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Israel’s brilliant PR stunt: Spoil Madonna

[additional-authors]
September 9, 2009

And you thought Madonna liked visiting Israel for Kabbalah classes. But really, the entitled Material Queen just wants to be pampered like the English royalty she isn’t—and Israel, desperate for positive PR, is willing to spoil her, no expense spared.

Cindy Adams reports for Page Six:

Madonna traveled light to Israel. Just took 11 suites plus 25 rooms plus her own Royal Suite plus her own Italian chef plus her own exercise equipment, which came in on a private plane, plus her five children. The fifth being that nice underemployed Brazilian young boy Jesus she schleps around. Unclear exactly what line of work he’s out of, but it’s definitely clear what kind of work he’s into.

Adjacent to her suite, the Dan Tel Aviv set up a private kitchen on the fifth floor where all her meals were served, including a traditional Shabat dinner presided over by the Kabbalah’s Rabbi Berg. And for those daily pilates and stretches, the hotel also turned their King Solomon Ballroom—often the site of bar mitzvahs and weddings—into her personal gymnasium. Nobody carried on this way even when Sadat came for a visit.

In return, she told her audience: “I shouldn’t have stayed away this long” and paraded around the stage wrapped in an Israeli flag.

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