Gene Simmons Tours Israel

March 23rd 2011

Once an Israeli, always an Israeli, regardless of whatever costume you put on, be it ten inch platform shoes or sci-fi  makeup and huge black hair.

Gene Simmons, known to the music world as the famous Kiss bassist who sold 100 million records and did outrageous stunts, was nine years old when he left Israel.  At the time, his name was Chaim Weis, a child of Holocaust survivors. A few things have changed in the last 52 years for this man (and for Israel).

52 years after departing from its holy soil and two name changes later ( he was originally Gene Klein before he became Gene Simmons), Simmons  is back traveling in Israel  for the first time since he left.  He is returning to his Israeli roots as he films for his up-and-coming reality t.v. show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.”

Does Simmons support Israel? If this is any indication, Gene refers to any boycotting artists “idiots,” and emphasizes that “there ain’t no place like Israel on Earth. It’s astonishing that it’s still here – stronger and prouder than eve.r”

Recently, to a wounded Israeli soldier from the 2006 Hezbollah war ( who is also a huge Kiss fan), Simmons sent him a televised message, calling him a hero.

He is also full of Jewish pride- He relates how he saw a CNN interview, in which a random Cairo resident, asked who he would like to thank for the recent Egyptian popular uprising, responded- ‘I would like to thank Mr. Zuckerberg.’. Gene marvels that “Here’s an Egyptian Muslim thanking an American Jew for inventing Facebook!”

And if you are vacationing in style at the David Citadel hotel, you just might find yourself on the same floor as this holy rocker and his crew. Just be on the lookout for any man who looks like he might have been the type to sport ten inch platform shoes and sci-fi makeup in his crazy youth. He does have his own “personal  Israeli private tour”, with his whole entourage taking up eight hotel rooms.

While this might not have been on your initial travel plans, a Gene Simmons spotting is a sure thing to make any Israel tour a popular success.