They’re finally here:
More than 10 years after their called off a planned concert in Israel at the last minute, the members of American rock band
Red Hot Chili Peppers landed at Ben-Gurion Airport in a private jet Sunday
afternoon.

Anthony Kiedis at Western
Wall (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

From the airport they traveled straight to Jerusalem, bumping into fans at
the Western Wall. After touring the Wall, the band members left for Tel Aviv
hotel.

Flea at the Wall

Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer arrived in Israel from
Turkey, and are scheduled to perform to tens of thousands of fans at the Yarkon
Park on Monday evening.

Red Hot Chili Peppers on
Jerusalem balcony (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

This will be the band’s first gig in Israel. Last week, the Peppers performed
in Lebanon and irked pro-Palestinian organizations due to their
scheduled Israel concert. The different groups pressured the band’s Lebanese
opening acts, urging them to call off their performance as a show of solidarity
with the Palestinians and against “the occupation”.

Chad Smith in Jerusalem.
‘Uplifting people through our music’

One of the local bands did cancel, but the
concert was held as planned. Band member Chad Smith commented on the incident on
his Facebook page: “In any city of any country we play, our sole purpose is to
uplift people thru our music. Nothing more. Nothing less…that’s it.”

Israel is the Peppers’ last stop in their current European tour, and it’s
still unclear what the band members plan to do with their free time here.

From the Holy Land, the band members will travel home to Los Angeles and
embark on their US tour in about two weeks.