Ozzy: Booze, not politics, prevented Israeli gigs

Ozzy Osbourne said that alcohol, not politics, has stopped him from playing in Israel until now.

Osbourne is in Israel this week as part of this year's international Ozzfest tour, along with Soulfly and Korn. Today's performance will be his first ever in the Holy Land, The Associated Press reports.

Asked why he hadn't played in Israel before, the heavy metal rocker, 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 Osbourne.

The Osbournes toured Jerusalem Monday, including the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, Israel's Tourism Ministry said in a statement.