Elton Plays Defiant Show In Israel

The Rocket Man star refused to bow to pressure and follow in the footsteps of musicians like The Pixies and Elvis Costello and scrap his concert in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine over the Gaza strip.

In May (10), rocker Costello cancelled two planned gigs in Tel Aviv on 30 June and 1 July (10), insisting it was "a matter of instinct and conscience" to axe the shows following an Israeli military raid on a flotilla of ships attempting to carry aid supplies to Palestine.

But John pressed ahead with his concert at the Ramat Gan stadium on Thursday, defiantly telling the 50,000-strong crowd, "Shalom, we are so happy to be back here! Ain't nothing (sic) gonna stop us from coming, baby!"

And he briefly addressed the cancelled concert controversy by calling on his fellow singers to put aside their political allegiances to unite fans of all cultures.

He said, "Musicians spread love and peace, and bring people together. That's what we do. We don't cherry-pick our conscience."