TEL AVIV, Israel — Pounding his piano in blue-tinted sunglasses before nearly 50,000 screaming fans, Elton John took center stage in a battle over Israel's image.

The legendary British rocker's concert on Thursday night followed a string of cancellations by artists like Elvis Costello and the Pixies. Resisting a growing wave of calls from pro-Palestinian activists to boycott the Jewish state, John gave Israelis a rare reason to smile amid their increasing sense of international isolation.

"Ain't gonna stop me from coming here, baby," he told the cheering crowd in Tel Aviv, saying he believed music should spread peace and bring people together: "That is what we do. We do not cherry-pick our consciences, OK?" he added, in an apparent swipe at the artists who have canceled concerts in Israel.

John's concert was notable precisely because Israel seems to be losing the battle against the country's isolation worldwide. That isolation was exacerbated after Israel's May 31 naval raid on a flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza spiraled into violence that left nine Turkish activists dead in a clash with troops.

Ecuador, South Africa and Turkey recalled their ambassadors and Nicaragua broke off diplomatic relations following the raid. Vietnam put off a visit by Israel's president, Greece suspended a military exercise and Swedish dockworkers launched a weeklong boycott of Israeli ships and goods. Even the United States, Israel's closest ally, criticized the raid and forced Israel to set up a panel with two foreign observers to investigate the raid.

Many in Israel, including in the country's leadership, have concluded the war over world opinion is lost, said Israeli commentator Ronen Bergman. He said the "siege mentality" mindset was dangerous, particularly for a nation seeking to rally world support against what Israel sees as an existential threat — Iran's nuclear program.

Many in Israel blame the country's public diplomacy mechanism for not explaining itself properly and for being outmaneuvered in the media, but Bergman said this largely misses the point. "The problem is not with the marketing. The problem is with the product and the product is damaged. You can't market occupation," Bergman said, referring to Israel's 43 years of control over the Palestinians.

Musicians like Costello and the Pixies bowed to online pressure and canceled gigs in Israel. John was targeted as well, but vowed to play on.

"I have always believed that music inhabits a world set apart from politics, religious differences or prejudice of any kind," he said in a statement before coming to Tel Aviv.

On Thursday, the same day Elton John performed, Israel agreed to ease its land blockade on Gaza and allow more goods in. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must present a "daring and assertive political initiative" to emerge from its isolation, Barak's office said.