Pink Floyd can't always get what it wants.
The Rolling Stones got Tel Aviv rocking Wednesday night during the band's scheduled tour stop, ignoring Pink Floyd's request that they cancel the concert amid what that band described as "global struggle for Palestinian freedom and equal rights."
Front man Mick Jagger and bandmates -- who began the show with "Start Me Up" -- join a growing list of big-name acts who added Israel as part of their recent tours, including Justin Timberlake and Rihanna, despite efforts encouraging them to boycott performing there.
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Pink Floyd's Nick Mason and Roger Waters last month wrote a letter on Slate urging all musicians, specifically the Rolling Stones, to pull planned shows in Israel:
So, to the bands that intend to play Israel in 2014, we urge you to reconsider. Playing Israel now is the moral equivalent of playing Sun City at the height of South African apartheid; regardless of your intentions, crossing the picket line provides propaganda that the Israeli government will use in its attempts to whitewash the policies of its unjust and racist regime.
Waters and Mason's efforts are part of the "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" movement, which launched in 2005. Its supporters want to end what they call "Israeli Apartheid."
But in the end, Jagger and company hopped on stage -- 45 minutes later than scheduled, The Washington Post reports, to give people celebrating the Jewish holiday of Shavuot extra time to get to show at Hayarkon Park.
The Rolling Stones Twitter account detailed the action using hashtag #StonesTelAviv, tweeting a set list that included a bevy of the superstars' hits.
Tel Aviv, will you please welcome THE ROLLING STONES! START ME UP #StonesTelAviv— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) June 4, 2014
#StonesTelAviv set list http://t.co/W9jxB6NkaP pic.twitter.com/L7R2KHWyfg— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) June 4, 2014
The Rolling Stones are on stage right now playing Midnight Rambler #StonesTelAviv pic.twitter.com/TkEfQHyb7O— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) June 4, 2014
Mick singing Angie on stage tonight #StonesTelAviv pic.twitter.com/GT94vFIz6o— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) June 4, 2014
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