Justin Bieber visits Israel for a “chance to walk where Jesus did”
No one is immune to Bieber Fever, it seems. Justin Bieber was greeted in Israel this week by his usual welcoming committee: throngs of girls in danger of exploding. But they are not the story here—that honour goes to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will host the young Canadian singer at his office on Wednesday. Netanyahu’s advisors have invited a group of children from communities near the Gaza Strip, many of whom were nearly hit by a Hamas rocket last Thursday. Bieber is performing at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv on Thursday, but he plans to play tourist as well, with visits to the Dead Sea, Masada and Caesarea while he’s in the Holy Land.
Appropriately, Israel’s deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon tweeted his welcome to Stratford’s finest: “Welcome Justin Bieber to Israel! I know you will enjoy your time here as much as many Israelis will enjoy having you here.” Bieber also took to his favourite social networking site to express his excitement over arriving in Israel. The Biebs (a devout Christian) tweeted, “I’m in the holy land and I am grateful for that. I just want to have the same personal experience that others have here.”
Fat chance. Paparazzi found the pious popstar almost immediately. “You would think paparazzi would have some respect in holy places,” Bieber lamented via Twitter. “All I wanted was the chance to walk where jesus [sic] did here in Israel.” Could a cover of this be far behind? We hope so.
• Even Bibi is getting caught up in Biebermania [Haaretz]
• Justin Bieber hits Israel ahead of Tel Aviv show [Jewish Chronicle]
