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Paul McCartney Concert in Israel Touches a Nerve

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Pro-Palestinian groups urge McCartney to boycott Israel, which banned the Beatles in 1965. He will perform there tonight for the first time.

JERUSALEM -- There's a new Israeli government being formed amid great uncertainty and divisive haggling. On Monday night, a Palestinian plowed his car into a group of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, injuring at least 13 people.

But Israel's popular Army Radio news station is spending much of its airtime playing the Beatles' greatest hits. Callers and local celebrities are being asked to reminisce about their favorite song by the Fab Four or Paul McCartney.

More than 40 years after the Beatles were banned from playing in Israel, McCartney-mania has taken hold here ahead of Sir Paul's concert tonight in Tel Aviv. The performer, who arrived in Israel on Tuesday, is being treated to pomp and speculation exceeding that of most major heads of state.

Presidents and prime ministers come and go here, but McCartney's first concert in the Jewish state has touched a strong nerve. “Some here have called it the greatest cultural event in our 60-year history," wrote Jerusalem Post Editor in Chief David Horowitz, who published his lengthy interview with McCartney -- alongside the editor's political take on selections from the Beatles' collective songbooks.

On “Give Peace a Chance," which was actually released as a single by John Lennon in 1969, Horowitz wrote: “Believe me, Paulie, we've tried. We said yes to two states in 1948, and we've been doing so ever since. Have you thought about singing this to the Iranians?"

“I'm always interested in visiting places I've never been to before," McCartney told Horowitz. “I'd like to go [to Israel] and see what's what." But despite McCartney's assertion that he is “quite apolitical," he hasn't been able to avoid the gravitational vortex that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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