TEL AVIV, Israel — Madonna was bringing her mix of provocative music and spirituality to the Holy Land with a concert today in front of 50,000 fans who have endured a 16-year wait since the pop icon’s last gig in Israel.
Madonna wraps up her worldwide “Sticky &Sweet” tour with two concerts this week in a country whose place at the heart of the Mideast conflict has made it more of a magnet for diplomats than big-name performers.
The 51-year-old entertainer claims a special bond with the Jewish state.
She’s been dabbling in Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther. She’s come on private pilgrimages in the past, and has visited the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall in Jerusalem since arriving Sunday in Israel.
Madonna will perform later today and again on Wednesday at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park, an outdoor site that holds about 50,000 people.
Israeli radio stations played Madonna songs through the day today. On Israel’s Army Radio, a DJ interrupted a song briefly to quip that “tonight, Aunt Esther is playing at Hayarkon Park.”
Late Monday, the pop diva dined with Israel’s parliamentary opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, at Madonna’s request, Livni spokesman Gil Messing said.
Livni “was very impressed with Madonna and found her to be a very interesting person,” said Messing, adding that the two decided to keep the content of their conversation private. Livni plans to attend one of Madonna’s concerts, he said.
Livni, who lost a bid for Israel’s premiership in February, is a former peace negotiator and leading moderate. Her main political rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will receive Madonna at his Jerusalem residence on Friday.
Madonna last performed in Israel in 1993 but came on private pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007 along with other Kabbalah devotees.
Her previous two stops on the current tour, in Romania and Bulgaria, were marred by controversy.
In Bulgaria, Orthodox Church officials accused the singer of showing disrespect for Christianity. In Romania, she was booed during her concert for criticizing widespread discrimination against eastern Europe’s Gypsies, also known as Roma.
In Israel, some rabbis have criticized her involvement in Kabbalah. Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic. She wrote in an article for an Israeli newspaper last month that the study of Kabbalah helped her understand life better.
Jewish tradition holds that Kabbalah is so complicated and so easily misunderstood that students may only begin to approach it with a strong background in Jewish law and only after age 40.
Still, Madonna’s fans are happy she’s in Israel. Her first show sold out quickly, and a second was added.
After years of concerns over political tensions and violence, more world artists are performing to Israel.
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney performed a year ago, but he drew criticism from Palestinians who said his concert amounted to support for Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
David Brinn, a music critic for The Jerusalem Post, said Madonna’s performances are a sign that Israel is becoming more attractive as a concert venue. The Pet Shop Boys played Israel in July, pop sensation Lady Gaga was here last month, the rock band Faith No More is playing Tel Aviv tonight, and the iconic songwriter Leonard Cohen is to perform later this month.
“For a long time, it was security-related, and artists and managers didn’t want to take a chance,” he said of the dry spell in concerts. “They realized it is safe in comparison to other countries, and it is viable for artists to come here.”
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