Culture Art Ozzy Osbourne plays his first gig in Israel Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By J. Correspondent | October 1, 2010 Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area. Ozzy Osbourne performed Sept. 28 at Tel Aviv’s Ganei Yehoshua park — marking the first time he had ever played in Israel. The star of the MTV reality show “The Osbournes” and former front man for the band Black Sabbath played as part of the heavy metal Ozzfest tour. Asked why he hadn’t played in the Holy Land before, Osbourne, 61, known for decades of decadence and substance abuse, told reporters in Tel Aviv: “I guess I was drunk for so many years.” He said politics had nothing to do with it. “I try to stay away from politics. They don’t understand me and I don’t understand them,” he said, sitting next to his wife, Sharon. In the Jerusalem Post, Sharon Osbourne drew a parallel to “the troubles” in Northern Ireland that plagued England in past decades, saying, “It’s the same as when we had all the problems with the IRA and no one refused to perform in England, so I don’t know why people don’t come here.” Pro-Palestinian activists in Europe and the United States have urged artists to boycott Israel to protest the country’s policies toward the Palestinians. Ozzfest in Tel Aviv featured seven acts performing on two stages, including Korn, Soulfly and Osbourne. J. Correspondent Also On J. Bay Area Federation ups Hillel funding after year of protests and tension Local Voice Why Hersh’s death hit all of us so hard: He represented hope Art Trans and Jewish identities meld at CJM show Culture At Burning Man, a desert tribute to the Nova festival’s victims Subscribe to our Newsletter I would like to receive the following newsletters: Weekday J From Our Sponsors (helps fund our journalism) Your Sunday J Holiday Bytes