Peres Meets Madonna
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
JERUSALEM – Madonna met with Israel’s president today during a visit to attend a conference on Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical sect she has embraced despite criticism from Orthodox Jews.
The pop star was seen entering Shimon Peres’ home in Jerusalem with husband Guy Ritchie after the end of the Jewish New Year at sunset today.
The Nobel Peace laureate gave Madonna a copy of the Old Testament that she had requested, Israeli TV reported.
Yesterday, Madonna was filmed singing Jewish songs and dancing at a conference on Kabbalah with a crowd of hundreds at a Tel Aviv hotel.
Madonna, who arrived in the Holy Land on Wednesday, has become a follower of Kaballah in recent years despite her background as a Roman Catholic. Orthodox Jews have called her interest in the sect an abomination.
The singer has taken the Hebrew name Esther, and has been seen wearing a red thread on her wrist in a Jewish tradition to ward off the evil eye. During her visit she plans to visit sites sacred to Kabbalists.
