More than four decades after the Beatles were banned from playing in Israel for fear that they would corrupt the country's youth, Sir Paul McCartney is to stage his first concert there tomorrow night.

The world may have changed a lot since the 1965 ban, but McCartney's “Friendship First” concert is no less controversial, with both Arab and Jewish extremists furious at his belated arrival in the Holy Land with his message of peace and love.

A radical Islamist cleric has warned McCartney that he will earn the enmity of the Muslim world for playing the gig in Tel Aviv as part of the celebrations to mark Israel's 60th birthday. And right-wing Jewish activists have threatened to cause a riot to protest against what they perceive as British anti-Semitism.

But the singer has shrugged off the fuss, and was due to arrive in Tel Aviv last night in a private jet accompanied by an entourage of 100 people, including his personal chef.

“I've heard so many great things about Tel Aviv and Israel, but hearing is one thing and experiencing it for yourself is another,” he said before his departure. “We are planning to have a great time and a great evening with the people of Tel Aviv and we can't wait to get out there and rock.”

Israel apologised formally to the two surviving members of the band this year, when Ron Prosor, the country's Ambassador to London, sent a letter describing the ban as a “misunderstanding”, saying that the tight budget available to music promoters in Israel at the time was as much to blame as fears that Beatlemania could distract the nation's youth.

“There is no doubt that it was a great missed opportunity to prevent people like you, who shaped the minds of the generation, to come to Israel and perform,” Mr Prosor said.

Israel still bristles at certain Western cultural phenomena that cause its moral authorities to worry for the souls of the young. Last year the global launch of the latest Harry Potter instalment fell foul of right-wing religious MPs who were outraged that a book about magic should be released on the Sabbath.

Security will be tight at the concert. Police are reviewing arrangements after a Palestinian man rammed his car into a crowd of soldiers in Jerusalem on Monday night, injuring 15 soldiers. A spokesman for the police said that roadblocks would be set up in the area around Hayarkon park where the concert is to be staged, and special border police squads would be on standby.

It is expected to draw as many as 50,000 people despite the steep ticket prices, with the cheapest going for £77 and the most expensive almost £800. Police fear that such a huge crowd could make it a tempting target for attackers who have resorted recently to the use of bulldozers and cars to kill and maim in Israel's busy streets.

There have already been specific threats against McCartney's concert in Israel. Omar Bakri Mohammed, the radical Muslim preacher based in Lebanon after being banned from Britain, said recently that suicide bombers could attack the gig in protest against the singer's patronage of Israel. He declared McCartney to be “the enemy of every Muslim”.

“If he values his life, Mr McCartney must not come to Israel. He will not be safe there. The sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him,” the hardline preacher told the Sunday Express. McCartney was said to be “shocked but not intimidated” by the comments, telling Israeli reporters: “I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here. I refused. I do what I think and I have many friends who support Israel.”

Extreme right-wing Jewish groups said they would try to disrupt the concert in protest over calls in Britain to scrap plans to rent new embassy premises in Tel Aviv from a company controlled by the London-based billionaire Lev Leviev, whom critics accuse of helping to develop Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Itamar Ben Gvir, a prominent right-wing activist, said that he and his followers would do their best to make McCartney's visit a failure.

“We are going to disrupt McCartney's concert on Thursday. We will spread a public appeal calling people to join us,” he said. “We are going to create a balanced formula whereby British people who come here will suffer, just as Israelis suffer in Britain when they are being threatened and condemned by anti-Semitic elements. It cannot be that Mr Lev Leviev will suffer threats to his life in Britain, while Mr McCartney will come here and get the honour of being treated like a star.”

Times Recommends

• Violent video games won’t corrupt
• Pope Benedict XVI: Alma Mater
• Chávez should know what’s good for him