ISRAEL: Hundreds of Israeli girls cheer and scream for teen idol Justin Bieber who performed in Tel Aviv

Record ID: 396315

  • Title: ISRAEL: Hundreds of Israeli girls cheer and scream for teen idol Justin Bieber who performed in Tel Aviv
  • Date: 15th April 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF SECURITY
  • Embargoed: 30th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA2T1IXNU4RX09SKSM6ED5CASVI
  • Story Text: Teen idol Justin Bieber performed in Tel Aviv on Thursday night (April 14), after his Israeli visit was marred by incidents with paparazzi.
    We are came to see Justin Bieber because he's so hot and we like his songs and we hope that we enjoy the concert," Bieber fan Shakhar Levy told Reuters television.
    On his Twitter page, The Canadian teen idol bitterly complained on Tuesday (April 12) that paparazzi had ruined his visits to holy sites, saying on Twitter that he was "super frustrated" by the intrusions.
    His mood was not helped by a newspaper report that a proposed meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu fell through after the singer allegedly refused to meet with invited children from a region affected by enemy rockets. Bieber's camp denied that he had snubbed the youngsters or Netanyahu, saying that the meeting had never been finalized. At any rate, Bieber had already invited children from the region bordering Gaza to be special guests at his show in Tel Aviv on Thursday, a spokesman said.
    But his teen fan seemed unfazed by the politics of the region.
    "I came here today because I love Justin Bieber, and he's hot, and his songs are great, I love to hear them. And the show will be great, and I love this, I want to see that," another fan, Adi Elkawi said ahead of the concert.
    Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Netanyahu cancelled the meeting over Bieber's unwillingness to meet the children, but a government official was more circumspect. "The prime minister was approached to meet with Justin Bieber. The prime minister was open to the idea and wanted to bring children from southern Israel in order for them to have an enjoyable experience. In the end, it was unfortunately not possible," the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    For his part, Bieber said on Twitter, "I want to see this country and all the places I've dreamed of and whether its the paps or being pulled into politics it's been frustrating."
    According to the London-based Jewish Chronicle, the 17-year-old practising Christian was also scheduled to tour the Dead Sea, Masada and Caesarea.
    But in an earlier series of missives, Bieber said aggressive photographers had forced him to spend the rest of his trip holed up in his hotel room.
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