret over the matter.
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," he wrote. He told them the country would like to make it up to them by inviting them to play during this year's celebrations marking Israel's 60th anniversary. Only two of the four Beatles, McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr, are still alive.
When McCartney announced plans for Thursday's concert, he acknowledged the ancient brouhaha, saying he was finally coming "43 years after being banned by the Israeli government." He promised to give Israelis "the night they have been waiting decades for."
Ahead of the McCartney concert, newspaper columnist Yossi Sarid, son of the Israeli official who allegedly banned the Beatles, went on a campaign to clear his father's name. Sarid claimed his father had nothing to do with the decision, and that it involved a more mundane feud between two Israeli concert promoters.
Sarid, reached ahead of the concert, said had not heard from McCartney's people and had no plans to attend the concert. "The tickets are too expensive," he said.
The steep price of the tickets, at least by Israeli standards, seemed to be a key reason the show wasn't sold out. Michael Gould, a local trumpeter who says he played with the Beatles as a studio musician on several albums, including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, said he would have loved to have gone to the show, but simply didn't have the money. Tickets ranged from about $150 to $1,500.
"I really can't afford it," said Gould, 70. He said he was holding out hope that McCartney might invite him, but said it was unlikely since they only briefly crossed paths four decades ago. "He wouldn't know me even if he fell over me," he said. You know how many people he met?"
McCartney's spokesman, Stuart Bell, declined comment.
For others, it was worth the price. "He's one of the people I most admire," said Arik Benari, a 25-year-old student who works at Tower Records in Jerusalem. "The event is more important than the money I spend."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428001,00.htmlPhotos of Paul and Nancy touring Israel CLICK
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Paul in Israel
http://www.axistomedia.co.uk/webcasting/paul-mccartney/friendship-first/media/A%...http://www.maccareport.com/Stones Content : " Hit Me Ronnie !!! "
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Macca in Tel Aviv ...... my ' Nizzles ( S.C. (Read 820 times)
