The Beastie Boys, three Jewish kids from New York who dragged rap from the streets of Harlem into white suburban high schools with their 1986 hit single ''(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party),'' make their Israeli debut tonight, with the first of two concerts in Jaffa.

The Boys - Adam Horovitz, 28, and Mike Diamond, 29, both from Manhattan's Upper West Side, and Mike Yauch, 30, of Brooklyn Heights - met on lower Manhattan's punk club circuit in the early '80s, and soon developed a self-consciously bratty musical style combining heavy metal with rap. Their beer-soaked concerts, featuring go-go girls dancing in cages, made them the darlings of the frat crowd, and their 1986 debut album License to Ill became the first rap album to top the American music charts. It's since sold four million copies.

The group's flirtation with mainstream fame was short-lived. They dropped out of sight for a while, made two more albums, branched out into hip hop, funk, and jazz, before their 1994 release ''Ill Communication'' brought them back into the limelight. They return to the studio this summer to record a fifth release on their private label ''Grand Royal.''

In Israel for the first time, at the end of a short European tour, the Boys don't seem overly excited.

''I guess we'll walk around Jerusalem later,'' shrugged Yauch.

''I want to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, '' offered Diamond.

The trio were soft-spoken and modestly dressed at yesterday's press conference, disappointing those who expected a more outlandish performance.

''We're about to get into horror rap,'' promised Diamond. ''Fangs, lots of blood, breaking each other's necks off on stage, don't worry.''

Horovitz said the Tel Aviv audience could expect some ''bar mitzva'' music from the group tonight. ''Traditional songs, like we do back home,'' he deadpanned. ''I'll do a (rap) version of Ma Nishtana,'' Diamond said brightly.

And in honor of Purim, Horovitz said they would ''incorporate a fashion motif'' into their concert. ''As you can see, we're very fashionable people.''

The Beastie Boys perform tonight and tomorrow at 10 p.m. at Jaffa Port's Loft. Tickets from NIS 99 to NIS 119.