Madonna wraps up world tour in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Madonna brought her mix of provocative music and spirituality to the Holy Land with a concert Tuesday in front of 50,000 fans who had endured a 16-year wait since the pop icon’s last gig in Israel.

Madonna is wrapping 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.

Madonna took the stage about a half-hour late Tuesday night, opening the show with her 2008 single, “Candy Shop.”

Flanked by male and female dancers, all dressed in tight black outfits, Madonna pranced around the stage in a black, sleeveless body suit, fishnet stockings and black knee-high boots. With the exception of a brief “Hello Israel,” the show appeared to be tightly scripted, stretching from new songs such as “Beat Goes On” to the 1983 classic “Celebrate.”

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 recent years, and has visited the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall in Jerusalem since arriving in Israel on Sunday.

Madonna was scheduled to perform again today at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park, the same outdoor site as Tuesday’s show.

“One of the reasons she attracts such large crowds is that she has a special connection to Israel,” said Chen Shasha, a 24-year-old law student attending the concert. “Israelis appreciate the fact that someone appreciates them and approaches them and is willing to look into things such as Kabbalah.”

Israeli radio stations played Madonna songs through the day Tuesday, and recorded Madonna tunes greeted concertgoers as they lined up to enter the concert grounds.

Late Monday, the pop diva dined with Israel’s moderate parliamentary opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, at Madonna’s request, Livni spokesman Gil Messing said. Her main political rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will receive Madonna at his Jerusalem residence 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.

The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.