Ozzy Osbourne plays his first gig in Israel

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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.