A RUSH of end-of-summer excitement and Jewish New Year fever has gripped the Holy Land with the arrival of Paul McCartney who will play his first concert here, 43 years after the Beatles were banned from performing in Israel.
McCartney arrived in Israel on Tuesday evening and spent yesterday on a visit to the occupied West Bank, where he visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and later went to the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music where he jammed with Palestinian musicians.
The tour has been embraced by Israeli commentators and analysts as an endorsement of the state of Israel.
"When one of the most admired musicians in the world not only expresses his willingness to visit Tel Aviv, but also publicly talks about the positive things he's heard about Israel, this is an Israeli diplomatic and PR success of the first order," said Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, in Maariv .
Several Palestinian groups urged McCartney to cancel his trip, while an Islamic militant told a British paper that the 66-year-old rock star risked being the target of a suicide bombing if he visited Israel.
But McCartney, who insists the trip to Israel is in keeping with his world tour to places he's never performed before, wrote on his website:
"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 that the idea will spread."
Politics aside, the concert seems to have captured the attention of Israelis who like McCartney just for his music.
Hundreds of diehard fans have maintained a vigil outside the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel where McCartney's entourage is staying, while the popular Hebrew language website Ynet.co.il has opened a special window for full coverage of McCartney's visit, including sections entitled The Lexipaul - Everything On Paul James McCartney from A-Z, and another section which delves into the differences between McCartney himself and the Beatles as a movement.
For Adi Shapira, 21, who spoke to the Herald yesterday at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station before heading to Tel Aviv to see the concert, the chance to see McCartney perform would be a memory she would cherish forever.
"Hey, have you ever listened to Israeli music? It's really a lot like the sound of the Beatles in some ways. We're not a country into the heavy rock of Europe so I have always loved to listen to the Beatles," Ms Shapira said.
"I also feel this is a great vote of confidence in our country, that he would come here and really try to speak to both Israelis and Palestinians. I'm really proud to be going, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Not everyone will get to see the concert, however, after McCartney's producers cancelled a live broadcast of the concert to Israel's Network 10 because they wanted to guarantee exclusivity to those people who bought tickets to the concert in Tel Aviv's Park HaYarkon, the country's biggest public stadium.
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