Madonna's guards get physical

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855225.cms" alt="/photo/855225.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna arrives at a restaurant in Tel Aviv.</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />Two of the Kabbalah devotee''s bodyguards were arrested in Israel Friday after a scuffle with photographers outside of the Tel Aviv hotel where the singer is currently ensconced.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855226.cms" alt="/photo/855226.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna at a restaurant in Tel Aviv. The so-called Material Girl, a self-proclaimed aficionado of the ancient Jewish mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah, arrived in Israel for a retreat, which began with a traditional blessing ceremony to greet the New Year.</span> <span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />The pop star arrived in the Holy Land on Wednesday on a spiritual quest, including visits to the graves of revered rabbinical sages, and Israel was abuzz with excitement over the presence of a major star.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855227.cms" alt="/photo/855227.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie arrive at a restaurant in Tel on Friday. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />However, some were perplexed by the raunchy star''s interest in a particularly esoteric side of Judaism, and rabbis said she had no business studying holy texts.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section4"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855228.cms" alt="/photo/855228.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna at a restaurant in Tel Aviv. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic, but she has taken an interest in Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah, in recent years.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section5"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855231.cms" alt="/photo/855231.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna leaves a restaurant surrounded by bodyguards on Friday. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />She has adopted the Hebrew name Esther, wears a red thread on her wrist to ward off the evil eye, and reportedly refuses to perform on the Jewish Sabbath.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section6"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855233.cms" alt="/photo/855233.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna attends a Kabbalah conference. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />She also has incorporated Jewish symbols into some of her music videos, much to the consternation of religious leaders. </div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section7"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855236.cms" alt="/photo/855236.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">A handout picture shows US pop singer Madonna next to an unidentified woman during a Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />The organisation hosting her in Israel ordered reporters to wear white clothes and not to take notes when covering Madonna''s appearances during the New Year''s holiday, or Rosh Hashanah.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section8"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855237.cms" alt="/photo/855237.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">US pop singer Madonna next to an unidentified woman during a Kabbalah conference. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />"This is entertainment, not Judaism," said Uri Orbach, a talk-radio host. "I think the general public will celebrate this, but the religious public will be indifferent," said Orbach, an Orthodox Jew.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section9"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855238.cms" alt="/photo/855238.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Madonna leaves a surrounded by bodyguards in Tel Aviv on Friday. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AFP photo)</span><br /><br />Madonna joined a group of about 2,000 other students of Kabbalah from 22 countries, according to the Kabbalah Center, sponsor of the trip.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section10"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855240.cms" alt="/photo/855240.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Marla Maples, ex-wife of billionaire Donald Trump, is interviewed by media following a Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AP Photo)</span><br /><br />The Los Angeles-based center, which teaches Jewish mysticism as a spiritual tool regardless of religion, has attracted several celebrities in recent years. Designer Donna Karan and Marla Maples, an ex-wife of Donald Trump, were among those travelling with Madonna, the center said.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section11"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855242.cms" alt="/photo/855242.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Angela Godfrey, right, accompanied by other protesters demonstrate against the scheduled visit of the US singer Madonna to the Rachel''s tomb, which is located in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, as they stand at the checkpoint between Jerusalem and the biblical town. </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(AP Photo)</span><br /><br />The protesters wanted to point out that the site is in the West Bank and draw attention to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli military control.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section12"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855245.cms" alt="/photo/855245.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Worshippers from the Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv.</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(Reuters photo)</span><br /><br />Madonna and friends flew into Tel Aviv on a private jet and drove straight to their downtown hotel in a convoy of limousines escorted by police. They did not speak to journalists. </div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section13"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="72.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/855246.cms" alt="/photo/855246.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Worshippers from the Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv perform the Tashlich ritual along the seashore in Tel Aviv. Pop idol Madonna, fresh from her acclaimed.</span> <span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">(Reuters photo)</span><br /><br />''Re-Invention'' tour, began a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel on Wednesday to practice her newfound faith in the mystical Jewish Kabbalah.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /></div> </div>