The Palm Desert, Calif., band whose November concert in Paris was targeted by jihadists loyal to ISIS was in Tel Aviv over the weekend to proudly profess their love for Israel — again.
Eighty-nine people died at the Bataclan concert hall in France during the terrorists’ rampage at what was described by Eagles of Death Metal fans as a fun, raucous rockabily show. All members of the band survived; the band’s merchandise manager was among the fatalities.
Less than a month after the massacre, U2 gave Eagles of Death Metal their stage at a large arena in Paris, with frontman Bono declaring that the band deserved to finish their show.
This summer, the band has been touring in Europe with recent stops including Italy, Israel, Greece, Spain, and Portugal.
But they really love Israel, where they played a week ago.
According to the Jerusalem Post, frontman Jesse Hughes declared, “I’m so happy to see you motherf**kers you have no idea!”
“You have no idea how happy we are to be back here,” Hughes gushed. “I wanna tell ya’ll something because I think it’s important. I feel really happy. I feel really safe. I feel like I’m home and I want you to know how much we appreciate that.”
As soon as it became known which band was playing at the Bataclan on that horrid night in November, some wondered if the Eagles of Death Metal were targeted because of their vocal opposition to the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement against Israel.
In July 2015, Hughes responded to Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters’ “plea to my colleagues in the music industry, and also to artists in other disciplines, to join this cultural boycott.” Waters apparently sent a letter to the band asking them to call off that concert date.
“You want to know what I wrote that c********r back? Two words: f**k you!” Hughes told the roaring Tel Aviv crowd back then.
Hughes told Israeli fans last week that “the first time we came here, we didn’t know nobody but we felt welcome and I already knew that this was the greatest place in the world.”
“Sometimes, I get in trouble with a**holes for how much I love this place but I don’t give a f**king rat’s ass. Because, you see, my mama told me, never give a rat’s ass what an a**hole thinks, ladies and gentlemen,” the singer continued. “My point is, we came, and we made friends that are like family to us… we f**king love you motherf**kers, do you have any idea? We get to come here and hang with ya’ll, and swim in ya’ll’s beaches, and eat ya’lls food!”
“I love this country,” Hughes added. “I love everything about it. I believe in you and I am proud to be in this f**king country.”
The Jerusalem Post noted that the band’s merchandise table sold out. The paper called it a “wild night of healing through rock.”
The band wrote on their Facebook page: “An incredible night in Tel Aviv last night!! A hot, sweaty, rock ‘n roll show — just the way we like it!”
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