I think he's one of the good guys.
AP Interview: Kiss bassist Gene Simmons says boycotters of Israel are ‘fools’Kiss’ Israeli-born singer-musician Gene Simmons is shouting out loud at the string of musicians who refuse to perform in his homeland.
“They’re fools,” the legendary bassist told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday, on his first return to Israel since leaving the country as a child more than 50 years ago.
Simmons described the visit as a “homecoming.” He offered a description of himself that might shock his legions of fans who know him as an American icon prone to spitting blood and sticking out his exceptionally long tongue:
“I’m Israeli. I’m a stranger in America. I’m an outsider,” he said, speaking in a hotel lobby across a valley from the walls of Jerusalem’s historic Old City. “I was born here and I’m proud of it.”
Simmons had harsh words for musicians like Elvis Costello and the Pixies who have recently canceled concerts to protest Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters has gone further, joining an organized movement dedicated to boycotting Israel and its exports, though he appeared in Israel in 2006.
“The countries they should be boycotting are the same countries that the populations are rebelling,” he said. “People long to be free ... And they sure as hell don’t want somebody who’s a ruler who hasn’t been elected by them.”
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Simmons was born Chaim Witz and spent his childhood in northern Israel before moving to America.
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Over the years, Simmons cultivated an extravagant personality, often boasting of his sexual conquests and his fortune and fame. While he did not hide his immigrant roots, they were never emphasized — but this appears to be changing in recent years.
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Simmons co-founded Kiss in the 1970s and became famous for wearing white and black face makeup, spitting fire and coughing up fake blood at sold-out performances. The group has sold some 100 million records, and four decades later, it remains one of the best-selling concert draws.
Simmons also presides over a business empire that includes his reality show, TV, game show and movie appearances, video games, books, comics and a Kiss credit card. His net worth is estimated to be in the tens, perhaps hundreds, of millions of dollars.
Simmons insisted that his busy schedule has been the only reason he never made it back to Israel before.
“America allowed me to climb the highest levels of success, and I never wanted to stop. When you reach the top, you can rest,” he said.
“I’ve reached the top.”
