Madonna Meets With Israeli President Shimon Peres

Saturday, September 15th 2007, 6:38 pm

By: News On 6

JERUSALEM (AP) _ Madonna met with Israel's president Saturday 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 after the end of the Jewish New Year at sunset Saturday. The Nobel Peace laureate gave Madonna a copy of the Old Testament that she had requested, Israeli TV reported.

On Friday, 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.