Madonna calls for world peace

POP diva Madonna yesterday called for world peace at a conference on Jewish mysticism - a highlight of her five-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Israel hopes the star - the biggest pop celebrity to visit in years - will revive tourism battered by four years of violence, and government officials were on hand at a Tel Aviv hotel to share the spotlight, the glory and the photographs.

Madonna, wearing a low-cut dress with a black and white leopard pattern, said she was hesitant to come to Israel “after seeing so many news reports about terror attacks” and reading State Department’s travel warnings.

“I realise now that it is no more dangerous to be here than it is to be in New York,” she told the gathering.

At the gala event, an Israeli children’s choir and a Palestinian sang to the gathering of more than 1,000 people.

Israeli Tourism Minister Gideon Ezra presented Madonna with a small gift.

Mr Ezra told Israel TV he looked forward to sitting next to her at dinner and hoped “she will say nice things about us”.

Madonna said people she met during her five-day trip “have one thing in common - we want to create peace in the world”.